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- keep a civil tongue in one's head
keep a civil tongue in one's head
keep a civil tongue in one's head
Speak politely, as in The teacher won't allow swearing; she says we must keep a civil tongue in our heads. This expression uses tongue in the sense of "a manner of speaking," a usage dating from the 1400s. An early cautionary version was "Keep a good tongue in your head, lest it hurt your teeth" (1595).
Common Names:
Name | Gender | Pronounced | Usage |
DÍDac | | - | Catalan |
Stacia | | - | English |
Dina (1) | | DIE-nə (English) | English, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek |
Kike | | KEE-ke | Spanish |
Soslan | | - | Ossetian |
Xabier | | sha-bee-ER | Basque, Galician |