Until you can think of some plausible reason to skip the myriad of holiday gatherings, prepare yourself to make more idle chatter.

CNN: Jobs that make good party conversation

Sometimes, this is due to the strong opinions that a cabbie expresses when I ask a question or engage in idle chatter.

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Is this just idle chatter with the president of the United States?

CNN

And truly about what it's about -- shaves, haircuts, idle chatter -- as well as deeper and sweeter things barely hinted at in the first few conventional minutes.

WSJ: 'Igby' Is a Darkly Comic Trip

After some idle chatter (we have known each other for longer than we might care to admit), she zeroes in on what I'm wearing, identifying it within seconds as somewhat ancient designer clobber.

WSJ: Tina Gaudoin on Style: How to Wear Topshop Past 25

This is idle street chatter slanted towards amateur day traders.

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Sinn Fein dismiss this as idle media chatter among bored journalists, and the theory that a politician from Northern Ireland can't win votes in the Irish Republic is branded "partitionist".

BBC: Gerry Adams great survivor of Irish politics