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Glite Dictionary
to loosen someone's tongue

to loosen someone's tongue

6.7
Make someone talk more and tell secrets
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : hacer hablar
  • A good conversation can really help to loosen someone's tongue and make them share their thoughts.

Examples

  • That'll loosen her tongue!

    The Strange Woman (1946)

  • The detective hoped that the presence of a friendly face would loosen her tongue during the questioning.

  • There is still one chance we may loosen her tongue.

    The Barbarians (1987)

  • A little electricity will loosen his tongue.

    Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

  • Maybe if I stuck him in a giant anthill, it would loosen his tongue, - and then I got him ! -

    The Rescuers Down Under (1990)

  • Seeing that mask, Lee knew he had been foolish to hope to loosen this man's tongue with a couple of glasses of homemade wine.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • He was pleased to see Rhoodie toss off half his glass at a swallow; wine might help loosen the fellow's tongue.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • After a few drinks, the shy man finally felt relaxed enough to loosen his tongue and share his secrets.

Synonyms

to open up
vsto loosen someone's tongue
  • Informal
149 2.9

Begin to talk honestly about your thoughts and feelings

is caused by another person instead of starting on their own
to spill one's guts
vsto loosen someone's tongue
  • Informal
5 8.1

To tell someone your private feelings or secrets openly

is caused by someone else to make that person speak freely

Antonyms

to silence
169 3.5

To stop someone from speaking or making noise

How Talkative

to open up
  • Informal
149 2.9
to loosen someone's tongue
  • Informal
6.7
to encourage
∞ 2.3
to prompt
217 3.6

Surface Forms

loosen someone's tongue infinitive
loosened someone's tongue past
loosened someone's tongue past participle
loosening someone's tongue present participle
loosens someone's tongue third person singular

Morphology

loosen + someone's + tongue

The verb 'loosen' (make less tight) combined with 'tongue' (here metonymically 'speech') yields a directly inferable meaning: to make someone's speech less restrained. This metaphorical use of 'tongue' for speaking is common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would very likely guess the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The idiom loosen someone's tongue may come from the idea of a tied or tight tongue that cannot move; when you loosen it, the person can speak more easily. So, it means 'to make someone willing to talk' or 'to reveal secrets'.