Definition
耍嘴皮子 is a colloquial separable verb-object phrase (离合词) that means 'to talk glibly' or 'to pay lip service' — emphasizing that someone talks a lot but doesn't back it up with action. It often carries a critical tone. When separated, the object 嘴皮子 can be modified: e.g., 耍了一通嘴皮子 ('did a bunch of glib talking'), 耍什么嘴皮子 ('what glib talk are you doing?'). The phrase is most common in spoken Chinese.
v.o.
to talk gliblyto bragto pay lip service (without action)
Examples
- 耍嘴皮子，。Tā zuì ài shuǎ zuǐ pí zi, dàn cónglái bú zuò shí shì.He loves to talk glibly but never does anything real.
- ？。Nǐ shuǎ shénme zuǐ pí zi? Yǒu běnshi jiù zuò chūlai kànkan.What are you blabbing about? If you've got the skill, show us what you can do.
- ，。Tā shuǎ le yì tōng zuǐ pí zi, jiéguǒ shénme yě méi zuò chéng.He did a lot of glib talking, but in the end he didn't accomplish anything.
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