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Glite Dictionary
to find one's tongue

to find one's tongue

1 7.2
To start speaking again after shock or surprise
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : recuperar el habla
  • After a moment of shock, she finally found her tongue and spoke up.
  • finally found one's tongue

Examples

  • Despite being surprised at the sudden announcement, she quickly found her tongue to respond.

  • I've got to tend this fire," Olivia said, finding her tongue at last.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Oh, you really have found your tongue, my dear.

    Dead Again (1991)

  • Look who found her tongue.

    A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)

  • Before his friend found his tongue, Jim added, "No, of course not."

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The salesman finally found his tongue.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • So you've found your tongue.

    Finian's Rainbow (1968)

  • The headmaster was the first one to find his tongue.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Doug found his tongue first.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Larissa found her tongue.

    Fiction book (1992)

Antonyms

to lose one's tongue
1 8.1

Become unable to speak when you feel nervous or embarrassed

How Vocal

to speak up
43 2.0
to find one's tongue
  • Informal
1 7.2
to stammer
26 4.8
to be quiet
231 1.0

Surface Forms

find one's tongue infinitive
finding one's tongue present participle
finds one's tongue third person singular
found one's tongue past
found one's tongue past participle

Morphology

find + one + tongue

The verb 'find' (recover) plus 'tongue' (organ for speech) yields a plausible metaphorical reading of 'recover one's speech', but the use of 'tongue' to mean 'ability to speak' is a metonymic/metaphorical extension rather than a literal composition. This mapping is partly transparent and occurs in some other languages, yet a B1 learner who knows the individual words may not reliably predict the idiomatic sense without prior exposure.

Etymology

The idiom find one's tongue creates the image of someone who has 'lost' their tongue after a shock and must find it before they can speak again. So, it means 'to get back the ability to speak'.