<P> The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning . Early users of the phrase include Sir Walter Scott in his 1828 The Fair Maid of Perth . </P> <P> The physical act of putting one's tongue into one's cheek once signified contempt . For example, in Tobias Smollett's The Adventures of Roderick Random, which was published in 1748, the eponymous hero takes a coach to Bath, and on the way, apprehends a highwayman . This provokes an altercation with a less brave passenger: </P> <P> He looked back and pronounced with a faltering voice,' O!' tis very well--damn my blood! I shall find a time .' I signified my contempt of him by thrusting my tongue in my cheek, which humbled him so much, that he scarce swore another oath aloud during the whole journey . </P> <P> The phrase appears in 1828 in The Fair Maid of Perth by Sir Walter Scott: </P>

Where does the phrase tongue in cheek come from