silver-tongued orator

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
See also:
  • no love lost between them, there's
  • give someone his/her head, to
  • pick a bone (with someone), to
  • silver tongue
  • a silver/smooth tongue
  • there's something in the wind
  • up one's sleeve, to have something
  • moon (is) made of green cheese, (and) the
  • eat one's cake and have it, too, to
  • give one's eyeteeth for, to
References in periodicals archive
Little known to many is that this silver-tongued orator is a home-grown Bisaya (Hiligaynon).
Follow your star...or rise above it
Srinivasa Sastri (son of a poor temple priest who became known as the silver-tongued orator of the British Empire) and the late Dr Abdul Kalam, former president of India, who did not let their humble backgrounds hinder their dreams, Sivakumar told students "nothing is impossible to achieve."
Actor Sivakumar's Trust honours underprivileged students
I'm not surprised at that statement from this silver-tongued orator, but I am amazed that there are still so many people willing to let him make fools of them.
Dangerous Obama must be stopped
The silver-tongued orator was never at a loss for words, and he spoke with a ready arsenal of logic.
"If this be treason ...": when it looked as if England's new Stamp Act would be met with a meek response, Patrick Henry led the campaign against it, stirring colonists against the king
People in Kansas were soon talking about this young, silver-tongued orator. Speculation was that Archer would run for governor himself some day, or perhaps win a seat in the U.S.
The dream lives on: Americans United's first executive director Glenn Archer died in November, but the organization he built is still fighting for freedom
"He is a silver-tongued orator who could read the phone directory and it would sound better than any of Lawrence Olivier's Shakespearian performances."
She's Fordham's black nun who knows show business: minority affairs leader sees Jesus as part actor. (Nation)
She became a silver-tongued orator without the asking.
Mother Teresa -- faith and good works