Word.ws English Dictionary

keep a civil tongue in one's head

keep a civil tongue in one's head verb: to maintain a polite manner of speaking.

Verb

keep a civil tongue in one's head (third-person singular simple present keeps a civil tongue in one's head, present participle keeping a civil tongue in one's head, simple past and past participle kept a civil tongue in one's head)

  1. (idiomatic) To maintain a polite manner of speaking.
    • "I've had enough of that kind of talk. I don't intend to submit to your impudence. When you speak to me keep a civil tongue in your head."1875, Horatio Alger, chapter 20, in Herbert Carter's Legacy
    • "Keep a civil tongue in your head," cried the young man, his face paling in anger, at the insulting tone of the sailor.1914, Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapter 13, in Tarzan of the Apes

Forms of keep a civil tongue in one's head

third-person singular presentkeeps a civil tongue in one's head
present participlekeeping a civil tongue in one's head
past participlekept a civil tongue in one's head
pastkept a civil tongue in one's head
alternative formkeep a civil tongue
alternative formkeep a civil tongue in one's mouth
alternative formput a civil tongue in one's head
alternative formput a civil tongue in one's mouth

Questions about keep a civil tongue in one's head

What does keep a civil tongue in one's head mean?
Keep a civil tongue in one's head means to maintain a polite manner of speaking.
What part of speech is keep a civil tongue in one's head?
Keep a civil tongue in one's head is a verb.
What is the past tense of keep a civil tongue in one's head?
The past tense of keep a civil tongue in one's head is kept a civil tongue in one's head.

Words near keep a civil tongue in one's head in the dictionary

  1. keens
  2. Keenum
  3. Keenums
  4. keep
  5. keep a civil tongue
  6. keep a civil tongue in one's head
  7. keep a civil tongue in one's mouth
  8. keep a close watch
  9. keep a cool head
  10. keep a dog and bark oneself
  11. keep a lid on

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: keep a civil tongue in one's head (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-keep a civil tongue in one's head.ogg.

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