langue

n. f.

1. Avaler sa langue:

  a To 'keep mum', to hold one's tongue.

  b To stifle a yawn.

  c To 'snuff it', to 'croak', to die.

2. General meaning: chatter, gossip. Avoir la langue bien pendue: To have the gift of the gab. Ne pas avoir sa langue dans sa poche: To have a glib tongue, to be quick on the verbal draw. Se mordre la langue:

  a To stop short of saying something.

  b To regret having said something. Faire aller les langues: To set tongues wagging. Etre mauvaise langue: To be a gossip-monger. Etre une langue de vipère: To be mean-mouthed.

3. Donner sa langue au(x) chat(s): To give up guessing (where a question or riddle is concerned).

4. Avoir la langue qui fourche: To make a slip of the tongue. Zut, ma langue a fourché! No, that's not what I meant to say!

5. Faire une langue fourrée: To exchange a 'French kiss'.

6. Langue fourrée princesse: Cunnilingus.

7. Tirer la langue:

  a To be near the end of one's tether, to show signs of exhaustion.

  b To be starving.

  c (of health or finances): To be in a bad way.

8. Faire tirer la langue à quelqu'un (of employee or subordinate): To drive someone too hard.

9. La langue verte: Argot, slang.