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Is "soul-to-soul talk" a common expression in English for describing a sincere talk between two people? Or is it not common at all?

brilliant
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2 Answers2

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The common English expression is "heart-to-heart talk", or even just "a heart-to-heart".

Other similar expressions, like "soul-to-soul", while not common, would probably be understood as a reference to or variation of "heart-to-heart".

BradC
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  • Google Ngrams backs you up – Kevin Nov 28 '16 at 20:35
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    @Kevin I think this link compares the usage of the two phrases more clearly – costrom Nov 28 '16 at 21:04
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    @costrom why? OP specifically asked for "soul to soul talk" why omit the talk? – Kevin Nov 28 '16 at 21:55
  • Further googling ""soul to soul" meaning" gets you nothing about any kind of talk or conversation, whereas googling ""heart to heart" meaning" gets you exactly what OP is looking for – Kevin Nov 28 '16 at 21:59
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    @Kevin it supports BradC's claim that "soul to soul", while uncommon compared to "heart to heart", is used, and could potentially be understood by an English speaker – costrom Nov 28 '16 at 22:27
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    Yeah, that's all I meant, that while "soul to soul talk" isn't something a native speaker would use, it's also not likely to be misunderstood (unless perhaps the listener assigns a religious meaning, but that would depend on context). – BradC Nov 28 '16 at 23:00
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    I think if I heard the phrase said aloud I might actually hear *sole-to-sole; I'm picturing two people sitting on the floor across from one another, feet stretched out in front of them, or some under-the-table footsie. I'm sure I'd figure out what was actually meant almost immediately, but I'd still have that image. I'd avoid soul-to-soul* in speech for that reason, absent any compelling need for this specific language (or a dialect that makes a really clear distinction in pronunciation). – 1006a Nov 29 '16 at 01:02
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    I'm pretty sure it will be understood as a variant of "heart-to-heart," but it might come across as more intense than was intended. – Wolfie Inu Nov 30 '16 at 07:51
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A phrase that comes to mind to use for "soul to soul" is "personal, deep and meaningful", which I first heard in the 1980's.

Google Ngrams doesn't find "personal deep and meaningful" as a complete phrase, but does show a rise in usage of "deep and meaningful" continuing from about 1920 to the present.

Hence "Personal, deep and meaningful" is probably tautological to some degree, with "deep and meaningful" more often used on its own:

To have deep and meaningful conversations is to talk about mental and spiritual things. {mindreality.com}

Used to describe a conversation of great emotion (usually, but not exclusively describes a conversation of a sad nature). {Urban Dictionary}

However, if the purpose of the conversation is to attempt to reconcile a point of contention between two people, "heart to heart" would be more idiomatic, as for example in "I think you and I need to have a heart to heart (talk) about this".

traktor
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    When I was a teenager in 1980s Australia, the term "D&M" referred to a deep & meaningful conversation, usually with angsty romantic connotations. – Jeremy Nov 29 '16 at 08:10
  • @Jeremy I heard it as "P.D.&M.", also in Australia. It was in common enough usage to be abbreviated and remain widely understood. – traktor Nov 29 '16 at 21:34