on the tip of one's tongue


Ready to utter something but unable to remember it at the moment, as in I met him last year and his name is on the tip of my tongue—it'll come to me in a minute. [Early 1700]

Words Nearby on the tip of one's tongue

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.