English Reference
Idiom idiom

butter wouldn't melt in someone's mouth


The identified person appears to be benign, mild-mannered, or calm (but with an integral suggestion that, to the contrary, they really are untrustworthy, disagreeable, or mean-spirited).

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

He acts so sweet, but butter wouldn't melt in his mouth.

CONTEXTUAL

She looks innocent enough, but butter wouldn't melt in her mouth when she is trying to get her way.

COMPLEX

Although he presented himself as a humble servant of the public, those who knew him best suspected that butter wouldn't melt in his mouth.


Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    all mouth and no trousers

    Alternative form of all mouth and trousers.

  2. 02

    all mouth and trousers

    Superficial, engaging in empty, boastful talk, but not of real substance.

  3. 03

    all one's taste is in one's mouth

    One lacks good taste in aesthetic or cultural matters.

  4. 04

    another nail in someone's coffin

    An event that increases the likelihood of or causes further failure.

  5. 05

    answer someone's prayers

    To be or do exactly what someone has been wishing or asking for.

  6. 06

    answer to someone's prayers

    Exactly what someone has been wishing or asking for.

  7. 07

    apple of someone's eye

    The object of somebody's affections; a person (or sometimes a thing) that someone strongly prefers; a favorite, a loved one.

  8. 08

    bad taste in one's mouth

    A feeling that something is morally despicable as to cause nausea.

Last updated August 10, 2026