To say something tongue in cheek means to speak facetiously, ironical, or playfully, while maintaining a serious or deadpan facial expression.
When used as an adjective modifying a noun (such as a tongue-in-cheek comment), the phrase is hyphenated (tongue-in-cheek).
Full Meaning & Tone
- Core Meaning: Joking or poking fun while pretending to be completely serious; ironic humor delivered with a straight face.
- Grammatical Usage:
- Adverb (No hyphens): “She made the statement tongue in cheek.”
- Adjective (Hyphenated): “It was a tongue-in-cheek remark.”
Common Mistake: “Tongue IN Cheek” vs. “Tongue AND Cheek”
A surprisingly common error is typing or saying “tongue and cheek.” This is a classic linguistic eggcorn, a mistaken phrase resulting from mishearing a spoken idiom.
Why “Tongue AND Cheek” is Incorrect
- Not a Pair of Body Parts: Saying “tongue and cheek” makes it sound like a pair of anatomical features (like “hand and foot” or “skin and bones”).
- The Physical Action: The idiom relies on a spatial preposition (in or into), describing the physical act of pressing your tongue against the inside of your cheek.
If you write “tongue and cheek,” the phrase loses its literal physical imagery entirely.
Origin & History: Facial Expressions and Sarcasm
The idiom stems from the physical gesture of poking the inside of one’s cheek with the tongue.
19th-Century Sarcasm and Contempt
In 19th-century English literature, thrusting your tongue into your cheek was initially a physical gesture of contempt, mock respect, or silent mocking. Doing so behind someone’s back signaled to onlookers that you were ridiculing the speaker while feigning seriousness to their face.
Transition to Self-Restrained Humor
By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the physical gesture evolved into a way to keep oneself from smiling or laughing aloud after making an ironic joke. Over time, the physical act vanished, leaving behind the figurative idiom used today.
It is sometimes suggested that the physical action of sticking your tongue in your cheek was done to create a comical facial expression, to make it known that you were joking or take the seriousness out of a statement. If so, this action would be similar to winking or eye rolling.
Sentence Examples
“Of course I don’t believe that women belong in the kitchen, said Hugh, it was a tongue in cheek comment.”
“It’s only a thousand dollars? I may as well buy three,” Penny said tongue in cheek.
“The movie is a tongue-in-cheek homage to classic 1980s action films.”
Similar and Related Idioms
- Keep a Straight Face: Maintaining a serious expression while saying or seeing something funny.
- Pulling Someone’s Leg: Playfully tricking or teasing someone with a fake story.
- Just Kidding: A way of telling someone that you were joking when you made a certain statement.
- Said In Jest: Said as a joke rather than a serious statement.
- With a Wink and a Nod: Indirectly acknowledging a joke or shared secret.