loosen someone's tongue
Make them talk
To loosen someone's tongue is to get them talking, especially about things they might normally keep private.
Alcohol loosens tongues at parties.
So does flattery, trust, or the right question at the right moment: A few drinks loosened his tongue and he told me everything.
- coaxingPersuading through gentle persistence
- good cop bad copAlternating hostile and sympathetic interrogators
- guiltMoral self-reproach
- trustConfidence in another
- fearEmotional response to threat
persuasion · active listening · heart to heart · open up · curiosity · anger · whistleblowing · flattery · empathy · excitement · sedatives · gossip · spill the beans · drugs · intoxication · liquid courage · in vino veritas · under the influence
loosen someone's tonguehush up
Suppress information deliberately
cover up · put a lid on · keep mum · clamp down on · close ranks
loosen someone's tonguebutton one's lip
Remain deliberately silent
clam up · stonewall · keep quiet · play dumb · plead the fifth
loosen, loose, loosely, looseness, loosening, loosened, looser, loosest, someone