What does "Doesn't half go on" mean?
The full context:
"..said Dad impatiently. 'You don't go to Llanpistyll to go shopping.'
'Obviously not,' said Mum. She sighed. 'I like shopping.'
'So do I,' I said. Dad sighed too. Even more impatiently. 'Boys don't like shopping,' he said. 'I worry about you sometimes, Tim.'
I worry about my dad sometimes too. He
doesn't half go on. And on and on. "
(From "Buried Alive", a children book)
Best Answer
When you "go on" about something, it means that you talk about something at length and keep talking about it. One of the reasons people "go on" sometimes is that they're having a bit of a fit about it. With that in mind and given the context, I'd take it to mean that his dad doesn't "go on" in any half measures but instead goes the distance. It's meant to say that when his dad goes on about something, he really goes on. He can't let it go. He keeps going on. And on and on.