Subscribe To This Site
Bang on about
Bang on about
Bang on about : Phrases
Meaning:
Talk repetitively and boringly about something.
Origin:
The term 'bang on' has been used to mean either 'exactly on', i.e. physically close to, or 'exactly right'. Those two meaning are exemplified here, respectively:
An advertisement in Punch April 1936: "Quiet garden square near Hyde Park. Real hot water. Bang on Tubes."
('Bang on Tubes' means 'very close to an Underground station'. 'Real hot water' - who knows? better than imaginary hot water I suppose.)
John Hunt and Alan Pringle Service Slang, 1943: "Bang on, bomber slang for 'O.K.' or 'Everything's all right'."
These derive from an earlier American usage of simply 'bang', just meaning 'exactly'.
'Bang on about' has a different meaning though and doesn't appear to be related to either of the above. It is a British coinage.
The Economist, October 1979 "Mr. Patrick Jenkin - Social Services - In cabinet tries hard but is inclined to bang on a bit."
Julie Burchill, Sex & Sensibility, 1990: "This cry was taken up by the alt coms [alternative comedians] - Benny and Jenny and Lenny and Dawn - who would bang on about Reagan being an actor."