Tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek is an idiom that describes a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner.
History
The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning.[1][2][3] Early users of the phrase include Sir Walter Scott in his 1828 The Fair Maid of Perth.
The physical act of putting one's tongue into one's cheek once signified contempt.[4] For example, in Tobias Smollett's The Adventures of Roderick Random, which was published in 1748, the eponymous hero takes a coach to Bath and on the way apprehends a highwayman. This provokes an altercation with a less brave passenger: Template:Quote
The phrase appears in 1828 in The Fair Maid of Perth by Sir Walter Scott: Template:Quote
It is not clear how Scott intended readers to understand the phrase.[1] The more modern ironic sense appeared in a poem in The Ingoldsby Legends (1842) by the English clergyman Richard Barham, in which a Frenchman inspects a watch and cries: Template:Quote
The ironic usage originates with the idea of suppressed mirth—biting one's tongue to prevent an outburst of laughter.[5]