Il faut tourner sept fois sa langue dans sa bouche avant de parler
Meaning: Think carefully before you speak.
Language: French
Literally: One must turn one's tongue seven times in one's mouth before speaking
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: The number is the conventional seven of proverbs rather than a real count, and the physical absurdity is what makes it memorable. It is usually quoted after the damage is done.
More idioms — Body & Senses
- En avoir gros sur le cœur — To be full of unspoken hurt or resentment.
- En son for intérieur — In one's heart of hearts; in private conscience.
- Être médusé — To be struck dumb with astonishment.
- Motus et bouche cousue — Not a word to anyone.
- À fleur de peau — Raw and easily provoked, of emotions; or just at the surface.
- Avoir bon pied bon œil — To be in excellent shape, especially for one's age.
More French idioms
- À la Saint-Glinglin — Never — on a day that will never come.
- Une guerre picrocholine — A furious conflict over something trivial.
- Est-ce que je te demande si ta grand-mère fait du vélo ? — Mind your own business — a retort to an intrusive question.
- Décrocher la lune — To achieve the impossible — or, promised, to offer what cannot be delivered.
- Tomber comme à Gravelotte — To come down thick and fast, of rain or of blows.
- Veiller au grain — To stay alert for trouble.
From our proverbs
- Where God hath His church the devil will have his chapel. — Evil inevitably establishes itself wherever good flourishes, as opposing forces cannot co…
- The nearer the church the farther from God. — Proximity to religious institutions cannot substitute for genuine spiritual devotion or m…
- Pater-noster built churches, and Our Father pulls them down. — Reciting prayers alone, without genuine faith or action, cannot sustain what was built th…
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