jawboning

noun

jaw·​bon·​ing ˈjȯ-ˌbō-niŋ 

: the use of public appeals (as by a president) to influence the actions especially of business and labor leaders

broadly : the use of spoken persuasion

Did you know?

In the late 1800s, the noun jawbone meant "credit" (as in his money's gone, so he lives on jawbone), which was probably influenced by the practice of coaxing others to lend money by promising to pay it back. By the mid-1960s the verb to jawbone, meaning "to talk about to gain some end," was appearing regularly in the media. The noun jawboning made its print debut at the end of that decade, in reference to rhetorical practices that influenced the actions of the wealthy and powerful. All of these uses were likely influenced by the verb jaw, which has long been used with the meanings "to talk" or "to scold."

Examples of jawboning in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Nor have companies been shamed into cutting prices by presidential jawboning (despite President Biden’s recent claims). —Aden Barton, Washington Post, 15 July 2024

That combination of screening, vigilance and jawboning has allowed the two fintechs to charge lower premiums, winning the favor of insurance brokers and a foothold in the market. —Danielle Chemtob, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024

The release increases the pressure on the end-of-month Politburo meeting as jawboning has fallen on deaf ears as investors want tangible measures implemented. —Brendan Ahern, Forbes, 17 July 2023

Clearly the bond market believes that the Fed’s jawboning will be backed with action. —Raul Elizalde, Forbes, 13 Apr. 2022

But the jawboning didn’t work, Greenberg noted. —Robert T. Garrett, Dallas News, 24 Feb. 2021

Another reason for the endless jawboning about bones is mass confusion over how best to strengthen your skeleton and whether diet and supplements really make a difference. —Claudia Wallis, Scientific American, 1 Jan. 2023

That jawboning is a big reason why longer-term borrowing costs, such as the 30-year mortgage rate, have jumped sharply since the beginning of the year even though the Fed has raised its benchmark rate only a little bit. —Nick Timiraos, WSJ, 4 May 2022

But in both parties, the blaming amounts to little more than political rhetoric and jawboning because neither side is prepared to push for the kind of action that Washington has sometimes resorted to in wartime emergencies. —Don Leestaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1969, in the meaning defined above

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