the rough side of one's tongue

English

Noun

the rough side of one's tongue (uncountable)

1. Angry words, harsh criticism.

   Synonyms: piece of one's mind, rebuke, reprimand, telling off, tongue-lashing

   • 1797, Thomas Bridges, A Burlesque Translation of Homer‎^[1], 4th edition, London: G.G. and J. Robinson, Book 6, p. 354:

     But let them, if they plague thee long,
     Once feel the rough side of thy tongue:

   • 1876, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Charles of Orleans,” Chapter 4, in Familiar Studies of Men and Books, 1882,^[2]

     […] Louis was then in no humour to hear Charles’s texts and Latin sentiments; he had his back to the wall, the future of France was at stake; and if all the old men in the world had crossed his path, they would have had the rough side of his tongue like Charles of Orleans.

   • 1924, George Bernard Shaw, Saint Joan‎^[3], New York: Dodd, Mead, published 1946, Scene 6, p. 110:

     […] let us not be moved by the rough side of a shepherd lass’s tongue.

   • 1940, Nevil Shute, chapter 3, in An Old Captivity‎^[4], New York: William Morrow:

     “ […] It’s going to add to my difficulties to take any girl on the trip. If you pile too much on me the flight may be a failure, and we’ll all be sorry then.”
     “She gave you a bit of the rough side of her tongue, I suppose?”

Usage notes

A variant of this expression is a lick with the rough side of one's tongue.

• 1820, Walter Scott, chapter 4, in The Abbot‎^[5]:

  “Credit me, Mrs. Lilias,” replied the senior, “should I see the time fitting, I would, with right good-will give him a lick with the rough side of my tongue.”

• 1857, George Eliot, Scenes of Clerical Life, “Mr. Gilfil’s Love Story,” Chapter 1,^[6]

  […] he contributed an additional zest to the conviviality on that occasion by informing the company that ‘the parson had given the squire a lick with the rough side of his tongue.’