"This is just another "Snow" job. Washington has always spoken with forked tongue so what is new. "
What does that idiom mean?
What does that idiom mean?
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"forked tongue"
"This is just another "Snow" job. Washington has always spoken with forked tongue so what is new. "
What does that idiom mean?
This idiom ("to speak with a forked tongue") means to be dishonest or deceptive. It's related to the symbolic image of snakes as conniving and deceptive (which may be rooted in the biblical story of Adam and Eve being tricked by a serpent).
I always heard it was an Indian (native American) expression, based on Plains sign language.
I've always associated it with snakes.....the forked tongue of the snake looking so threatening as it goes in and out of the gaping mouth. Of course, it's not the tongue that ejects the venom but it's the image of that forked tongue which people associate with evil. Just as with some people who use their tongues as weapons....to good effect.
btw: actually I quite like (unharmful) spam.....nice lightly fried with hot chili relish.
Well, in the Plains sign language system, to speak with a forked tongue literally meant to speak with two tongues -- to lie. I don't know if it had anything to do with snakes as far as Indians were concerned.
Perhaps this is a case of different people attaching a different significance to the same term. |