bite one's tongue
(Redirected from bite your tongue)
English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (AU) (file)
Verb[edit]
bite one's tongue (third-person singular simple present bites one's tongue, present participle biting one's tongue, simple past bit one's tongue, past participle bitten one's tongue)
- (idiomatic) To resist the urge to speak out, 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.”
- 2013, Katy Perry, Roar:
- I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath / Scared to rock the boat and make a mess.
- 2020 June 23, John Bolton, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 305:
- […] my automatic tongue-biting mechanism kicked in just in time.
- 2021 August 13, Gayle, Sara Davis, David Pittenger, “abcdefu”, in A Study of the Human Experience Volume One[1], performed by Gayle:
- I swear I meant to mean the best when it ended / Even try to bite my tongue when you start shit / Now you're texting all my friends, asking questions / They never even liked you in the first place
Usage notes[edit]
- 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[edit]
prevent oneself from uttering a word
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