Windbags

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A derogatory term for people prone to verbose and inflated speech, often lacking genuine insight or value in their conversations
2. Someone who speaks at length in a self-important or tedious manner
3. An individual characterized by long-winded and boastful speech that may lack substance

Etymology: "Windbags" is the plural of "windbag," so it is simply the form that refers to more than one such talker. The singular "windbag" comes from Middle English "wyndbagge," a compound of "wind" and "bag." The image is a bag full of air: the belly of a speaker who puffs out empty breath, and the bag stands for a container that holds nothing of substance. The imagery is literal and physical, which is why the insult lands so easily. A bag that is mostly wind is light, swollen, and worth little, and the same holds for a speech that is all breath and no content. The compound is transparent in a way that many insults are not, so the sense is clear from its two parts.

Synonyms: talkers, boasters, blowhards

Antonyms: silent ones, listeners