Learn English – Does the phrase ‘tongue bath’ have sexual connotations when used to refer to sycophantic behavior

expressionsphrase-meaningphrase-usage

When I first heard this phrase as a teenager (late 90s/early 2000s), it was being used to describe sycophantic talk or fulsome praise of someone. At the time, I figured the phrase originated as a comparison with the way a dog might lick its master profusely when it is scared or wants something. I haven't used this phrase in a long time, and recently, I used it. I suppose it's an unfortunate consequence of living in a hypersexualized era, but a while after the conversation, I got to wondering if I should have used that phrase (I was talking to someone older, whom I respect), because it might have a connotation that is quite different from what I originally thought.

Edit: Prompted by Jason Bassford, here is a relatively recent example used by a well-known online publication, The Huffington Post:

All The Hard-Hitting Questions Sean Hannity Asked Donald Trump At A ‘Town Hall’ This Week – In which we watch a televised tongue bath so you don’t have to.

Among mature, educated speakers, does this phrase have any vulgar or sexual connotations?

Best Answer

The expression tongue bath does have a sexual connotation, (an obvious one, IMO:)

A sexual licking of another's body.

  • 2005, Jack Rinella, Becoming a Slave: The Theory and Practice of Voluntary Servitude, Rinella Editorial Services.

  • If you try giving or receiving a tongue bath, you will notice that it seldom gets completed.

Sycophantic praise:

2017: "Donald Trump Tweets About His “Enormously Consensual Presidency" by Matthew Dessem, Slate.

  • It’s possible that Trump meant to include the URL of Goodwin’s tongue-bath of an article instead of his email address.

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