Learn English – What exactly does “heavy conversation” mean
idiomsmeaning
I think it is a serious conversation which has become boring. Am I right?
Best Answer
There are multiple interpretations of this phrase depending on context. There is insufficient context in your question to say definitively one way or another.
In particular, two common, but distinct meanings of "heavy" lead to different interpretations.
First, "heavy" can mean weighty to indicate importance, significance, or great magnitude. In such a use, a "heavy conversation" is more likely to cause anxiety than boredom. (For example a heavy conversation between a lawyer and their client, or a doctor and their patient).
Second, "heavy" can stand for heavy going (ground so sodden that a horse makes slow progress) which would strongly indicate boredom.
In each case, "weighty conversation" or "the conversation was heavy going" would be clearer.
As the construction is both unusual and ambiguous, if the listener can be certain that it was used after some thought, it is likely that it is being used in contrast with the much more common "light conversation" meaning trivial or casual conversation -- small talk. "Heavy conversation" would be a construction used rhetorically as a deliberate contrast to such light conversation.
The term is most commonly used, in UK politics at least, to describe meetings that take place at a political party conference that aren't part of the main proceedings. They are usually small, and address a particular special interest. Here are some examples from the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties.
Although the phrase can mean that, and often does, it's also sometimes applied in a more broad context. To be "swept off your feet" is to be surprised, enthralled, exhilarated. Critics can be swept off their feet by an epic film; operagoers can be swept off their feet by a beautiful aria, etc.
As for how sweeping became associated with love, that's referring to the aspect of sweeping that means a smooth movement, not the act of using a broom. Ballroom dancers can sweep across the dance floor, a powdery snow can sweep across the barren fields. It's that smooth, fluid motion – and the idea of your emotions being carried in that fashion – that brought about the idiom. A strong ocean or river current can literally sweep you off your feet, and young lovers can do the same thing to each other, figuratively and emotionally.
Best Answer
There are multiple interpretations of this phrase depending on context. There is insufficient context in your question to say definitively one way or another.
In particular, two common, but distinct meanings of "heavy" lead to different interpretations.
First, "heavy" can mean weighty to indicate importance, significance, or great magnitude. In such a use, a "heavy conversation" is more likely to cause anxiety than boredom. (For example a heavy conversation between a lawyer and their client, or a doctor and their patient).
Second, "heavy" can stand for heavy going (ground so sodden that a horse makes slow progress) which would strongly indicate boredom.
In each case, "weighty conversation" or "the conversation was heavy going" would be clearer.
As the construction is both unusual and ambiguous, if the listener can be certain that it was used after some thought, it is likely that it is being used in contrast with the much more common "light conversation" meaning trivial or casual conversation -- small talk. "Heavy conversation" would be a construction used rhetorically as a deliberate contrast to such light conversation.