Definition of "palaver" [pa•la•ver]

• Idle chatter. (noun)
• Talk intended to charm or beguile. (noun)
• Obsolete A parley between European explorers and representatives of local populations, especially in Africa. (noun)
• To flatter or cajole. (verb-transitive)
• To chatter idly. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "With all due respect, this palaver from the congressional representative is an example of the "red herrings", flawed reasoning and misguided focus prevalent within the entire debate about Health Insurance Reform."
• "And the whole Mr/Ms etc palaver is yet another bonus of having a PhD."
• "In the world of Animal Farm, most speechifying and public palaver is bullshit and instigated lying, and though many characters are good-hearted and mean well, they can be frightened into closing their eyes to what's really going on."