roll off the tongue

present singular third person rolls off the tongue · participle present rolling off the tongue · participle past rolled off the tongue · past rolled off the tongue · alternative roll off one's tongue · alternative roll from the tongue · alternative roll from one's tongue · alternative run from the tongue · alternative run off the tongue · alternative trip from the tongue · alternative trip off the tongue

1. idiomaticusuallyspeechTo proceed into oral expression in a manner which is fluent, appealing, or glib.

   "Coddling criminals"—the alliteration makes it roll pleasantly off the tongue!

   1914, Julian Hawthorne, chapter 5, in The Subterranean Brotherhood

   4 more examples

   [H]e repeated under his breath: "The Rock of Chickamauga! The Rock of Chickamauga!" It rolled resoundingly off the tongue, and he liked it.

   1915, Joseph A. Altsheler, chapter 14, in The Rock of Chickamauga

   Pilobolus is a word so fine and fat as it rolls off the tongue that, like a kitten or a May morning, it needs no meaning.

   1978 November 20, “Dance: Fungus, Fantasy and Fun”, in Time

   Oh, the rhythm of my heart / Is beatin' like a drum / With the words "I love you" / Rolling off my tongue

   1986, Marc Jordan, John Capek, “Rhythm of My Heart”, in Vagabond Heart, performed by Rod Stewart, published 1991

   I'm a fan of Aaron Sorkin. . . . I just like the way his dialogue rolls off the tongue. I like to hear people say the words he writes.

   2012 July 14, Kate Murphy, “Eric Stonestreet”, in New York Times, retrieved 14 Aug 2012