Cat got your tongue?

Hey everyone, for the last lesson of the month I will talk about a few idioms related to the word tongue (舌 - した). The first we'll look at is:

Cat got your tongue?

This is a question meaning "Why aren't you saying anything?" or "Why are you so quiet?" according to thefreedictionary.com it is most often used by adults towards children.

A: Hi Timmy what'd you do today?

B: ...

A: Cat got your tongue Timmy?

B: No, but I was playing baseball and broke a window...

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John: Hey Sam, how's it going?

Sam: ...

John: Hello, Earth to Sam... what's the matter? Cat got your tongue?

Sam: Oh, sorry, I was daydreaming and didn't hear you.

So you can use this question anyone is not talking to you or answering your questions. It has a friendly, casual feel.

Ok the second idiom we'll look at is:

It's on the tip of my tongue.

We use this when we are trying to remember something and we feel we are close to remembering it. It's usually used with NAMES...

A: Oh who's that guy that painted the Mona Lisa again?

B:Oh, I know that! It's -

A: No wait! I got it, it's on the tip of my tongue...

B: Yeah, it's Leo-

A: Yeah, yeah I got it! It's Leonardo Da Vinci!

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C: Who was that?

D: I forget her name... hmm, it's on the tip of my tongue...

D:...now I remember, she's Kara we went to university together.

Well that's it for this month, see you in February~!

Phil