A big talker and frequent whiner who speaks in a humorously stilted jumble of clichés and exaggeration, Slide’s hapless struggles give “Pay as You Go” a comic vigor even as his journey heads into dark places.

He’s not a big talker — Shimomura is cooking solo, after all — but watching his knife skills or the reverence with which he handles ingredients is dinner theater on mute.

Although not a big talker, Mousasi is direct.

“She’s not a big talker,” Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly said in an interview this week.

Knuckles isn’t a big talker, but when he does speak, he’s very blunt.