orator
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Related to orator: oratory
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silver-tongued orator
One who is eloquently and artfully persuasive in speech. He might not have much experience in politics, but the candidate has proven to be a silver-tongued orator capable of winning over voters with his charismatic speeches. You've got to be something of a silver-tongued orator in the industry if you ever want to convince people that your product is worth investing in.
See also: orator
soapbox orator
One who makes an impassioned, impromptu speech. (Soapboxes were once commonly used as makeshift platforms for such speeches.) It seems like there's a soapbox orator on every corner in this city. Sorry, I couldn't hear you over that soapbox orator who's ranting about the government.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
silver-tongued orator
An eloquent and persuasive speaker. This term has been around since the sixteenth century, when it was applied to the preacher Henry Smith (ca. 1550–91) and to Joshua Sylvester (1563–1618), a translator. Silver has long been equated with something fast-flowing and dazzlingly bright, and thus is a natural metaphor for eloquent speech. The best-known recipient of the epithet “silver-tongued orator” was William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925), who not only was a wonderful speaker but advocated the free coinage of silver; he won the Democratic presidential nomination in 1896 as a result of a speech in which he said, “You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.”
See also: orator
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer