Way With Words: Tongue in Cheek

On occasion you run into a phrase that has more usage in writing than in speaking.

In the case of ‘tongue in cheek,’ the phrase is heard on occasion verbally by people describing someone who’s trying not to laugh or who is mocking someone, although it is most often used in a written narrative to describe the character’s disposition and demeanor.

“The Fair Maid of Perth” by Sir Walter Scott is one of the earliest uses in writing, when the phrase signified contempt, “The fellow who gave this all-hail thrust his tongue in his cheek to some scapegraces like himself.”

However later on, the term evolved to signify getting one’s mirth under control by biting the tongue to hold down a guffaw of laughter.

Usually rowdy children, or the ‘trickster’ archetype in fiction is described as ‘tongue in cheek.’

Overall, most get the gist of the phrase even today, and know that Bobby is joking when his tongue is clearly being bitten to stop the laughter.