tongue-tied
See also: tonguetied
English
Pronunciation
Adjective
tongue-tied (comparative more tongue-tied, superlative most tongue-tied)
- (idiomatic) Unable to express oneself clearly or fluently; at a loss for words.
- 1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 85:
- My toung-tide Muſe in manners holds her ſtill,
- While comments of your praiſe richly compil'd,
- Reſerue their Character with goulden quill,
- And precious phraſe by all the Muſes fil'd.
- 1692, Roger L’Estrange, “[The Life of Æsop.] Of Æsop’s Countrey, Condition, and Person”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC, page 1:
- And he [Aesop] was not only Unhappy in the moſt ſcandalous Figure of a Man that ever was heard of; but he was in a manner Tongue-Ty'd too, by ſuch an Impediment in his ſpeech, that People could very hardly underſtand what he ſaid.
- 1927-29, M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, translated 1940 by Mahadev Desai, Part I, Chapter xviii:
- I was elected to the Executive Committee of the Vegetarian Society, and made it a point to attend every one of its meetings, but I always felt tongue-tied. […] And it was not a little curious that whilst others expressed their opinions at these meetings, I sat quite silent. Not that I never felt tempted to speak. But I was at a loss to know how to express myself. All the rest of the members appeared to me to be better informed than I. Then it often happened that just when I had mustered up courage to speak, a fresh subject would be started. This went on for a long time.
- 1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 85:
- Suffering from tongue-tie or ankyloglossia.
Translations
unable to express oneself clearly or fluently
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