to choke on one's words
1
7.8
- idiom
:
tartamudear
- During the presentation, she choked on her words, struggling to express her ideas.
Examples
-
She choked on her words.
Fiction book (1997) -
He often chokes on his words when he's nervous speaking in front of a crowd.
-
I know, I know, it makes me choke on my words to admit it, but sometimes politicians can actually get science right.
Blog text (14) -
Yeah, right, and it was surprising that she didn't choke on her words.
Blog text (21) -
While trying to apologize, he choked on his words, feeling overwhelmed with emotion.
Synonyms
57
4.9
To speak with difficulty by repeating sounds or pausing often
26
4.8
To speak with short pauses and repeated sounds that make words hard to understand
16
4.6
To feel so upset that you cannot speak
14
6.6
Stop talking suddenly because you are nervous or do not want to say anything
4
7.5
To speak in short, broken sounds when angry or shocked
4
5.4
To speak in a weak, broken voice because of strong feeling
3
8.4
To speak slowly and pause instead of answering clearly because you feel unsure
1
7.4
Say something with great difficulty because you feel upset or nervous
1
8.1
Become unable to speak when you feel nervous or embarrassed
1
5.6
To speak with small pauses and mistakes because you are nervous
How Fluent
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines the literal verb 'choke' with 'on one's words' so the physical image of choking maps onto an inability to speak — a mapping many learners can infer from the parts. However, this is a metaphorical extension with pragmatic nuance (hesitation from nerves or emotion) that is not fully predictable from the constituents, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The idiom choke on one's words comes from the image of someone trying to speak but having their voice blocked, like when you choke on food and your words feel stuck in your throat. That's why it means 'to hesitate or fail to speak because of nervousness, embarrassment, or strong feeling'.