(Has the) cat got your tongue?
A humorous question directed at one who is not speaking very much or at all. A: "What's wrong, sonny? Cat got your tongue?" B: "Oh, he's just shy around new people, that's all." Has the cat got your tongue? Why am I the only one doing all the talking? A: "Cat got your tongue?" B: "I'm just not feeling well, that's all."
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
cat got one's tongue
A comment made when someone is unaccountably or unusually quiet, as in We haven't heard from you all morning-has the cat got your tongue? Often put as a question, this term originally was used mainly with a child who did something wrong and refused to answer any questions. Today it is used more generally to ask anyone to speak. [Mid-1800s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.