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on the tip of one's tongue

Idioms  

  1. 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]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Listen to the surging Say You'll Be There: the groove is penetrating, but the whole thing sounds suspiciously like an Earth, Wind and Fire song that's just on the tip of one's tongue.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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