Tip of Your Tongue (Idioms)

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Welcome to English in a Minute!

Your tongue helps you swallow and speak. So what happens if something is on the tip of your tongue?

Tip of Your Tongue

Speaker A: Hey Anna, what’s the name of the new intern? I can’t remember.
Speaker B: Oh, you mean… Oh, what’s her name? It starts with a P. No, R! Rrrr … Robin? Rrrr … It’s on the tip of my tongue! Rrrr … Rachel? Rrrr …
Speaker A: It’s okay. I’ll go ask Ashley.
Speaker B: Patience, Dan. Oh, Diane!

When something is on the tip of your tongue, you are trying to remember a name or word but can’t quite think of it. We say it’s on the tip of your tongue because you are really close to remembering it – as if it’s about to come out of your mouth.

And that’s English in a Minute!

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*This article has been edited and reprinted from VOA Learning English with permission from Voice of America (VOA) for use in English language materials.