It was ongue in cheek

Reader question:

Please explain “tongue in cheek” in this sentence: He said that he was a huge fan of President Trump, although I suspect it was tongue in cheek.

My comments:

US President Donald Trump, that is.

“He”, whoever that is, said he’s a big fan of President Trump but the speaker doesn’t believe it. The speaker believes that his remark was made in jest.

Perhaps he made a face when he made those remarks, by pushing his cheek with his tongue, while giving the speaker a knowing wink.

Tongue-in-cheek, you see, is a facial expression actors and actresses sometimes make when they say something jovial or sarcastic. They make a tongue-in-cheek face to draw attention to the fact they’re making this remark for amusement or irony or some other effect. They don’t want you to miss the irony. They don’t want you to take it seriously.

In our example, “he” said he’s a “huge fan” of President Trump, but the speaker feels his admiration of the President-elect is not sincere. In other words, he’s not a real fan of the former as well as the next President of the United States.

Anyways, metaphorically speaking, if something someone said is deemed tongue-in-cheek, it is considered a joke or something insincere. Don’t take their words at face value.

Don’t take their words at face value, that is, but take their tongue-in-cheek for real.

Let’s read a few tongue-in-cheek examples to get a better feel:

1. President Donald Trump flatly contradicted his aides on Tuesday when he said he does not “kid,” after they had for days been arguing he was joking when he said at a weekend campaign rally he had told officials to slow down coronavirus testing.

It was yet another instance of the White House scrambling to come up with language to play down one of his comments that had triggered a firestorm, only to have Trump himself, in the end, providing a completely different explanation.

This time, top deputies had repeatedly argued Trump was kidding when he told supporters in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday: “When you do testing to that extent, you’re going to find more people, you’re going to find more cases. So I said to my people, ‘Slow the testing down, please.’”

But on Tuesday, Trump said he does not joke.

“I don’t kid,” Trump told reporters outside the White House Tuesday, en route to speak to young supporters at a megachurch and visit the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona, a coronavirus hotspot. “Let me just tell you – let me make it clear: We have got the greatest testing program anywhere in the world.”

The morning after Trump’s speech in Tulsa, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro had said in an interview with CNN that Trump’s comment was “tongue in cheek.”

“That was a light moment for him at a rally,” Navarro said.

…

Later that morning, in an interview with Scripps National News, a reporter asked Trump himself – twice – if he had actually asked his staff to slow down testing.

Given the opportunity to expand on his widely criticized comment, the president said nothing about whether he had been kidding.

“Uh,” Trump said, pausing. “If it did slow down, frankly, I think we’re way ahead of ourselves, if you want to know the truth. We’ve done too good a job.”

- Trump says ‘I don’t kid’ after aides argue he was joking about slowing coronavirus testing, ABCNews.com, June 24, 2020.

2. West Ham manager David Moyes spoke about Jurgen Klopp after his side’s draw with Liverpool - and his comments have left fans in stitches.

The Hammers scored a late equaliser at the London Stadium to secure a 2-2 draw and keep their fading European qualification hopes alive.

Most of the focus post-match, though, was on a touchline row between Klopp and Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah – with both manager and player subsequently having their say on the incident.

The match did, of course, represent Klopp’s last visit to the London Stadium as the Liverpool manager, having announced his departure at the end of this season.

Moyes paid tribute to the German's accomplishments at Anfield in his pre-match programme notes, describing Klopp as “up there with the very best” of managers in the history of English football.

The Scot again praised Klopp after the match – although in a much different style. And fans couldn’t quite believe what he began with.

Moyes commented: “I’ll be glad he’s gone.

“F***ing too big, teeth are too bright. He’s been immense for Liverpool, he’s the daddy there and has been able to control a big football club.

“Hurry up and get away Jurgen!”

Moyes smiled as he delivered the remark, which was clearly tongue-in-cheek towards one of the most successful managers in Liverpool’s history – with the press room descending into laughter.

- David Moyes’ comments towards Jurgen Klopp after Liverpool draw have left everyone in stitches, SportBible.com, April 27, 2024.

3. Tom Brady’s first NFL game as a broadcaster was a somewhat rocky experience. Which should probably have been expected, despite how effortless the future Hall of Famer made football look. Brady is a rookie again and rookies will take their lumps. He had some good moments on the Fox Sports broadcast of the Dallas Cowboys’ win over the Cleveland Browns but there was plenty of criticism about his debut on the call.

And some of it, unexpectedly, came from Scott Hanson. The NFL RedZone host made headlines on Sunday when he said Brady “has gotta get more excited than that in the booth” as the Cowboys lined up to attempt a 71-yard field goal.

On Monday, Hanson apologized for saying that, writing on X (formerly Twitter) that it was “unfair and inconsiderate” even if it was tongue-in-cheek. He also emphasized that he is rooting for Brady to succeed in his second career.

“This was unfair & inconsiderate by me,” Hanson said. “Yes, I was saying it tongue in cheek – but I didn’t calculate how it may come across. @TomBrady, I apologize. I promise I am rooting you on in this new venture!”

- Scott Hanson Apologizes to Tom Brady for ‘Inconsiderate’ Broadcasting Comment, SI.com, September 9, 2024.

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About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.

（作者：张欣）