Editing Tongue (section)

===Figures of speech===
The tongue can serve as a [[metonymy|metonym]] for ''language''. For example, the [[New Testament]] of the Bible, in the Book of [[Acts of the Apostles]], [[Jesus]]' disciples on the Day of [[Pentecost]] received a type of [[spiritual gift]]: "there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the [[Holy Ghost]], and began to speak with other tongues&nbsp;....", which amazed the crowd of [[Jew]]ish people in [[Jerusalem]], who were from various parts of the [[Roman Empire]] but could now understand what was being preached. The phrase ''[[mother tongue]]'' is used as a child's first language.  Many languages<ref>[[Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]] ''tong''; [[Danish language|Danish]] ''tunge''; [[Albanian language|Albanian]] ''gjuha''; [[Armenian language|Armenian]] ''lezu'' (լեզու); [[Greek language|Greek]] ''glóssa'' (γλώσσα); [[Irish language|Irish]] ''teanga''; [[Manx language|Manx]] ''çhengey''; [[Latin]] and [[Italian language|Italian]] ''lingua''; [[Catalan language|Catalan]] ''llengua''; [[French language|French]] ''langue''; [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] ''língua''; [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''lengua''; [[Romanian language|Romanian]] ''limba''; [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] ''ezik'' (език); [[Polish language|Polish]] ''język''; [[Russian language|Russian]] ''yazyk'' (язык); [[Czech language|Czech]] and [[Slovak language|Slovak]] ''jazyk''; [[Slovene language|Slovene]] and [[Serbo-Croatian]] ''jezik'' (језик); [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]] ''ziman'' (زمان); [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Urdu]] ''zabān'' (زبان); [[Arabic]] ''lisān'' (لسان); [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] ''liššānā'' (ܠܫܢܐ/לשנא); [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] ''lāšon'' (לָשׁוֹן); [[Maltese language|Maltese]] ''ilsien''; [[Estonian language|Estonian]] ''keel''; [[Finnish language|Finnish]] ''kieli''; [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] ''nyelv''; [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]] and [[Turkish language|Turkish]] ''dil''; [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]] and [[Khakas language|Khakas]] ''til'' (тіл)</ref> have the same word for "tongue" and "[[language]]", as did the [[English language]] before the [[Middle Ages]].

A common temporary failure in word [[Recollection|retrieval]] from [[memory]] is referred to as the [[Tip of the tongue| ''tip-of-the-tongue'']] [[phenomenon]]. The expression ''[[Tongue-in-cheek|tongue in cheek]]'' refers to a statement that is not to be taken entirely seriously – something said or done with subtle ironic or sarcastic humour. A ''[[tongue twister]]'' is a phrase very difficult to pronounce. Aside from being a [[Ankyloglossia|medical condition]], "tongue-tied" means being unable to say what you want due to confusion or restriction. The phrase "cat got your tongue" refers to when a person is speechless. To "bite one's tongue" is a phrase which describes holding back an opinion to avoid causing offence. A "slip of the tongue" refers to an unintentional utterance, such as a [[Freudian slip]]. The "gift of tongues" refers to when one is uncommonly gifted to be able to speak in a foreign language, often as a type of [[spiritual gift]]. [[Speaking in tongues]] is a common phrase used to describe ''glossolalia'', which is to make smooth, language-resembling sounds that is no true spoken language itself. A deceptive person is said to have a [[forked tongue]], and a smooth-talking person is said to have a {{Linktext|silver tongue}}.