He was saying it tongue-in-cheek
He was not being serious
TRANSLATION
tongue-in-cheek = mit ironischem Unterton --- GOOGLE INDEX tongue-in-cheek: approximately 3,000,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Monday night on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," he told the nation that in a show of support for Detroit, he's putting on a free comedy show April 7 for anyone who's out of work. Leno added TONGUE-IN-CHEEK that anyone who didn't enjoy the free show can get a refund.
(Yahoo! News)
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Mark Twain's previously unpublished short story The Undertaker's Tale is a TONGUE-IN-CHEEK piece about the funeral industry.
(The Guardian)
(Yahoo! News)
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Mark Twain's previously unpublished short story The Undertaker's Tale is a TONGUE-IN-CHEEK piece about the funeral industry.
(The Guardian)
Did you
know?
tongue-in-cheek
adjective phrase
- meant or expressed ironically or facetiously.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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WORD ORIGIN
Tongue-in-cheek is a term used to refer to humour in which a statement, or an entire fictional work, is not meant to be taken seriously, but its lack of seriousness is subtle.
Wikipedia cites the origin of its use from when Spanish minstrels would perform for various dukes in the 18th century. These dukes would silently criticise the silliness of the minstrel's performances by placing their tongue firmly to the side of their cheek. Although many sources claim the expression originated in the 18th century, there is no evidence that Spanish dukes were the first to use this peculiar gesture.
In a show of mass "tongue-in-cheek" humour, a coastal town in Scotland imposed a month-long ban on whistling in an attempt to ensure good weather for its annual boating festival. The tongue-in-cheek ban was imposed by the organisers of the port's Scottish Traditional Boat Festival. Festival chairman Roger Goodyear said that everyone from dog walkers to over-enthusiastic builders admiring the town's young ladies had been asked to observe the ban.
(sources: Wikipedia, BBC News)
Here are some other common tongue expressions to get your tongue around:
- A slip of the tongue = An unintended word
- A tongue-lashing = Very severe criticism
- On the tip of the tongue = Almost remembered
- I bit my tongue = I forced myself not to speak
- Cat got your tongue? = Why aren't you speaking?
- Causing tongues to wag = Creating gossip
- Hold your tongue! = Don't speak!
- A sharp tongue = A critical voice
- Silver-tongued = A charming, fluent speaker
- Speak with forked tongue = to speak lies, untruths (like a snake)
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SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"When I said that their business is going just great, I was speaking tongue-in-cheek."
adjective phrase
- meant or expressed ironically or facetiously.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
---
WORD ORIGIN
Tongue-in-cheek is a term used to refer to humour in which a statement, or an entire fictional work, is not meant to be taken seriously, but its lack of seriousness is subtle.
Wikipedia cites the origin of its use from when Spanish minstrels would perform for various dukes in the 18th century. These dukes would silently criticise the silliness of the minstrel's performances by placing their tongue firmly to the side of their cheek. Although many sources claim the expression originated in the 18th century, there is no evidence that Spanish dukes were the first to use this peculiar gesture.
In a show of mass "tongue-in-cheek" humour, a coastal town in Scotland imposed a month-long ban on whistling in an attempt to ensure good weather for its annual boating festival. The tongue-in-cheek ban was imposed by the organisers of the port's Scottish Traditional Boat Festival. Festival chairman Roger Goodyear said that everyone from dog walkers to over-enthusiastic builders admiring the town's young ladies had been asked to observe the ban.
(sources: Wikipedia, BBC News)
Here are some other common tongue expressions to get your tongue around:
- A slip of the tongue = An unintended word
- A tongue-lashing = Very severe criticism
- On the tip of the tongue = Almost remembered
- I bit my tongue = I forced myself not to speak
- Cat got your tongue? = Why aren't you speaking?
- Causing tongues to wag = Creating gossip
- Hold your tongue! = Don't speak!
- A sharp tongue = A critical voice
- Silver-tongued = A charming, fluent speaker
- Speak with forked tongue = to speak lies, untruths (like a snake)
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SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"When I said that their business is going just great, I was speaking tongue-in-cheek."
