Tongue-in-cheek phrase appears in 1828 in "The Fair Maid of Perth" by Sir Walter Scott: It's not clear how Scott intended readers to understand the phrase. The more modern ironic sense appears in the 1842 poem "The Ingoldsby Legends" by the English clergyman Richard Barham, in which a Frenchman inspects a watch and cries: The ironic usage originates with the idea of suppressed mirth—biting one's tongue to prevent an outburst of laughter. Tongue-in-cheek The idiom tongue-in-cheek refers to a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a mock serious manner. The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern
A Man Smoking and a Woman Drinking in a Courtyard absent. It is an excellent work. Canvas, 30 1/2 inches by 25 1/2 inches. Mentioned by Waagen (Supplement, p. 131). Exhibited at the Royal Academy Winter Exhibition, London, 1871 and 1888, No. 35 ; at the London Guildhall, 1892 ; and at the Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1900. Now [in 1908] in the collection of Lady Wantage, London, No. 108 in the 1902 catalogue. A Man Smoking and a Woman Drinking in a Courtyard A Man Smoking and a Woman Drinking in a Courtyard (1658–1660) is an oil on canvas painting by the Dutch painter Pieter de Hooch; it is