keep a civil tongue in one's head

Meaning: (idiomatic)To maintain apolitemanner of speaking.1875,Horatio Alger, chapter 20, inHerbert Carter's Legacy:"I've had enough of that kind of talk. I don't intend to submit to your impudence. When you speak to mekeep a civil tongue in your head."1914,Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapter 13, inTarzan of the Apes:"Keep a civil tongue in your head," cried the young man, his face paling in anger, at the insulting tone of the sailor.1943March 25,Dorothy Dix, “Dorothy Dix”, inSpartanburg Herald, retrieved24 January 2016, page 5:If every high-tempered man knew that his wife would leave him if he dared curse her because the coffee was cold, or dinner fifteen minutes late, he wouldkeep a civil tongue in his head.2012January 15,Nick Cohen, “Viscount Astor, you really are a class apart”, inGuardian, UK, retrieved23 January 2016:After Helena Bonham Carter, the great-granddaughter of Herbert Asquith, complained that for all her advantages and beauty directors would not hire her because she was not "trendily working class", an exasperated Kathy Burke found the effort ofkeeping a civil tongue in her headtoo much to bear. "As a lifelong member of the non-pretty working classes," she toldTime Out, "I would like to say to Helena Bonham Carter: shut up you stupid cunt."

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