on the tip of one's tongue

Idioms & Phrases

on the tip of one's tongue

Ready to utter something but unable to remember it at the moment, as in I met him last year and his name is on the tip of my tongueit'll come to me in a minute. [Early 1700]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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