Tirar de la lengua
To pull someone's tongue.
to get someone talking; **to get someone talking**; **to draw someone out**; **to coax something out of someone**; **to get something out of someone**; **to make someone spill the beans**
Tirar de la lengua means to get someone talking, to coax information out of someone, to draw someone out, or to make someone reveal something they were keeping quiet about.
No quería contarme nada, pero al final le tiré de la lengua.
He didn't want to tell me anything, but eventually I got him talking.
No le tires de la lengua, que acabará contándolo todo.
Don't get her talking; she'll end up telling you everything.
Estuve tirándole de la lengua para averiguar qué había pasado.
I kept asking questions to find out what had happened.
Si le tiras de la lengua, te contará el secreto.
If you draw him out, he'll tell you the secret.
It is particularly used when the person does not initially want to talk.
- asks questions until another person reveals something
- encourages someone to tell a secret
- gets someone to confess something
- makes a reluctant person talk
- tries to find out what someone really thinks
The expression is based on the physical image of pulling someone's tongue to make them speak.
The tongue is, naturally, the bodily organ associated with speech.
To "pull" it metaphorically therefore means to force, encourage or persuade someone to use it, especially when they are reluctant to speak.
The expression belongs to a broader group of Spanish idioms that use parts of the body to represent communication.
The expression does not necessarily imply coercion.
It can simply mean asking the right questions until someone starts talking.
Compare:
Le pregunté qué había pasado.
→ I asked him what had happened.
with:
Le tiré de la lengua.
→ I got him talking / I coaxed the information out of him.
The second suggests that the person was initially reluctant to say what they knew.
Spanish has several colourful expressions involving the tongue:
- Tirar de la lengua → to get someone talking.
- Irse de la lengua → to let something slip.
- Soltar la lengua → to start talking freely.
- Tener la lengua larga → to talk too much or say things one shouldn't.
- Morderse la lengua → to bite one's tongue / refrain from speaking.
The tongue is therefore one of the most productive body-part metaphors in Spanish for speech, secrets and indiscretion. ```
Do not translate:
Le tiré de la lengua.
as:
I pulled his tongue.
Instead:
I got him talking.
I drew him out.
I coaxed it out of him.
If the information is a secret:
I got him to spill the beans.
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