Saturday, July 9, 2022

Butter wouldn't melt in his mouth : Looks like Mr Innocent to the public

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/butter+wouldn't+melt+in+his+mouth

https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/81900.html

"It would be no description of Mr Pecksniff's gentleness of manner to adopt the common parlance, and say that he looked at this moment as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. He rather looked as if any quantity of butter might have been made out of him, by churning the milk of human kindness, as it spouted upwards from his heart."


What's the origin of the phrase 'Butter wouldn't melt in his mouth'?

The allusion in this expression is to people who maintain such a cool demean or that they don't even have the warmth to melt butter. This is an old phrase - here's a citation from 1530, in Jehan Palsgrave's Lesclarcissement de la langue françoyse:


"He maketh as thoughe butter wolde nat melte in his mouthe.

MLS GMA

heath

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