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tongue in cheek

tongue in cheek
T t

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [tuhng in cheek]
    • /tʌŋ ɪn tʃik/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [tuhng in cheek]
    • /tʌŋ ɪn tʃik/

Definitions of tongue in cheek words

  • noun tongue in cheek Anatomy. the usually movable organ in the floor of the mouth in humans and most vertebrates, functioning in eating, in tasting, and, in humans, in speaking. 1
  • noun tongue in cheek Zoology. an analogous organ in invertebrate animals. 1
  • noun tongue in cheek the tongue of an animal, as an ox, beef, or sheep, used for food, often prepared by smoking or pickling. 1
  • noun tongue in cheek the human tongue as the organ of speech: No tongue must ever tell the secret. 1
  • noun tongue in cheek the faculty or power of speech: a sight no tongue can describe. 1
  • noun tongue in cheek speech or talk, especially mere glib or empty talk. 1
See all 39 definitions of tongue in cheek

Information block about the term

Origin of tongue in cheek

First appearance:

before 900
One of the 4% oldest English words
before 900; (noun) Middle English tunge, Old English; cognate with Dutch tong, German Zunge, Old Norse tunga, Gothic tuggo; akin to Latin lingua (OL dingua); (v.) Middle English tungen to scold, derivative of the noun

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Tongue in cheek

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of Tongue in cheek

tongue in cheek popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 98% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

tongue in cheek usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for tongue in cheek

noun tongue in cheek

  • lip service — insincere expression of friendship, admiration, support, etc.; service by words only: He paid only lip service to the dictator.
  • mouthing — the action of speaking in a meaningless, bombastic, or hypocritical manner.
  • jive — swing music or early jazz.

adjective tongue in cheek

  • antic — an actor in a ludicrous or grotesque part; clown; buffoon
  • humorous — Archaic. moist; wet.
  • jokingly — something said or done to provoke laughter or cause amusement, as a witticism, a short and amusing anecdote, or a prankish act: He tells very funny jokes. She played a joke on him.
  • joshing — good-natured banter.
All 7 Synonyms of tongue in cheek

See also

Matching words

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