Inglês Favorito #1 - Idiomatic expressions with the word TONGUE and MOUTH

Hello, this is Tom, your English teacher here at Inglês Favorito. Today let's take a look at some idiomatic expressions with the word TONGUE. And just as a reminder, by idiomatic expressions I mean the ones that are a type of informal English that have a meaning different from the meanings of the words in the expression. And our first example is "a slip of the tongue".

Imagine you're having your first class and then you're called on to introduce yourself. Among the many things you say, like your name, where you're from, your hobbies, you mention your age. Just after mentioning your age though you remember you said the wrong number. You forgot your birthday was just that week and now you're getting confused. Here's what you say: Did I say I was 19? Sorry, I'm 20 now. Just a slip of the tongue. My birthday was just this week and I'm still getting used to being 20. When you have a slip of the tongue like that, you make a mistake when speaking, such as using the wrong word.

One of theses days while I was giving an English class, the word "unimaginatively" came up. Although the pronunciation of that word is not the hardest, it is somehow long enough to make some English students struggle. They said the word unimaginatively was hard to pronounce and it didn't simply roll off the tongue. Again: It didn't roll off the tongue. When you say a word or a phrase rolls off the tongue, that means it is very easy to say. But when it doesn't roll off the tongue, the pronunciation is hard. You can also say "trip off the tongue".

Now, if you're like me, you'll relate to this one. Imagine you're telling your friend a story which includes someone whose name you can't remember, but you're putting a real effort into remembering it. You feel like you're very close to remembering the name, but somehow the name won't pop up in your mind. Here's what you say: What's her name again? Hang on. It's on the tip of my mouth. Again: It's on the tip of my mouth. When something is on the tip of your mouth, you think you know it and that you will be able to remember it very soon.

Now back to one of my classes. During a class in the morning, which is usually the period of the day when I teach children and teenagers, a child said a dirty word for apparently no reason. As a teacher I had to give him a telling off, meaning to say I complained to him, and told him to watch his mouth. Do you know what that means? When you see a mother, a father or any authority figure saying to their children "hey, watch your mouth!", that means they've probably just said something rude and they're being told to pay attention to what they're saying and not to say anything inappropriate or rude anymore.

Cf. Como dizer "dar bronca" em inglês?

Do you have any more examples for idiomatic expressions with the word tongue? Leave them down in the comment section. Talk to you next time!

key expressions

• a slip of the tongue
• on the tip of the tongue
• watch your mouth