Episode 298: Tongue in Cheek

This week Shauna and Dan explore having your tongue in your cheek, or the simplified version, tongue in cheek. Bonus: General irreverence, New Zealand's parliamentary insults, and Tongue-based assistive devices

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Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast
Episode 298: Tongue in Cheek
Record Date: October 12, 2025
Air Date: October 22, 2025

Intro

Shauna:
Welcome to Bunny Trails, a whimsical adventure of idioms and other turns of phrase. 

I’m Shauna Harrison

Dan:
And I’m Dan Pugh

Each week we take an idiom or other turn of phrase and try to tell the story from its entry into the English language, to how it’s used today.

Opening Hook
I think we’ve all been on social media at some point where we read a post that just made us stop and go… what? Even with emojis, it can be hard to understand if someone is exaggerating, or trolling, or just being sarcastic. Sometimes I feel like the love language of the internet is tongue-in-cheek.

Meaning
I love this definition from Merriam-Webster Dictionary. If something is being done, ‘tongue in cheek’ it is:

Quote
characterized by insincerity, irony, or whimsical exaggeration
End Quote
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tongue-in-cheek 


This phrase appears to have started out with the concept of speaking insincerely, kind of like crossing your fingers when you say something to signify that you are not being truthful. One might thrust their tongue into their cheek to show they were being insincere, or might do the same to show they felt someone else was being insincere. 

1748
And that is how we first see the phrase in this early example from The Adventures of Roderick Random Volume II, second edition by Tobias Smollett. The second edition is dated 1748. I don’t know if this was in the first edition as I can’t find a copy of it, so we’ll stick with 1748. Smollett actually uses the phrase twice in the work. Here is the first one:

Quote
I saluted each of them in order, and when I came to take Mr. Slyboot by the hand, I perceived him thrust his tongue in his cheek, to the no small entertainment of the company but I did not think proper to take any notice of it, on this occasion.
End Quote

Clearly Mr. Slyboot was not impressed with this first meeting of Mr. Random. There is a sly insincerity from Mr. Slyboot in his reaction to the handshake. Not humor per se, but not necessarily insult. And here is the second usage, in which Mr. Random is on a coach along with Miss Snapper and a solider who is quite full of himself with poor manners. The coach is robbed, but the thief is accosted by townsfolk who were following the thief after an earlier robbery in the day. The solider, boasting later, tells Miss Snapper he would have stopped the robbery if only Mr. Random had not been in the way. Miss Snapper tells him she doesn’t believe him, and the solider becomes angry. Mr. Random steps in to remind the solider of proper manners:

Quote
I signified my contempt of him, by thrusting my tongue in my cheek, which humbled him so much, that he scarce swore another oath aloud during the whole journey.
End Quote
https://www.google.ie/books/edition/The_Adventures_of_Roderick_Random/0QsUAAAAQAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=tongue+in+my+cheek&pg=PA207&printsec=frontcover

This usage is more in line with the insincerity angle, with no humor being used. And it has clearly been taken as an insult by the soldier. 

1786
This next one is interesting, because it is an interpretation of Scots poems from the manuscripts of Sir Richard Mailand. The full title is Ancient Scotish poems, never before in print. But now published from the MS. collections of Sir Richard Maitland of Lethington, Knight, Lord Privy Seal of Scotland, and a Senator of the college of Justice, Comprising pieces written from about 1420 till 1586. With large notes, and a glossary. This is from volume II and has a date of 1786. The phrase appears in the notes on a line from a poem:

Quote
In line 23, bukkie in my cheik means, I suppose, that she thrust her tongue in her cheek at him, behind his back.
End Quote

It seems a reasonable interpretation based on A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue, which has an entry for bukkie as:

Quote
The shell of a whelk or other mollusc. Also fig. a protuberance in the cheek of a person.
End Quote
https://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/buckie 

And if so, it could point to this kind of phrase having a much older origin (between 1420 and 1586, at least) through the Scots languages prior to moving to English. It is not uncommon for older phrases to exist in other languages before English co-opts them. It always feels like English is just a variety of other languages in a trenchcoat, pretending to be a grown up language.

But to the 1786 possible interpretation, the reference to her putting her tongue in her cheek is used with the phrase ‘behind his back’, indicating it is something she doesn’t want the person to know she is doing. So the interpretation is that she believes he is being insincere and might be mocking him. 

1833
This next one is from Tom Cringle’s Log dated 1833. In it, Tom convinces an anti-slaver to tell him his story, which he does and Tom finds it authentic but the anti-slaver doesn’t take himself too seriously. 

Quote
…at length, as he warmed, he stretched forth his arms like Saint Paul in the Cartoon - and although he now and then could not help sticking his tongue in his cheek, still the exhibition was so true and so exquisitely comical, that I never shall forget it.
End Quote
https://www.google.ie/books/edition/Tom_Cringle_s_log_In_two_volumes_etc/VcMUS8gCNucC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22tongue+in+his+cheek%22&pg=PA182&printsec=frontcover

1876
Here’s an example from the Gentleman’s Magazine dated February, 1876 in a story called The Shadow of the Sword by Robert Buchanan.

Quote
And now… if the little Corporal away yonder should hold up his snuff-box… and cry ‘Corporal Even Derval, I have need of more of your boys’, they would smile - Hoel, Fildas, Alain, and Jannick - they would smile all four - and I, the old grenadier of Cismone, Arcola, and Austerlitz, I, do you see, with my rheumatism and my wooden leg, would march to join him… at the head of my Maccabees!

Strictly speaking, the enthusiasm of the Maccabees seemed greatly reduced by the sepulchral turn the conversation had taken. Hoel, Gildas, and Alain did not this time cry "Vive L’Empereur,” and the irreverent Jannick put his tongue in his cheek.
End Quote
https://archive.org/details/gentlemansmagaz369unkngoog/page/140/mode/2up?q=%22tongue+in+his+cheek%22

Jannick is likely of my own heart as I am often described as irreverent in my humorous responses. “Is nothing sacred to you, Dan?” No, not really. There is not much I take seriously. 

1900
This is an excerpt by Lieutenant Colonel Lord Raglan of the Royal Monmouthshire Engineers, Militia, out of Great Britain in the The Journal of the Royal United Service Institution. This is talking about recruits to the service and is dated January 1900. 

Quote
At the present moment we lay down a hard and fast rule that a man must be eighteen, but everyone knows as well as possible that very few recruits are eighteen. A man tells you a lie with his tongue in his cheek, and you know he is telling a lie, and he knows that you know he is telling a lie, but under the present condition you are bound to take him.
End Quote
https://www.google.ie/books/edition/Journal_of_the_Royal_United_Service_Inst/5hwmAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22tongue+in+his+cheek%22&pg=PA12&printsec=frontcover 

1940
Here are three quick examples from the New Zealand Parliament as captured in the Parliamentary Debates in 1940. Our first one is dated May 31 and is on emergency regulations:

Quote
Did they want to endeavour to impress on the Government the fact - they call it a fact - that tens of thousands in this country were dissatisfied with the Government’s conduct of the war effort? Does that indicate his desire for co-operation? I felt when he was speaking that he evidently had his tongue in his cheek.
End Quote
https://www.google.ie/books/edition/Parliamentary_Debates/mu8LAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22tongue+in+his+cheek%22&pg=PA786&printsec=frontcover

And this one dated June 19 regarding a supply bill:

Quote
The honourable member for Tauranga talked about frittering away 47,000,000 pounds of sterling funds. The honourable gentleman knows better than that, and he was talking with his tongue in his cheek.
End Quote
https://www.google.ie/books/edition/Parliamentary_Debates/mu8LAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22tongue+in+his+cheek%22&pg=PA786&printsec=frontcover

And this last one dated July 26 talking about public works:

Quote
If the honourable gentleman looks at the death statistics he will see that many lives were lost as a result of the absence of good roads, and that was when local bodies had full control over their own roads. What is the use of the honourable gentleman talking with his tongue in his cheek about the so-called superior management of the highways and byways during the control by local authorities?
End Quote
https://www.google.ie/books/edition/Parliamentary_Debates/mu8LAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22tongue+in+his+cheek%22&pg=PA786&printsec=frontcover

All three of these examples were used in the most formal of situations, showing the phrase, at least in 1940s New Zealand, was a common occurrence in the language. 

1959
I want to end the first half of the show with an artwork. With My Tongue in My Cheek is a self-portrait by Marcel Duchamp done with pencil on paper. It is associated with the Surrealism movement and is currently on display in Paris, France. Here is a synopsis from artchive.com:



Quote
The artwork presents a stark and hasty rendition of a human profile. The drawing captures a side view that provides a sense of three-dimensionality and depth, achieved through shading and contouring. Texture is evidenced by the numerous small dots and stippling effects across the depicted facial features, which show attention to detail, lending a tactile roughness to the surface. The face is dominant in the composition, while another faint sketch of a nose and eye appears toward the right, suggesting either a dual perspective or an overlay of thoughts or identities. This aligns with the Surrealist motivation to explore the unconscious and present imagery beyond ordinary perception. There is an informal and spontaneous aesthetic to the work, as demonstrated by the visible paper perforations at the top and the presence of the handwritten title and artist’s signature at the bottom, which conveys a sense of personal connection and directness between the artist and the viewer. The hand-written elements add a note of intimacy and authenticity, cementing Duchamp’s playful engagement with the viewer through the literal and figurative reference in the title, which might allude to an attitude of irreverence or jest.
End Quote
https://www.artchive.com/artwork/with-my-tongue-in-my-cheek-marcel-duchamp-1959/

It’s that last part, the attitude of irreverence that captures so much of tongue-in-cheek throughout the ages. Even when it is being used as insincerity, or mocking, or even good-natured humor there feels like a sense of irreverence with it, which the artwork’s title captures quite well.

With that, it’s time to move to our more modern uses but first we need to say thank you to our sponsors. 

A Quick Thank You
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Modern Uses

1971 Song
Tongue in Cheek by Sugarloaf is a song off the 1971 album Spaceship Earth. While the phrase never appears in the lyrics, the song itself is an ironic look at the things men say when they are in love. Here are some of the lyrics:

Quote
I want to feel that you're here whenever I call
I need to be in your eyes ten feet tall

And when I see you walking down the street
You know how my head gets that funny feeling

You have me acting like a man insane
Right now I feel high just on your mane

Slow down, my head's spinning 'round like I just stood up too fast
Woman you heal my hungry feel each time you walk past
End Quote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29_BqalOaMc 

1986 Album
Tongue in Cheek is a 1986 album by reggae singer Smiley Culture. It featured songs such as Schooltime Chronicle, Mr. Kidnapper, Customs Officer, Nuclear Weapon, and a release of his 1984 song, Police Officer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM3j-hX1NVI&list=PL-_xyoeu_JSFzPjdXY3hcDmpMMB0pbs1o

I am mostly hoping the album and song titles tell us all we need to know.  Otherwise, I’ll remain blissfully ignorant of David Emmanuel, aka Smiley Culture. 

2001 Album
Relient K is a rock band formed in 1998 and named for the guitarist's car. In 2001, they released their second album, The Anatomy of Tongue in Cheek. We’ll link to the studio’s youtube where you can listen to the entire album. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owZjZcu3xGM 

The band has always kept a foot in the Christian rock scene, which led them to recording the only song they did that I am familiar with - The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything from the original soundtrack of the Veggietales Movie of the same name. My kids loved Veggietales. I can sing songs from memory about singing produce, water buffaloes, and one that I still sing often in my head every day where you wash your hands before you eat, message from the Lord. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRYBVbGk6IE

2005 Book
Tongue in Cheek is a 2005 romance novel by Fiona Walker. Here’s the synopsis from the publisher:

Quote
From the very first day that they move to the Oddlode Valley, it's inevitable that young teacher Mo Stillitoe, recently separated socialite Diana Lampeter and cool, retired dressage diva Anke Brakespear will find their lives entangled. Despite their differing generations and backgrounds, the women are on a relocation collision course. As inept removal men deliver furniture - and even horses - to the wrong houses, other moves are being made . . . Mo's bad boy lover takes Diana's eye, Anke's flirtatious husband immediately suggests Mo hop into bed with him – and Diana's local heart-throb brother comes joyfully face to face with the Danish ice-maiden he posted on his wall as a teenager.

As a long, hot Indian summer burns its embers into winter, the newcomers settle into their beautiful frost-hugged surroundings, generating enough heat to melt every heart in Oddlode. New passions ignite and old flames are fanned amid the honeyed villages, enchanted gardens, haunted parkland and raucous country social life. The heat is on, and sparks fly - but is this just a flash in the pan or is somebody fuelling the fire?
End Quote
https://www.google.ie/books/edition/_/u8UHGwAACAAJ?hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjXz-6dn5yQAxWtQUEAHZ0hB5QQ7_IDegQIDxAE 

2009 Scholarly Article
Next up is an article published in the September 23, 2009 edition of the Journal of Assistive Technologies. The article is titled: Tongue in cheek: a novel concept in assistive human machine interface by Michael Mace, Ravi Vaidyanathan, Shouyan Wang, and Lalit Gupta. It focused on a tongue movement ear pressure signal device to allow people to control devices with the ‘flick of a tongue’.
https://doi.org/10.1108/17549450200900020
https://www.emerald.com/jet/article-abstract/3/3/14/203805/Tongue-in-cheek-a-novel-concept-in-assistive-human?redirectedFrom=fulltext 

This led me down a really interesting bunny trail about tongue-based assistive devices - from this article published in 2009 to products on the market today. We are going to look more at that journey in our behind the scenes episode, which airs every Friday on our patreon, patreon.com/bunnytrailspod.

2015 Art Exhibit
Tongue In Cheek Collection is an exhibit by Phoebe Adams in 2015. Here’s a little about it from her website:

Quote
The Tongue In Cheek Collection was created for a show with Shan Hooper at Penny Contemporary Gallery. The show was a cheeky exploration of lesbian sexuality through art and design as part of the TasPride Fesitival (sic). The show came about as a prize reward from the Penny Contemporary Gallery for our entry The Diversatron in Artfully Queer 2014. 
End Quote
https://www.phleabytes.com/tongue-in-cheek-collection 

It featured objects like the Lick, Suck, Sip Liquor Cabinet 2015 made from medium density fiberboard, shag pile carpet, clear acrylic, acrylic paint, tequila, salt shakers, salt, lemons, limes, and shot glasses, as well as the Meow Utility Box 2015 made from faux fur and medium density fiberboard holding a container of boxed wine.

2019 Book
Tongue In Cheek: The Funny Side of Life is a 2019 book by Khyrunnisa A., who may be best known as the author of the children’s character Butterfingers. She has now written a book for adults. It’s a collection of articles she wrote for The Hindu MetroPlus. Here’s the synopsis from the publisher:

Quote
A BOOK FOR ALL TIMES, TONGUE IN CHEEK SHOWS US HOW HUMOUR CAN ENLIVEN THE MOST ORDINARY OF EXPERIENCES.

Tongue in Cheek is a rib-tickling ride—and everyone’s invited! Within these pages, Khyrunnisa A. gamely experiments with organic trash-based skin care, battles her way to a wedding feast, firmly deals with a contemptuous visitor to her home and flavours her potato curry with rather dubious ingredients.

Every paragraph crackles with laughter, and page after page is fun. A guaranteed pick-me-up that has something for every reader.
End Quote
https://books.google.ie/books/about/Tongue_In_Cheek_The_Funny_Side_of_Life.html?id=r5UUEQAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y  
https://www.khyrunnisa.com/home#h.w3lj8mbilkeb

I do like slice of life style humor books. David Sedaris and Dave Barry do something similar in two drastically different styles, so I might check this one out. 

2022 Podcast
I know I’ve jokingly been harsh on the saucier side of the book genre on the show, but it has mostly been tongue in cheek. While it’s not my favorite genre, I think it has a place and I’m glad it exists. And here is a podcast that is glad it exists, too. Tongue in Cheek is a podcast that started in 2022 and is still running as of this recording. Here is the synopsis from their website.

Quote
Welcome to the Tongue In Cheek Podcast, a show about smut, where nothing is off the table and every kink gets a seat. Join us as we go on an irreverent, hysterical, and often surprisingly revealing adventure through the wilds of this underrated smutty book genre. If you like smutt, you’ll love us.
End Quote 
https://tongueincheekpodcast.buzzsprout.com/ 

The show does carry the Explicit rating, so keep that in mind if you want to go listen. You can likely find them in the same place you are listening to us.

Wrap Up
I think the thing that I love about the tongue in cheek phrase is the irreverence. As I mentioned at the top of the show, I don’t take very many things seriously. Almost nothing is sacred, and oftentimes what I find to be sacred is a moving target. It has been said that if Dan’s lips are moving, he is joking around, being sarcastic, or being satirical. And that irreverence is part of what defines me. And it means I perpetually have my tongue in my cheek. 

Dan:
That’s about all we have for today. If you have any thoughts on the show, or pop culture references we should have included, 
reach out to us on Patreon, patreon.com/bunnytrailspod or comment on our website bunnytrailspod.com

Shauna:
It’s poll time!

Recently posed this question to our patrons: At a backyard BBQ, do you opt for hot dogs or hamburgers?

Hamburgers pulled the landslide win.

JGP said
Quote
Hamburger for me. Mostly because if I'm offered a hamburger I generally know what to expect but there's such variety with hot dogs and the different ingredients in different brands that makes it harder to know if there's something I am allergic to in it.
End Quote

Dan:
Jan added:
Quote
Hamburgers. There’s nothing wrong with a hotdog, but a hamburger just is a little more special for me. I like smash burgers. My favorite hamburger is bbq sauce, blue cheese and bacon with a pickle. I first had that day Pops in Arcadia, Oklahoma. 
End Quote

I'm usually a hamburger guy cause they are more filling and I can pile stuff pretty high on them without causing a scene. But if the hot dogs are cheddar brats then I'll switch to those because they are just. so. good. 

Like Jan, I also love smash burgers. My go-to at home is grilled jalapeno, bacon, ketchup, mustard, and mayo. I love dill pickles, but I could go either way for them on my hamburger. For brats or dogs, I usually go with just mustard and dill relish. Light and simple.

Shauna:
As a reminder, our silly polls mean absolutely nothing and are not scientifically valid. And patrons of all levels, including our free tiers, can take part. Head over to patreon.com/bunnytrailspod to take this week’s poll!

Outro 

Shauna:
Thanks for joining us. We’ll talk to you again next week. Until then remember, 

Together:
Words belong to their users.