silver tongue

English

Etymology

From silver (adjective, noun) +‎ tongue (noun). Sense 1 (“trait of being articulate and clever at speaking”) is probably from silver-tongued, which is attested earlier than the noun.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌsɪlvəˈtʌŋ/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˌsɪlvəɹˈtʌŋ/
Audio (General Australian): (file)
Rhymes: -ʌŋ
Hyphenation: sil‧ver tongue

Noun

silver tongue (plural silver tongues)

(idiomatic) The trait of being articulate and clever at speaking, often in a deceitful way.
- 1835, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], “The Festival”, in Rienzi, the Last of the Tribunes. […], volume II, London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC, book IV (The Triumph and the Pomp), pages 189–190:
  [H]e passed into the saloon, where Nina presided; and here his fair person and silver tongue […] won him a more general favour with the matrons than he experienced with their lords, and not a little contrasted the formal and nervous compliments of the good Bishop, who served him on such occasions with an excellent foil.
(US) The song sparrow (Melospiza melodia).

Alternative forms

(bird): silver-tongue

Related terms

silver-tongued

Translations

trait of being articulate and clever at speaking

Finnish: sujuvapuheisuus, lipeväkielisyys, lipeväkielisyys
Galician: please add this translation if you can
Portuguese: língua afiada (pt)
Russian: златоу́ст (ru) m (zlatoúst)
Spanish: pico de oro

Melospiza melodia — see song sparrow

References

^ “silver tongue, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2023.
^ “silver tongue, adj.”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
^ “silver, n. and adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2024; “silver, n., adj., and v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.