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| A brain is worth little without a tongue. French. | 1 |
| A bridle for the tongue is a necessary piece of furniture. | 2 |
| A good tongue has seldom need to beg attention. | 3 |
| A good tongue is a good weapon. | 4 |
| A long tongue betokens a short hand. Spanish. | 5 |
| A man may hold his tongue in an ill time. | 6 |
| A quiet tongue shows a wise head. | 7 |
| A slip of the foot may be soon recovered but that of the tongue never. | 8 |
| A slip of the tongue. | 9 |
| A smooth tongue is better than smooth locks. Danish. | 10 |
| A still tongue maketh a wise head. | 11 |
| All successful men know how to hold their tongues. Talleyrand. | 12 |
| All tongues are not made of the same flesh. | 13 |
| An unbridled tongue is the worst of diseases. Euripides. | 14 |
| Beware of a fine tongue, ’twill sting mortally. | 15 |
| Better a slip of the foot than of the tongue. French. | 16 |
| Between evil tongues and evil ears there is nothing to choose. Spanish. | 17 |
| Birds are entangled by their feet, men by their tongues. | 18 |
| Confine your tongue lest it confine you. | 19 |
| For a bad tongue scissors. Portuguese. | 20 |
| He cannot speak well who cannot hold his tongue. | 21 |
| He loses least in a quarrel who keeps his tongue in check. Danish. | 22 |
| He must have leave to speak who cannot hold his tongue. | 23 |
| He that knows not how to hold his tongue knows not how to talk. | 24 |
| He who has a bad tongue should have good loins. Italian. | 25 |
| He who holds his tongue does not commit himself. French. | 26 |
| He who holds his tongue saves his head. Turkish. | 27 |
| He who restrains not his tongue shall live in trouble. Ancient Brahmin. | 28 |
| Her tongue steals away all the time from her hands. | 29 |
| His tongue goes always of errands but never speeds. | 30 |
| His tongue is no slander. | 31 |
| I know enough to hold my tongue but not to speak. | 32 |
| Ill tongues ought only to be heard by persons of discretion. | 33 |
| In all contentions put a bridle on your tongue. | 34 |
| It is a gude tongue that says nae ill. | 35 |
| Keep your tongue out of other men’s pies. | 36 |
| Keep your tongue within your teeth. | 37 |
| Let him who is well off hold his tongue. | 38 |
| Let not the tongue utter what the head must pay for. Spanish, Portuguese. | 39 |
| Let not your tongue cut your throat. | 40 |
| Let not your tongue run away with your brains. | 41 |
| Long tongue, short hand. French, Italian. | 42 |
| Man is caught by his tongue and an ox by his horns. Russian. | 43 |
| Much tongue and much judgment seldom go together. L’Estrange. | 44 |
| Much tongue and money go together. | 45 |
| No one ever repented of having held his tongue. Italian. | 46 |
| One may hold one’s tongue in an ill time. | 47 |
| One pair of ears would exhaust a hundred tongues. Italian. | 48 |
| Point the tongue on the anvil of truth. Pindar. | 49 |
| Put a key on your tongue. Modern Greek. | 50 |
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| Silken tongue and hempen heart often go together. Danish. | 51 |
| Teach the tongue to say, “I do not know.” Hebrew. | 52 |
| The overlicking (flattering) tongue soon makes a wound. Russian. | 53 |
| The tongue breaketh bone though itself have none. | 54 |
| The tongue can no man tame: it is an unruly member. New Testament. | 55 |
| The tongue turns to an aching tooth. Latin. | 56 |
| The tongue is boneless but it breaks bones. Turkish. | 57 |
| The tongue is not steel yet it cuts. | 58 |
| The tongue is the rudder of our ship. | 59 |
| The tongue is the worst part of a bad servant. Juvenal. | 60 |
| The tongue kills a man and the tongue saves a man. Ashantee (Africa). | 61 |
| The tongue kills quicker than the sword. Turkish. | 62 |
| The tongue of a bad friend cuts more than a knife. Spanish. | 63 |
| The tongue of a fool carves a piece of his heart to all that sit near him. | 64 |
| The tongue of idle persons is never idle. | 65 |
| The tongue slays more than the sword. Turkish. | 66 |
| The tongue speaks wisely when the soul is wise. Homer. | 67 |
| The tongue talks at the head’s cost. | 68 |
| The tongue which is yielding endures, the teeth which are stubborn perish. Chinese. | 69 |
| The tongue wounds more than a lance. French. | 70 |
| The wise hand doth not all the foolish tongue says. | 71 |
| The wise man’s tongue is a shield not a sword. German. | 72 |
| There are some tongues so venomous no innocence escapes them. Fielding. | 73 |
| They are little to be feared whose tongues are their swords. | 74 |
They say the tongues of dying men
Enforce attention like deep harmony. Shakespeare. | 75 |
| Thistles and thorns prick sore, but evil tongues prick more. Dutch. | 76 |
| Turn your tongue seven times before speaking. | 77 |
| What the heart thinketh the tongue speaketh. | 78 |
| Who can govern his tongue is a strong man. German. | 79 |
| Who has a tongue in his head can go all the world over. Italian. | 80 |
| Who has not a good tongue ought to have good hands. German. | 81 |
| Who knows the tongue is at home everywhere. Dutch. | 82 |
| Who looks for a courtier’s tongue between the teeth of a clown. Fielding. | 83 |
| Who masters his own tongue his bread shall not fail. German. | 84 |
| Whose heart is narrow his tongue is large. Hebrew. | 85 |
| Your tongue runs before your wit. | 86 |
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