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hence the wtw is usually in the negative.
Yes, that's what I meant. Thanks for being much clearer than me!
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To ttt and wtw is to back up ones claims with actions. The quote is usually applied only when the claims are outlandish, and hence the wtw is usually in the negative.
Unnghhh....I don't understand! Have not heard it used in a negative context - only ever as a sign of approval, as in, "He's a good guy - he walks the talk." Seeking clarification....
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Carpal Tunnel
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I'm not sure this will help, but. "He talks the talk" has this implied word: "He talks the (right) talk". Meaning he is at least saying that he knows what he's talking about, or that he can do the job. If someone "walks the walk", he is demonstrating that he can; making good on his claims, in other words: showing his capability.
I think positive or negative usage depends entirely on the situation. If, for ex., I gave out with all sorts of b.s. and then claimed that I was qualified to be the President of the United States, I imagine there would be many negatives uses of, "Yeah, but can she walk the walk?" People are expressing doubt about my capability. If I took charge of organizing a fund-raising dinner and it came off without a hitch, then people could say, "Yep, she can walk the walk, all right". Or possibly that I could walk the talk, which I agree must be a contraction.
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which I agree must be a contraction
Since many of us geographically-scattered AWADers haven't heard the contraction before ("He walks the talk") maybe it is only recently coined and popular where you live, mg...maybe it hasn't spread yet?
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I've only heard: "He talks the talk and walks the walk."
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Pooh-Bah
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In Management Consultant parlance "To walk the talk" means to practice what you preach. The expression originated in the USA, I suspect California (but I still love it), and has come over here for the delectation of us Brits.
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popular where you live, mg...
Actually I think dxb has the answer - coz I converse/write a lot with/to Britspeakers, so that's prolly where I heard it. Made sense to me in a way that "he talks the talk and walks the walk" doesn't.....To me, the former phrase means what dxb sez (and what I said in the original post), and the latter phrase is just confusing: he talks what talk? he walks what walk?
[/desperate attempt to clarify my own stance] (just as well - I didn't do a very good job of it, did I!)
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I didn't do a very good job of it, did I
Left me baffled. If you don't know what talk he talks how do you know what talk he walks?
There's gonna be some context here; this isn't the sort of thing somebody is just going to pop off with. Folks who use this phrase know what the walk and talk is referring to. To me, wtw & ttt means that the person referred to knows what he is doing and does it. Practice what you preach is more or less the same thing.
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he talks what talk? he walks what walk?
I think you need context for that. Say that the guy in question is some politician claiming to be able to fix healthcare in Canada. Then you ask yourself, "He talks the talk [of someone who can fix healthcare, he claims he can actually do something, makes it sound like he knows what he's talking about] but can he walk the walk [can he actually do it or is it all hot air, all just talk?]"
Or, with a non-negative example, you're watching a guy speak about child poverty and you know that he's been involved for 20 years in community-based organizations to help poor children. Then you say to your skeptical colleague: "He talks the talk [about fixing child poverty] and walks the walk [he has actually worked toward doing so]."
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Faldage and Bean, I take your point about context. However, Bean's examples still make me wonder why people don't just say, "He walks the talk," or "He doesn't walk the talk." The extra talk and extra walk don't make a helluva lot of sense to me - seem extraneous, like saying "each and every" (which nevertheless has a rhythm to it - possibly why people use the ttt & wtw forms). ttt & wtw just sounds funny to my ear, is all.
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