bite one's tongue

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

bite one's tongue

1. (idiomatic) To forcibly prevent oneself from speaking, especially in order to avoid saying something inappropriate or likely to cause a dispute.

   Synonym: bite one's lip

   • 2011, Mike Pappas, Growing Up the Greek Way in the Big Apple, page 103:

     She wanted to go see a movie called Gigi, which I was not too thrilled about. But being a gentleman, I bit my tongue and said, “Okay.”

Usage notes

• Often used in the imperative mood, to admonish someone who has said something unfeeling or harsh:

  Bite your tongue! She has enough on her mind without having to worry about comments like that from you.

Translations

prevent oneself from uttering a word

• Finnish: pitää suu kiinni, pitää turpa tukossa
• French: rabattre le caquet (fr), réduire au silence (fr)
• Greek: δαγκώνω τη γλώσσα μου (dagkóno ti glóssa mou)
• Mongolian: амаа татах (amaa tatax, literally “pull one's mouth”)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian: hvis du ikke har noe hyggelig å si, si ingen ting
• Polish: ugryźć się w język (pl)
• Russian: прикуси́ть язы́к pf (prikusítʹ jazýk), придержа́ть язы́к pf (prideržátʹ jazýk)

See also

• hold one's tongue
• cat got someone's tongue