What it means
To haver means to talk rubbish, ramble, or go on a daft tangent when you should be getting to the point. You’ll hear Stop havering when someone’s dithering or chatting nonsense. It’s usually a teasing slap, not a proper insult. The Proclaimers even slipped it into 500 Miles, which makes Scots feel weirdly seen.
Usage examples
"We were meant to leave at eight, but Jamie kept havering about which pub to start in and we missed the last bus home."
"Auntie Morag has been havering about the new neighbour for forty minutes solid, three cups of tea, half a packet of digestives, and we still do not know what colour of car he drives or if he has a dog or not at all."
"Stop havering about the order, mate, the chippy closes in ten minutes, just point at the haddock and the special chips and let us get back to the warm house before the rain comes in from the west tonight."
Where it comes from
From the old Scots verb haver, meaning to talk nonsense or vacillate, related to dialectal English havering from at least the eighteenth century. The Proclaimers chorus of 500 Miles brought the word to international audiences in 1988, and now most non-Scots associate it with that one line shouted at karaoke after the third pint of the night out has been ordered.
Other ways to say it
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