Tongue-in-cheek: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|The fellow who gave this all-hail thrust his tongue in his cheek to some [[:wikt:scapegrace|scapegrace]]s like himself.}} |
{{quote|The fellow who gave this all-hail thrust his tongue in his cheek to some [[:wikt:scapegrace|scapegrace]]s like himself.}} |
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It is not clear how Scott intended readers to understand the phrase.<ref name=owens>{{cite news | |
It is not clear how Scott intended readers to understand the phrase.<ref name=owens>{{cite news |= |title='Tongue in cheek' is cut-and-dried phrase |work=The Oklahoman|= |= | quote=... Novelist Sir Walter Scott used 'tongue in cheek' as early as 1828 in 'The Fair Maid of Perth,' but it isn't clear what he meant.}}</ref> The more modern [[irony|ironic]] sense appeared in the 1842 poem "[[The Ingoldsby Legends]]" by the English clergyman [[Richard Barham]], in which a Frenchman inspects a watch and cries: |
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{{quote|'' 'Superbe! Magnifique!' '' / (with his tongue in his cheek)<ref name=owens/>}} |
{{quote|'' 'Superbe! Magnifique!' '' / (with his tongue in his cheek)<ref name=owens/>}} |
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Revision as of 13:30, 19 March 2022
The idiom tongue-in-cheek refers to a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a mock serious manner.
History
The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning.[1][2][3] Early users of the phrase include Sir Walter Scott in his 1828 The Fair Maid of Perth.
The physical act of putting one's tongue into one's cheek once signified contempt.[4] For example, in Tobias Smollett's The Adventures of Roderick Random, which was published in 1748, the eponymous hero takes a coach to Bath, and on the way, apprehends a highwayman. This provokes an altercation with a less brave passenger:
He looked back and pronounced with a faltering voice, 'O! 'tis very well—damn my blood! I shall find a time.' I signified my contempt of him by thrusting my tongue in my cheek, which humbled him so much, that he scarce swore another oath aloud during the whole journey.[5]
The phrase appears in 1828 in The Fair Maid of Perth by Sir Walter Scott:
The fellow who gave this all-hail thrust his tongue in his cheek to some scapegraces like himself.
It is not clear how Scott intended readers to understand the phrase.[1] The more modern ironic sense appeared in the 1842 poem "The Ingoldsby Legends" by the English clergyman Richard Barham, in which a Frenchman inspects a watch and cries:
'Superbe! Magnifique!' / (with his tongue in his cheek)[1]
The ironic usage originates with the idea of suppressed mirth—biting one's tongue to prevent an outburst of laughter.[6]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Owens, Gene (4 December 2007). "'Tongue in cheek' is cut-and-dried phrase". The Oklahoman. Phrases.org. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26.
... Novelist Sir Walter Scott used 'tongue in cheek' as early as 1828 in 'The Fair Maid of Perth,' but it isn't clear what he meant.
{{cite news}}
:|archive-date=
/|archive-url=
timestamp mismatch; 2021-02-07 suggested (help) - ^ Chay, H., Contrastive metaphor of Korean and English revealed in 'mouth' and 'tongue' expressions
- ^ Zoltan, I. G. (2006). "Use Your Body". Philologia.
- ^ Ayto, John (2009), From the Horse's Mouth, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-954379-3
- ^ Smollett, Tobias George (1780), The adventures of Roderick Random
- ^ Marshallsay, Nick (2005), The body language phrasebook, Collins & Brown, ISBN 978-1-84340-304-3
External links
- The dictionary definition of tongue-in-cheek at Wiktionary