keep a civil tongue in one's mouth
keep a civil tongue in one's mouth is the alternative form of keep a civil tongue in one's head.
Meaning of keep a civil tongue in one's head
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)
- 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
Forms of keep a civil tongue in one's mouth
| third-person singular present | keeps a civil tongue in one's mouth |
|---|---|
| present participle | keeping a civil tongue in one's mouth |
| past participle | kept a civil tongue in one's mouth |
| past | kept a civil tongue in one's mouth |
Questions about keep a civil tongue in one's mouth
- What is keep a civil tongue in one's mouth the alternative form of?
- Keep a civil tongue in one's mouth is the alternative form of keep a civil tongue in one's head.
Words near keep a civil tongue in one's mouth in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: keep a civil tongue in one's mouth (page history and authors); 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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Cite this entry: “keep a civil tongue in one's mouth.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/keep_a_civil_tongue_in_one%27s_mouth. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.