"Tongue in Cheek"

“Tongue in Cheek”

One of the things I enjoy doing is researching the origins of common idioms. So when Karen suggested this title it was right up my alley (there’s another one to check out). “Tongue in cheek” was a sign of contempt in a 1748 novel by Tobias Smollett and used in the same way by Sir Walter Scott in 1828. But in 1842 English minister Richard Barham used it to express irony and sarcasm and since then for the most part it’s had this connotation.

As I rethought my dental experience described in the previous article I came to another realization: As long as my tongue remains in my cheek I can’t use it. Maybe I should practice this in everyday life more than I do!

I couldn’t find “tongue in cheek” in Scripture. But a related phrase appears five times (Job 29:10; Psalm 22:15; 137:6; Lamentations 4:4; Ezekiel 3:26): the tongue’s sticking to the roof of one’s mouth. Of these occurrences two have the idea of thirst. Since my mouth gets dry at night I have this problem as did children during the time of Babylon’s siege of Jerusalem around 586 BC (“Because of thirst the infant’s tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth….”—Lamentations 4:4) and David’s description of Jesus’ agony while on the cross (“…My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth….”—Psalm 22:15 cf. “I am thirsty.”—John 19:30). I need to pray that my thirst will be quenched and my speech purified by “…the washing of water through the word….” (Ephesians 5:26).

The other three instances carry the thought of keeping silent. When the people of Judah turned a deaf ear to God’s prophet’s warnings He told His servant, “I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent….” (Ezekiel 3:26). Solomon had written some 400 years previously that there is “…a time to be silent and a time to speak….” (Ecclesiastes 3:7). I need God’s help to know which time is which.

When we say something with tongue in cheek it’s not always to be taken seriously. But I must take the utmost care as to how I use my tongue because “…(I) will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word (I) have spoken.” (Matthew 12:36). Put another way, I’m responsible for my words. May I give a good account for them and keep my tongue in my cheek or stuck to the roof of my mouth when it should be.

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan