2006-09-12 02:27:47 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
Going off on a tangent doesn't really mean to suddenly talk off the subject; it means to talk of something different, but still somewhat related to the original topic. Digress also has a similar meaning of shifting off-topic, but still somewhat related to the original conversation. A non sequitor is a sudden utterance that is off-topic and best fits your request, but there's no verb form of the word, if that's what you need.
2006-09-12 03:30:42 · answer #1 · answered by jersey girl 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To digress: when someone is talking about something for so long and they start talking about other things, they can say at the end "But I digress". Usually it happens when people are on tirades. Then their's also the colloquial "going off tangent" or "being on a little tangent" which mean the same thing - they've bent the conversation to another subject, maybe slightly related to the previous one, maybe not.
Also, if someone wants to avoid a subject and they start a new one, the person they're speaking to can say "Don't change the subject!"
2006-09-12 14:28:25 · answer #2 · answered by Koshka Boga 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Non Sequitur; it is Latin for "it does not follow".
Pronunciation: 'nän-'se-kw&-t&r also -"tur
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin, it does not follow
1 : an inference that does not follow from the premises; specifically : a fallacy resulting from a simple conversion of a universal affirmative proposition or from the transposition of a condition and its consequent
2 : a statement (as a response) that does not follow logically from or is not clearly related to anything previously said
Although not English, it is a part of the English language (like et cetera, Latin but we use it in everyday speech).
2006-09-12 09:37:36 · answer #3 · answered by ? 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Going off on a tangent...
Changing the subject...
Blabbering...
Digressing...
2006-09-12 09:35:20 · answer #4 · answered by still waiting 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
going off on a tangent, getting side-tracked, red-herring
2006-09-12 14:51:00 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Digress is the right word.
2006-09-12 09:39:51 · answer #6 · answered by Razor 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
tangent does nt exactly describe it
it s more like don t change the topic
2006-09-12 09:33:08 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
tangent, bunny trail, off subject, random
2006-09-12 09:29:46 · answer #8 · answered by Venus M 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
aside, deviation, digression, divagation, divergence, divergency, excursion, excursus, irrelevancy, parenthetical.
Thank you Mr.Roget.
2006-09-12 16:36:16 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yeah it's called "Don't change the ****ing subject"... :)
2006-09-12 09:31:01 · answer #10 · answered by memphis_rayns 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋