hold one's tongue

Idioms  

1. Also,. Keep quiet, remain silent, as in If you don't hold your tongue you'll have to go outside, or Jenny kept her peace about the wedding. The idiom with tongue uses hold in the sense of “restrain,” while the others use hold and keep in the sense of “preserve.” Chaucer used the first idiom in The Tale of Melibus (c. 1387): “Thee is better hold thy tongue still, than for to speak.” The variant appears in the traditional wedding service, telling anyone who knows that a marriage should not take place to “speak now or forever hold your peace.” [First half of 1300s] Also see keep quiet.

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Example Sentences

At least this once, one could hold one's tongue.

From Time Magazine Archive

True, one must be able to hold one's tongue when necessary, and Mrs. Paaschen, who is so inquisitive, is really not at all according to my taste.

From The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Volume 12 by Various

Oh, there's plenty of mystery about it all; and, once more, it's better to hold one's tongue!

From The Secret of Sarek by Leblanc, Maurice

They were both aware that it is sometimes better to hold one's tongue.

From Sir Tom by Oliphant, Mrs. (Margaret)

Anyhow, it seemed quite impossible to hold one's tongue that afternoon.

From My Young Days by Konewka, Paul

Related Words

• cut off
• gag
• muffle
• mute
• muzzle
• quash
• quell
• squelch
• stifle
• subdue
• suppress