A person who speaks evasively, unclearly, or in a rambling manner; someone who uses soft, fuzzy language that obscures meaning.
A compound of flannel (suggesting soft, unclear speech) and mouth (the organ of speech), created as a descriptive epithet for unclear speakers.
This wonderful insult works because flannel's soft texture metaphorically represents speech that's vague and lacks sharp clarity—the perfect metaphor for someone who talks around a point instead of making it directly.
Historically applied as a derogatory term coded with dismissal of smooth talk; the 'mouth' metaphor often carried gendered contempt for verbose or manipulative speech, with different application rates to men versus women.
Use descriptively only when referring to actual fish species; avoid applying metaphorically to people's speech patterns without awareness of gendered dismissal implications.
["verbose speaker","smooth talker","articulate"]
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