keep a civil tongue in one's head speak politely. ∎ express one's feelings or opinions freely, sometimes objectionably so. the gift of tongues the power of speaking in unknown languages, regarded as one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2).
get one's tongue around pronounce (words): she found it very difficult to get her tongue around the unfamiliar words. PHRASES: find (or lose) one's tongue be able (or unable) to express oneself after a shock.
lick or caress with the tongue: the other horse tongued every part of the colt's mane. sound (a note) distinctly on a wind instrument by interrupting the air flow with the tongue. ∎ a jet of flame: a tongue of flame flashes four feet from the gun. ∎ the vibrating reed of a musical instrument or organ pipe. ∎ a projecting strip on a wooden board fitting into a groove on another. ∎ a strip of leather or fabric under the laces in a shoe, attached only at the front end. a thing resembling or likened to a tongue, in particular: ∎ a long, low promontory of land. ∎ ( tongues ) see the gift of tongues below. ∎ a particular language: the prioress chatted to the peddler in a strange tongue.
∎ used in reference to a person's style or manner of speaking: he was a redoubtable debater with a caustic tongue. ∎ the tongue of a hoofed mammal, in particular an ox or lamb, as food. ∎ an analogous organ in insects, formed from some of the mouthparts and used in feeding. ∎ the equivalent organ in other vertebrates, sometimes used (in snakes) as a scent organ or (in chameleons) for catching food. the fleshy muscular organ in the mouth of a mammal, used for tasting, licking, swallowing, and (in humans) articulating speech.