What does this mean? What are they trying to say?

Question

If someone is described as hanging onto their syllables to give themselves a lot of time to speak, what exactly does that mean?

Answer 1

It means drawing out / taking extra time to say a syllable in order to stall for time while that person tries to think of what next to say...This is the same as someone who says..."mmmm"...."Like"....and ..."and you know"...

Answer 2

They speak slowly and you are left waiting for them to painfully squeak out a whole sentence.  They then have time to put together more composed thoughts.  Think Miss America delivering "All I Want is World Peace" answer.  I have a kid who does this and it is exasperating!

Answer 3

Means they are speaking very slowly,,,,,,,,  

Answer 4

It means that they are trying to talk outside of their vocabulary.  This often happens with persons that raise hands in class only to speak to the professor in a way unfamiliar to them.  The problem is all can see through the charade.