Term Gallery logo

Meanings of hold one's tongue in English

To stop speaking or making noise.

Synonyms
Examples for "be silent"
Examples for "be silent"
1
It is a case of be silent or stand up, he said.
The Irish Times
2
The wood-pigeon in the fir trees could not be silent any longer.
Field and Hedgerow: Being the Last Essays of Richard Jefferies
3
In the presence of tears I can neither speak nor be silent.
Love and Other Stories
4
He will be silent; he has the power to make her so.
Wisdom, Wit, and Pathos of Ouida / Selected from the Works of Ou...
5
I wonder whether you can be silent in the sight of night-fishing.
Feats on the Fiord / The third book in "The Playfellow"
1
Go in the spare room, where it is cool; we'll keep quiet.
A Daughter of the Land
2
You need to be able to keep quiet when hunting and fishing.
Reuters
3
The story is that my father paid her to keep quiet, right?
The hellfire club
4
The longer they keep quiet and do nothing, the better for us.
The Boy Allies in Great Peril; Or, With the Italian Army in the ...
5
So they keep quiet and hope someone else will take the risk.
Earth Afire
1
Paris and the provinces broke out; the Parliament did not keep silent.
Memoirs of Louis XIV and His Court and of the Regency — Volume 0...
2
Although the Manchester police cleared Drake, she demanded money to keep silent.
Ebony
3
Maybe Gervaise made her keep silent, and the words just built up.
All together dead
4
Speak up clearly when you are spoken to, and keep silent otherwise.
To the blight: the eye of the world
5
Mark was right at his back, doing his best to keep silent.
The Kill Order
1
Roth later allowed people to return after admonishing them to remain silent.
Reuters
2
All 33 members had invoked their right to remain silent, he added.
Reuters
3
Republican candidates did not exactly remain silent following the San Bernardino shooting.
The Guardian
4
The law gives me the right to remain silent in any event.
Moral
5
Yet he could tell that they were struggling to remain silent, too.
Worldwinder
Usage of hold one's tongue in English
1
Under many circumstances it is not difficult to hold one's tongue.
How to Study and Teaching How to Study
2
It is a very good thing to be able to hold one's tongue!
Stories to Tell to Children
3
In times like these, one must hold one's tongue.
The Rise of the Dutch Republic — Volume 08: 1563-64
4
If one could always hold one's tongue as to what one sees, one would be the better for it.
Pepper & Salt; or, Seasoning for Young Folk
5
When one has talked to one's self for a great many years it is hard to hold one's tongue in public.
Clair de Lune / A Play in Two Acts and Six Scenes
6
"That's of course, mamma," said Camilla; "but yet one can't hold one's tongue altogether.
He Knew He Was Right
7
"Well, well," the other broke off impatiently; "no doubt it is better to hold one's tongue.
Bonnie Prince Charlie : a Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden