1
general::
1. Belittle, depreciate, as in They talked down the importance of the move. 2. Silence someone by speaking loudly and persistently, as in They talked down whatever objections she brought up. [Early 1800s] 3. Help an aircraft to land by giving directions via radio, as in The fog was so thick the control tower had to talk us down. [c. 1940] 4. See TALK DOWN TO.
American Heritage Idioms
2
general::
Phrase(s): talk someone down
1. to win at debating someone. • Liz was able to talk her opponent down. • She talked down her opponent. 2. to direct a novice pilot to make a safe landing by giving spoken instructions over the airplane’s radio. • The people on the ground talked down the amateur pilot successfully. • I wonder how many movies have been made about someone talking a pilot down. 3. to convince someone to lower the price of something. • The price tag said $2,000 for the car, but I talked down the salesman by threatening to go elsewhere. • This is my final offer. Don’t try to talk me down.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs