He tied a knot with his tongue he couldn't undo with his teeth.
Meaning: Careless words spoken in haste create consequences far harder to retract than they were to say.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
More proverbs about Communication
- Laws catch flies, but let hornets go free. — Powerful people evade justice through legal loopholes while the powerless are punished fo…
- He lies as fast as a dog can trot. — Persistent deceit flows so naturally that the liar never pauses or hesitates in their fal…
- Life lies not in living, but in liking. — Contentment and satisfaction matter more than mere existence or the accumulation of exper…
- Listeners never hear good of themselves. — Eavesdroppers discover harsh truths because people speak candidly when unobserved, unlike…
- Whom we love best to them we can say least. — Deepest affection often leaves us tongue-tied, unable to fully express what we feel most…
- Do as most do, and fewest will speak ill of thee. — Conformity to social norms shields you from criticism, though at the cost of individualit…
From our idioms
- papierek lakmusowy — A decisive test that reveals the true nature or quality of something.
- nic a nic — Not at all; not in the slightest.
- mieć głowę na karku — To be sensible, intelligent, and capable of thinking for oneself.