Meaning of Idiom ‘Watch Your Mouth’
When we say watch your mouth to someone we are telling them to be careful what they say; to pay attention to the words they use and be mindful and cautious to avoid being offensive or rude; to not curse.
Watch your mouth is essentially a way of telling someone, ‘you should not have said that,’ with the implication that they should not speak that way in the future.
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Usage
What your mouth is often, but not exclusively, used by parents to their children.
We usually use this expression when someone has just said something rude or offensive or when we think they are about to say something rude or offensive. It is especially used to tell a child or another person not to swear.
Variations of watch your mouth are watch your language and watch your tongue.
Examples Of Use
“Watch your mouth, young man!” said mom. “You know how I feel about cursing in this house.”
“I’ll thank you to watch your mouth around here. We can’t have the kids hear language like that and the parents won’t bring them back!”
“Watch your language,” said the teacher, “unless you’d like to visit the principal’s office.”
Origin
The word mouth in this idiom is used to refer to the kind of language a person uses or the way they talk.
For example, we might say someone has a smart mouth if they are sarcastic and snide, a dirty mouth, or potty mouth if they use vulgar language.
The word watch is used in the sense of ‘be careful and pay attention.’
For instance, if someone tells you to watch your step, they mean that you should be careful of where you are stepping so you don’t trip or slip.
So, to ‘watch your mouth’ means to be careful what you say.
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