tongue-in-cheek
2017.05.30
Meaning:
Put your tongue in your cheek – what happens to your eye? You’ll probably close one eye – in English, closing one eye is called ‘winking’. We wink for many reasons, but one of the most common reasons is to show that we are joking. So, the expression ‘tongue-in-cheek’ comes from this body language – it means ‘joking / not serious’. Its nuance is mainly positive, but it can be a little negative.
Example:
①
A: Henry just told me he can’t be friends with me because I don’t drink tea!
B: Don’t worry. He’s just being tongue-in-cheek. He’s British. That’s how they talk.
②
A: I’m so tired of Lucy’s tongue-in-cheek comments. Yesterday she said, ‘Paris would be wonderful if they removed all the French people.’
B: That’s pretty funny, actually…
A: Hey! I’m French!
Talking Point(s):
Do you make tongue-in-cheek comments?
大人からの英会話getgo 西船橋・荻窪・津田沼・本八幡