forked tongue

English

Pronunciation

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Noun

forked tongue (plural forked tongues)

1. The split tongue of a snake.
2. (idiomatic) The characteristic of deceptiveness; duplicity; untruthfulness.
   • 2008 March 10, Kavi Chongkittavorn, “OPINION: Regional Perspective”, in The Nation, Bangkok, Thailand, retrieved 26 March 2008:

     This man has a forked tongue and lacks credibility.

Derived terms

• speak with a forked tongue

Translations

split tongue of snake

• Swedish: kluven tunga c, gadd (sv) c (archaic)

deceptiveness; untruthfulness

• Spanish: lengua viperina
• Swedish: kluven tunga c

See also

• Janus-faced
• viperine