tongues wag
People are gossiping. For example, Tongues wagged when another police car was parked in front of their house, or Their arrival in a stretch limousine set the neighbors' tongues wagging. This metaphoric expression transfers the rapid movement of the tongue to idle or indiscreet chatter. [Late 1500s]
Words Nearby tongues wag
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
How to use tongues wag in a sentence
Should I keep her in my household and let the tongues wag, as they were doing, or clatter if Zoe should have a child?
Children of the Market Place | Edgar Lee MastersNow or never must he snatch her from difficulty and disgrace—let hostile tongues wag as they pleased—and make her his.
The Marriage of William Ashe | Mrs. Humphry WardWho would think that those long dusty boxes on the shelves were making scores of iron tongues wag hundreds of miles off?
Curiosities of Civilization | Andrew WynterDeign to keep it in heart, for the neighbours' tongues wag as to Iémon and O'Hana.
The Yotsuya Kwaidan or O'Iwa Inari | James S. De BennevilleTheir tongues wag like flowing water until the passers-by are attracted to their stalls.
Tales of Old Japan | Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford
Browse