Hi!
I?d like to know the particular meaning of “talking heads”!
Michael
There is (or was) a rock-music band called ‘The Talking-Heads’ and I have no idea what they meant 
Seriously though… I would suspect that this is a phrase that post-dates the advent of television. As I understand it, the term refers to the people - politicians, news-announcers, public-figures, and the like - who provide us with information (or dis-information) on the ‘little-screen’.
The term arises, presumably, since the TV camera usually only focuses on the head of the person speaking.
I’d be interested to hear any other thoughts.
Hi
I can only say that last year I asked the question (:)) to my (UK) tutor and she gave the same explanation for this ironical expression. (But I doubt whether it can be considered as a ‘term’. (:?:))
.
Technically speaking, ‘talking head’ probably could be called a ‘term’ – but an informal or slang one (depending on which dictionary you check).
Amy
Tamara … the word ‘term’ usually connotes a word (or more commonly a group of words) having a specific meaning, so I would say that ‘Talking-Heads’ qualifies. I can’t see that there is any particular irony suggested by it, however.
Hi
askoxford.com/concise_oed/ta … ad?view=uk
I meant that phrases like ‘He is just a talking head.’ are said mainly in deteriorative or ironical sense. Nothing positive for/about the person - at least in the UK.
Maybe.
To me, the definition of term you mentioned (the word ‘term’ usually connotes a word (or more commonly a group of words) having a specific meaning) is just descriptive. Not specific. Not distinctive.
For example, the linguistic term (:)) fixed phrase (or set expression) would also fit it. Not?
Hi Tamara … I don’t think I’ve ever heard the phrase you used ‘He is just a talking head’. I do agree that the term itself does have rather a negative shading… If I were to ask ‘What are the talking heads saying about [some current issue]’ it would carry the sense that I anticipate their talk to be a lot of hot air.
Hi!
As much as I understand, “Talking Head” is similar to “Babblehead”, isn?t it?
Michael
Hi Michael
Where did you hear the word ‘babblehead’? 
I’d say my understanding of ‘talking head’ is very similar to Pond969’s. It often has the sense that the person who is talking is just spouting off a lot of ‘blah blah blah’ (hot air).
Amy
Hi Amy!
So, there is a difference between “babblehead” and “talking head”?
Michael
I’ve never heard the word “babblehead”.
I don’t agree with Amy that a talking head is just someone who babbles. It’s specifically a person talking on TV whose head is only shown.
And I have frequently heard the sentence, “He’s just a talking head.” It means a man reports or presents on TV, but he doesn’t have much experience or intellect, so there’s little substance to what he says.
There’s another commonly used expression that’s similar to talking head, but is more specific. If a woman who reports the news is very beautiful but has nearly no journalistic credentials, she’s frequently called an info babe.
Hi Jamie
Nice to see you back again. And, while I’m saying hello, I’d like to point out that I didn’t say “just”. 
Hi Michael,
The reason I asked about “babblehead” is that I thought that was your own jokingly invented word. It seems to me you referred to yourself that way at some point in the past. Or am I mistaken?
Amy
Hi Amy!
Hmmm… since we had been talking about “old babblehead” that much I?d been convinced that it exists in fact! :lol: Seems that I had been mistaking!
Michael
Hi Michael, please check the difference between mistaken and mistaking. (The set phrase is ‘to be mistaken’.)[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC listening, photographs: The space shuttle[YSaerTTEW443543]
Hi,
It is interesting to note that there was a series of monologues for BBC TV written by Alan Bennett called just that ‘Talking Heads’, which were performed by some of the top actresses in the UK at the time. Alan Bennett was one of the team in the 1960s called Beyond the Fringe that included the late lamented Dudley Moore and more recently he wrote the screen play for the highly successful film The madness of George The Third.
A
I’ve never come across ‘babblehead’ but it would certainly be a good alternate for ‘talking-head’ in it’s most perjorative sense.