Bite your tongue
Suggest a CorrectionMeaning
To hold back from speaking, especially something harsh or unwise, clamping down on words.
Origin
From 16th-century England, tied to physical restraint; biting one's tongue stopped cries, as in Shakespeare's 1597 'Henry VI' where silence avoids woe. A 1630 proverb uses it for tact. By the 19th century, it was common, as in an 1870s tale of stifled rage, growing into a sharp idiom of biting back words.
Variants
- Bite the tongue
Usage Examples
- Bite your tongue; don't tell her she's wrong yet.
- He bit his tongue instead of snapping back.
- I had to bite my tongue during that awful speech.
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