cat got one's tongue

A comment made when someone is unaccountably or unusually quiet, as in We haven't heard from you all morning-has the cat got your tongue? Often put as a question, this term originally was used mainly with a child who did something wrong and refused to answer any questions. Today it is used more generally to ask anyone to speak. [Mid-1800s]

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Ida	IE-də (English), EE-dah (German, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, Italian)	English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Hungarian, Slovene
Barbour	['ba:bə]
AliÉNor	a-lye-NOR (French)	Occitan
Melvyn	MEL-vin	English
Colby	['kəulbi]
CaoimhÍN	KEE-veen, KWEE-vin	Irish