English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)
GAB in GRAMMAR
Professor Adeleke Fakoya is blessed with ~the gift of gab~ (nonstandard).
Professor Adeleke Fakoya is blessed with the gift of the gab (standard). The ability to speak easily and confidently in a way that makes people want to listen to you and believe you is the gift of the gab.
I sat quietly and watched him ~gist~ for hours (nonstandard).
I sat quietly and watched him gab for hours (standard). To talk at length, typically about trivial matters, is to gab, while gist is a noun, which means the substance or general meaning of a speech or text. Note, however, that the sense of gist as a verb to mean engaging in chat or gossip is now recognised as Nigerian English by the Oxford Dictionary.
GAB
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