Meanings
- uncountableAngry words, harsh criticism.
[…] let us not be moved by the rough side of a shepherd lass’s tongue.
1924, George Bernard Shaw, Saint Joan, New York: Dodd, Mead, published 1946, Scene 6, p. 1103 more examples
But let them, if they plague thee long, Once feel the rough side of thy tongue:
1797, Thomas Bridges, A Burlesque Translation of Homer, 4th edition, London: G.G. and J. Robinson, Book 6, p. 3541876, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Charles of Orleans,” Chapter 4, in Familiar Studies of Men and Books, 1882, […] Louis was then in no humour to hear Charles’s texts and Latin sentiments; he had his back to the wall, the future of France was at stake; and if all the old men in the world had crossed his path, they would have had the rough side of his tongue like Charles of Orleans.
“[…] It’s going to add to my difficulties to take any girl on the trip. If you pile too much on me the flight may be a failure, and we’ll all be sorry then.” “She gave you a bit of the rough side of her tongue, I suppose?”
1940, Nevil Shute, chapter 3, in An Old Captivity, New York: William MorrowSynonyms: piece of one's mind, rebuke, reprimand, telling off, tongue-lashing
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAngry words, harsh criticism.
Cite this entry
the rough side of one's tongue. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20rough%20side%20of%20one's%20tongue
“the rough side of one's tongue.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20rough%20side%20of%20one's%20tongue. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “the rough side of one's tongue,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20rough%20side%20of%20one's%20tongue.
Source: the rough side of one's tongue on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.