honey-tongued

honey-tongued (comparative more honey-tongued, superlative most honey-tongued)

1. Sweet-speaking; persuasive; seductive.
   • c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     This is the flower that smiles on every one,
     To show his teeth as white as whale’s bone;
     And consciences, that will not die in debt,
     Pay him the due of honey-tongued Boyet.

   • 1612, Thomas Heywood, “First touching their Antiquity”, in An Apology for Actors‎, London: Nicholas Okes:

     In Iulius Cæsars time […] the famous hony-tong’d Orator Cicero florished; who, amongst many other his eloquent Orations, writ certaine yet extant […]

   • 1634, Francis Meres, “A comparatiue discourse of our English Poets, with the Greeke, Latine, and Italian Poets”, in Wits Common Wealth, The Second Part‎, London: William Stansby, page 623:

     As the soule of Euphorbus was thought to liue in Pythagorus: so the sweete wittie soule of Ouid liues in mellifluous and hony-tongued Shakespeare, witnesse his Venus and Adonis, his Lucrece, his sugred Sonnets among his priuate friends, &c.

   • 1826, [Mary Shelley], The Last Man. , volume I, London: Henry Colburn, , →OCLC, pages 72-73:

     Among his other advantages, Lord Raymond was supremely handsome; every one admired him; of women he was the idol. He was courteous, honey-tongued—an adept in fascinating arts.

   • 1955, C. S. Lewis, chapter 7, in Surprised by Joy‎, London: Geoffrey Bles, page 109:

     He was a grey-head with large spectacles and a wide mouth which combined to give him a froglike expression, but nothing could be less froglike than his voice. He was honey-tongued. Every verse he read turned into music on his lips: something midway between speech and song.

• honey-mouthed
• silver-tongued