On the tip of your tongue

If something is on the tip of yoru tongue you can almost remember it, but it just won't come out. It's very frustrating to have this happen.
Wait, wait! I know your name! See, can you read it to me? It’s right there on the tip of my tongue.

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Idiom: On the tip of your tongue

As an English student, this idiom should be one you can use almost every time you speak English.

Sometimes, you want to use a word, but you can’t remember it.

You can almost remember it; it’s on the tip of your tongue, but no matter how hard you try, it just won’t come out.


If something is on the tip of your tongue, you can almost remember it, but it just won’t come out.


Then, 10 minutes after the conversation is over, Eureka!

You have found it!

Unfortunately, better late than never doesn’t apply to forgotten words in a conversation.

Anyway, the next time you can’t remember something, tell your teacher it’s on the tip of your tongue.

As a little bonus, if your memory loss is in any way related to age, saying it’s on the tip of your tongue is a great excuse to use.

If you can remember it, that is.


This post is understandable by someone with at least a 7th-grade education (age 12).

On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 75.

The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.