Englishhold one's tongue
Meaning: To refrain from speaking.
Example: “I wanted to argue, but I held my tongue in front of the children.”
Equivalents in other languages
Italian: tenere a freno la lingua Literally: To hold back the tongue
Polish: trzymać język za zębami Literally: To hold tongue behind teeth
Origin: "Hold" here carries its older sense of restrain, and the phrase is genuinely ancient in English: Chaucer has it in The Tale of Melibee, around 1387 — "thee is better hold thy tongue still, than for to speak" — and Miles Coverdale's 16th-century translation of Matthew 26:63 renders Jesus's silence before his accusers as "Jesus helde his tonge." John Ray's 1670 proverb collection carries the same phrase forward into the modern era essentially unchanged. The traditional wedding vow's "speak now or forever hold your peace" is a close cousin, built on the same idea of restraint as a deliberate, effortful act rather than simple quiet.
More English idioms
- laugh all the way to the bank To be proved right or successful in the face of scorn, particularly as regards money.
- lead someone around by the nose To dominate someone; to force someone to do something.
- lend someone an ear To listen to someone.
- like water off a duck's back Having no effect on someone.
- look down one's nose at someone or something To be snobbish about someone or something.
- make one's blood boil To cause someone to become extremely angry.
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- Schlaumeier A smart aleck or know-it-all.
- 石頭 (Ishiatama) A stubborn, inflexible person who won't budge.
- Tu as du chien You have a certain irresistible magnetism — a je-ne-sais-quoi that draws people in.
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