bite one's tongue

Quote

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Definition

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stop from saying something one wants to say; being quiet when one wants to talk

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Have you ever been in a situation when you really wanted to say something, but you had to stop yourself? Maybe, it was not the right moment to express your thoughts, or maybe, you didn’t want to offend someone. In life, we come across many situations where we have to behave properly, whether it is at work or school. Whether one likes it or not, in certain tricky situations one has to bite one’s tongue.

To bite one’s tongue means to stay quiet when you really want to say something. When your friend shows up to your party with some funny shoes, you do not tell your friend the truth. You bite your tongue to avoid hurting your friend’s feelings. It is hard to bite your tongue at work when your boss makes you angry, but you cannot say your true feelings because you could get fired!

Gabrielle Union prefers acting as a villain in movies because that type of character can say whatever they want to say. She is not able to say whatever she wants during an acting job and has to bite her tongue for specific roles.

Do you like to say whatever you want? Can you think of a time when you had to bite your tongue?

Examples

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“I wanted to tell Maya she was being too loud during the movie, but I bit my tongue and sat there quietly.”

“My boss was rude to me, but I bit my tongue because I did not want to get fired.”

“When my little brother told me he wanted to drop out of college, I bit my tongue and accepted his decision.”