Talk:talk down

Deletion discussion

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talk down

Another one, this is an unusual one, I'm not sure of it. It's "to tell someone over the radio how to land a plane", but I think it is SOP. It's just talking for the purpose of going downwards, in other words talk + down. It's one context, at least in movies, where it happens a lot, but it doesn't seem any more or less grammatical than talk up would be (just doesn't really happen, even in movies). If it were limited to "over the radio" or "subject must be a person on the ground", that would make it idiomatic, but I don't think it is. Again, it's for logical not grammatical reasons -- if the pilot had both his arms cut off and his eyes gouged out, he might have to talk a passenger down. Similarly if a passenger had to take over a train or a car, someone might "talk him over the course", "talk him down the tracks", "talk him up the hill", or whatever. The "dispatcher talking a plane passenger down" scenario is a staple of fiction, but surely that alone doesn't make it grammatically special (don't call me Shirley). N.B. this has made me realize talk through is a valid phrasal verb we are missing. WurdSnatcher (talk)

Can imagine guide down, help down, take down, etc. for the same thing, yes. I think we need some help pages on types of multi-word verb, so we can refer people there regarding actual phrasal verbs vs. adverbial combinations. Equinox ◑ 04:24, 18 November 2015 (UTC)

keep - but definition tightening needed. Doesn't really matter if it only happens in fiction, it is still language. Some citations would be welcome. As for help pages, not saying it is a bad idea, but one problem with this topic is that there are definitely grey areas, and I don't think there is any definite agreement among linguists about how to categorise various phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs, complex prepositional verbs, etc. - i.e. there are different schools of thought on the subject.--Sonofcawdrey (talk) 05:24, 18 November 2015 (UTC)

I didn't nom it because it describes a fictional situation, it isn't describing anything special. You can be talked over a barrier, talked under an overhang, talked past a trap, talked through an obstacle course, talked away from a situation, etc. WurdSnatcher (talk)

Yes, that's right. But each of your examples are verb + prepositional phrase, where the object of the prep is needed (you can't say "I talked him under" or "she was talked past"), whereas talk down is just verb + preposition (according to the def). However, the def lacks citations, without which I think it can be deleted in any case.--Sonofcawdrey (talk) 02:16, 19 November 2015 (UTC)

Keep - have added 3 citations; not SOP.--Sonofcawdrey (talk) 03:17, 19 November 2015 (UTC)

OED defines as "to provide (an aircraft) with directions by radio communication which enable it to land, esp. in overcast or emergency conditions" ... and also includes talk in with regard to ships seeking landfall.--Sonofcawdrey (talk) 09:41, 19 November 2015 (UTC)

Kept. bd2412 T 16:07, 16 December 2015 (UTC)

prevent somebody from speaking 2. make something seem less impressive

to prevent somebody from speaking by saying something loudly and ignoring attempts to interrupt
2. to discuss something in a way that makes it seem less important or successful than it is
Microsoft® Encarta® 2009

--Backinstadiums (talk) 17:59, 24 November 2019 (UTC)