Words & Speech
橫說竪說
횡설수설
héng shuō shù shuō
Hoeng-seol-su-seol
橫
가로 횡
說
말씀 설
竪
세로 수
說
말씀 설
Character by character
Meaning
Talking across and up and down — rambling without thread.
Origin
Once meant explaining deftly from every angle; it now means incoherence.
How it is used
Used of speech that falls apart from drink or panic.
Hanja橫說竪說
Simplified横说竖说
Korean reading횡설수설
Pinyinhéng shuō shù shuō
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does Hoeng-seol-su-seol mean?
橫說竪說 · Talking across and up and down — rambling without thread.
Q. Where does Hoeng-seol-su-seol come from?
Once meant explaining deftly from every angle; it now means incoherence.
Q. How is Hoeng-seol-su-seol used?
Used of speech that falls apart from drink or panic.
Idioms in the same group
言中有骨 Eon-jung-yu-golThere is bone inside the words — a hard meaning hidden in an ordinary remark.寸鐵殺人 Chon-cheol-sa-rinKill with an inch of steel — pierce the vital point with a few words.以心傳心 I-sim-jeon-simMind transmits to mind — understanding without a word spoken.甘言利說 Gam-eon-i-seolSweet words and seemingly advantageous talk — the language of enticement.有口無言 Yu-gu-mu-eonYou have a mouth but nothing to say.一言之下 Il-eon-ji-haSettled in a single word — a flat, immediate response.
The idioms used in Korea mix phrases from the Chinese classics with ones coined in Korea. Where an expression is not used in China, the entry says so.