Forked tongue

The expression, white man, speak with forked tongue is generally acknowledged as an anonymous Hollywood scriptwriter’s coinage from the early 20th century. For many centuries, the forked-tongued serpent was symbolic of the devil and a forked tongue was a metaphor for lying from at least the 18th century, if not before. Consequently, Native Americans may have picked up the expression from their dealings with early British settlers, but it was certainly not unique to Native Americans, as Hollywood would have us believe.