speak with a forked tongue

English

Etymology

• Possibly from the split tongue of a snake.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

speak with a forked tongue (third-person singular simple present speaks with a forked tongue, present participle speaking with a forked tongue, simple past spoke with a forked tongue, past participle spoken with a forked tongue)

1. (idiomatic) To speak deceptively; to be duplicitous or untruthful.
   • 2008 March 26, “Let a real "probe" begin”, in Sandusky Register online, retrieved 26 March 2008:

     He's spoken with a forked tongue to reporters, and his explanations for launching a probe don't pass the plausibility and credibility tests.

Translations

Translations

• Dutch: met twee monden spreken
• Finnish: puhua yhtä ja sitten toista
• Polish: oszukiwać (pl) impf, oszukać (pl) pf
• Spanish: hablar con lengua viperina
• Swedish: tala med kluven tunga (sv)

See also

• out of both sides of one's mouth