hold your tongue


hold (one's) tongue

To stay quiet despite wanting to say something If you want to say something rude to my girlfriend, please hold your tongue, all right?See also: hold, tongue

hold your tongue

If you hold your tongue, you do not speak. Douglas held his tongue, preferring not to speak out on a politically sensitive issue. Note: People sometimes say hold your tongue as an angry way of telling someone to be quiet. `Hold your tongue, woman,' he had warned her furiously.See also: hold, tongue

hold your tongue

remain silent. informalSee also: hold, tongue

ˌhold your ˈpeace/ˈtongue

(old-fashioned) say nothing; remain silent although you would like to give your opinion: We don’t want anyone to know what’s happened, so you’d better hold your tongue — do you understand? ♢ I didn’t want to start another argument, so I held my peace.See also: hold, peace, tongue