civil tongue

‘Hey, keep a civil tongue in your head, sparrow! That’s my friend you’re talking about,” gritted Matthias as he strode off to the right, tugging the lead.

My mother hated it when Father hit Sam for speaking out, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it, and anyway, she believed that Father was right, children ought to keep a civil tongue in their heads.

It’s hard to keep a civil tongue in the face of such inanity.

“Firstly,” growled Uncle Vernon, “you’ll keep a civil tongue in your head when you’re talking to Marge.”

If we’ve learned anything from the resounding success of the marriage equality movement, it’s that by telling the stories of our lives and loved ones, we can speak with a civil tongue, change minds and even pick up more votes.