speak with a forked tongue
Say contradictory things
To speak with a forked tongue is to speak deceptively or duplicitously—saying one thing while meaning another, or making contradictory promises to different parties.
The image comes from the snake's forked tongue, associated with deception since the serpent in Eden.
The government speaks with a forked tongue when it promises peace while preparing for war.
- lieDeliberate falsehood
- white lieHarmless minor falsehood
- misleadCause false belief
- double talkPurposely ambiguous language
- euphemismMild substitute for bluntness
snake in the grass · Garden of Eden · biblical references · deceit · integrity · hypocrisy · equivocation · trustworthiness · insinuation · duplicity · two-faced · wolf in sheep's clothing · manipulation · pretense · fraud · Machiavellianism · ambiguity · falsehood
speak with a forked tonguespeak the truth
tell the truth · be honest · straight talk · speak plainly · tell it like it is
speaks, spoken, speaking, speaker, speakers, speakable, unspeakable, forked, forking