with forked tongue

with (a) forked tongue

Duplicitously or beguilingly; untruthfully. It's becoming increasingly obvious that the president-elect spoke with forked tongue during his campaign. He learned quickly that speaking with a forked tongue was an effective way of getting ahead in business.
See also: forked, tongue
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

with forked tongue

untruthfully or deceitfully. humorous
The image is of the forked tongue of a snake, snakes being traditional symbols of treachery and deceit.
2002 New York Times Orpheus members have long spoken with forked tongues about conductors. They…make sweeping generalizations about them.
See also: forked, tongue
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • with (a) forked tongue
  • speak with a forked tongue
  • speak with forked tongue
  • have a forked tongue
  • forked tongue
  • tongue
  • on the tip of (one's) tongue
  • on the tip of one's tongue
  • on the tip of tongue
  • on the tip of your tongue
References in periodicals archive
In many Western films, books and comics, the 'Red Indian' would inevitably say, as it was yesterday, is today and shall be tomorrow (with parallels, perhaps, to Brexit negotiations and the EU?)-'White man speaks with forked tongue' Gary T Owain-Ashbrook Llanfair Talhaiarn
International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed hit out at opposition leaders for speaking with forked tongue on the issue involving relations between Malaysia and China.
Methinks Mr Meacher spoke with forked tongue. May he rust in lease.
Yes, the Prime Minister the 'speak with forked tongue' politician who tried unsuccessfully to persuade voters within the UK to remain in the EU but failed.
White man with forked tongue catches Kainai asleep again.
On the Greek bond front, it was kind of natural for the Cypriots to have large G-bond exposures, given their close historical and cultural ties to Greece, and given that Eurozone leaders were saying in the run up to the problems in Greece that no Eurozone country would default/restructure - kind of no longer worth reading Eurozone leaders lips, more like "they speak with forked tongue" after the latest Cypriot deposit gaffe.
"At the moment, we politicians speak with forked tongue to the police.
The fatal flaw is the unprincipled, devious politics of a leader who spoke with forked tongue.
He reminds us that we eat food, not money, and yet whilst we have farmers totally committed to serving their local communities, we have procurement systems which ignore that commitment, and a political system still speaking with forked tongue on "food security" - local is good - but we can always import our foodstuffs.
They speak with forked tongue, or, in the case of Wirral, (Steve) Foulkes tongue.
That old Red Indian saying `man speaks with forked tongue' springs to mind; the LACS has an ulterior motive, their own survival, and clearly cannot be trusted.
A SALESMAN speak with forked tongue. Lpg isn't being withdrawn, although Gordon Brown may raise the duty.
speaks then with forked tongue, and the lives of the poor workers do not improve.
American Psycho reeks of Reagan-age amorality ("Just say no!" Patrick orders his obeisant secretary, Chloe Sevigny), but to add that it speaks with forked tongue to Clinton-generated, bull-market amorality would belabor the obvious.
Those who try to trivialise the issue and muddy the waters with their inane talk of colour and free trade remind me of those cowboy and indian films many moons ago and the retort: "White man speak with forked tongue!" How outrageous when a person of the calibre of Mr Blair declares: "The national humiliation is we think the colour of our passports defines our sense of nationhood." Does this "weapons of mass destruction" silly man not recognise the intellectual vacuity of his insulting words?