honey-tongued

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English

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Adjective

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honey-tongued (comparative more honey-tongued, superlative most honey-tongued)

  1. Sweet-speaking; persuasive; seductive.
    • c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies [] (First Folio), London: [] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:
      This is the flower that smiles on every one,
      To show his teeth as white as whale’s bone;
      And consciences, that will not die in debt,
      Pay him the due of honey-tongued Boyet.
    • 1612, Thomas Heywood, “First touching their Antiquity”, in An Apology for Actors[1], London: Nicholas Okes:
      In Iulius Cæsars time [] the famous hony-tong’d Orator Cicero florished; who, amongst many other his eloquent Orations, writ certaine yet extant []
    • 1634, Francis Meres, “A comparatiue discourse of our English Poets, with the Greeke, Latine, and Italian Poets”, in Wits Common Wealth, The Second Part[2], London: William Stansby, page 623:
      As the soule of Euphorbus was thought to liue in Pythagorus: so the sweete wittie soule of Ouid liues in mellifluous and hony-tongued Shakespeare, witnesse his Venus and Adonis, his Lucrece, his sugred Sonnets among his priuate friends, &c.
    • 1826, [Mary Shelley], The Last Man. [], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, [], →OCLC, pages 72-73:
      Among his other advantages, Lord Raymond was supremely handsome; every one admired him; of women he was the idol. He was courteous, honey-tongued—an adept in fascinating arts.
    • 1955, C. S. Lewis, chapter 7, in Surprised by Joy[3], London: Geoffrey Bles, page 109:
      He was a grey-head with large spectacles and a wide mouth which combined to give him a froglike expression, but nothing could be less froglike than his voice. He was honey-tongued. Every verse he read turned into music on his lips: something midway between speech and song.

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