I was kind of flirting with this really cute boy when my teacher told me to stop palavering. Did she want me to stop flirting or stop talking?
Palavering means idle conversation or chatter — so that's probably what your teacher meant. Palaver comes from a Portuguese word palavra, which means word, speech, or talk. The idle side of palavering was first recorded in 1748 and appears in many literary works, including The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Pap is extremely drunk when he threatens to kill Huck. They both fall asleep, but Huck has a loaded gun nearby. The next morning, Pap demands to know what the gun is for. Huck lies, figuring that Pap wouldn't remember his threats:
Huck: "Somebody tried to get in, so I was laying for him."
Pap: "Why didn't you roust me out?"
Huck: "Well, I tried to, but I couldn't; I couldn't budge you."
Pap: "Well, all right. Don't stand there palavering all day, but out with you and see if there's a fish on the lines for breakfast. I'll be along in a minute."