to speak with a forked tongue
1
9.6
- idiom
- Informal
:
hablar con doble sentido
- She accused him of speak with a forked tongue after hearing his contradictory statements.
Examples
-
Based on all the quotes, Davis seems to speak with a forked tongue.
Blog text (15) -
You speak with a forked tongue.
Blog text (29) -
You mean Danny Ayalon, who speaks with a forked tongue?
Blog text (23) -
Newt, are you a two-faced lying dog who speaks with a forked tongue?
Blog text (17) -
You speak with a forked tongue like a rattlesnake in the Mojave Desert or perhaps a cottonmouth.
Blog text (3) -
Yeah, well, Renee, if you really believed that, you wouldn't have spouted the rest of your nonsense because you speak with a forked tongue. "I am sick of women being reduced to their vaginas.
Blog text (30) -
Politicians often speak with a forked tongue, making promises they never intend to keep.
-
When he talks about helping the community, it feels like he speak with a forked tongue, as his actions tell a different story.
Synonyms
∞
1.3
To say something that is not true to trick someone
79
9.3
To speak in a way that tries to trick someone
11
7.6
Say something that is not true in a bold, obvious way
11
9.0
Say things that are not true to make people believe you
10
8.4
To talk in a way that is not honest to trick someone
7
9.9
To use unclear words to avoid giving a direct answer or telling the truth
3
5.9
To say something that is not exactly what happened to make it look better
3
9.1
To avoid giving a direct answer to hide the truth
1
9.9
To say different things to different people to hide the truth
1
9.5
To trick someone by using clever talk
1
9.6
To try to trick someone by saying things that are not true
To speak or act to hide the truth and avoid a clear answer
To avoid a direct answer by being unclear on purpose
To use unclear or false words to make people believe something untrue
To say lies or nonsense to trick someone
Antonyms
How Honest
Surface Forms
Morphology
speak + with + a + forked + tongue
The words 'forked' (split) and 'tongue' (speech) give a partial clue — a B1 learner might infer 'split' or 'two-sided' speech — but the idiomatic sense of deliberate deceit relies on a cultural/metaphorical association (e.g., the snake's forked tongue) that is not strictly compositional. Because the connection is suggestive but not fully predictable without prior exposure, and because similar metaphors exist in some but not all languages, this is best classified as semi-transparent.
Etymology
Speak with a forked tongue comes from the image of a snake's split tongue, which looks like it points two ways. People used this picture to describe someone who says one thing to one person and a different thing to another, so it now means 'to lie' or 'to mislead'.