tongue
- noun
- /tʌŋ/
- Specialized
- To fix the bell, the technician carefully examined the tongue that produces the ringing tone.
Examples
-
The chef had cooked the tongue to perfection—tender and not too done, just shy of bloody.
Fiction book (1995) -
The church bell lost its tongue.
Fiction book (1993) -
The iron tongue of midnight hath told 12.
-
Women whispered at the well while the men shook their heads and clucked their tongues in the synagogue.
Fiction book (2001) -
Every day, hundreds of Polish visitors climb the spiral stone staircase in the bell tower of the cathedral to touch the massive tongue of the Zygmunt bell, cast in 1520 and weighing eleven tons.
Fiction book (2001) -
The bell rang loudly as the tongue struck the sides, creating a beautiful sound.
-
When the tongue inside the bell is loose, it fails to produce a clear sound.
Synonyms
A metal piece inside a bell that hits its side to make sound
Idioms
- Informal
Stop yourself from saying something you want to say because it would be rude
Compounds
- Informal
A small mistake you make while speaking, like saying the wrong name
- Specialized
A thin flat stick doctors press on the tongue to check the mouth and throat
- Specialized
A way of joining wooden boards by fitting an edge into a matching slot to make a flat strong surface
- Specialized
A temporary dark patch that appears on the tongue often after antibiotics
- Specialized
A fern with long flat pale green leaves that grows on trees or on the ground in warm places
- Indian
A tropical plant from Southeast Asia with large leaves, a dark red flower part, and edible underground stems
- Specialized
A decorative border with egg-shaped figures alternating with small pointed shapes
- Specialized
A harmless mouth problem where the tongue looks dark and furry because tiny bumps grow too long, often after antibiotics
A small garden plant with bright, soft, trumpet-shaped flowers often yellow or purple
- Specialized
A small flat sea fish with both eyes on the left side found on sandy bottoms
- Specialized
A small piece of skin under the tongue is too short from birth and stops the tongue moving well
- Specialized
A small wormlike parasite with hooks that lives inside the nose of animals like dogs or cows
- Specialized
An orchid with blue or purple flowers and a tongue-shaped part on the flower's lip
- Archaic
An old logging machine that lifts one end of a log with hanging tongs between its wheels
- Archaic
A historical logging machine that lifts one end of a log with hanging tongs between wheels to move it
- Archaic
Wheels with hanging metal hooks that lift one end of a log for pulling
- Specialized
A small North American spring flower with one yellow spotted blossom
Surface Forms
Etymology
Tongue was given to the metal striker inside a bell because, like a tongue, it hits and makes the bell 'speak', which is why that part of a bell is called the 'tongue'.