butter wouldn't melt (in someone's mouth)
Prov. Someone is acting as if innocent. By the time her parents came home, Emily had cleaned up all evidence of having broken the valuable figurine, and she looked as though butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. Jane: How can you suspect George of playing that practical joke on you? He looks so innocent. Jill: Yes, butter wouldn't melt, I'm sure.
look as if butter wouldn't melt in one's mouth
Fig. to appear to be cold and unfeeling (despite any information to the contrary). Sally looks as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. She can be so cruel. What a sour face. He looks as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth.
melt away
to melt into a liquid. The ice cubes melted away quickly in the intense heat. When the wax candles melted away, they ruined the lace tablecloth.
melt down
1. Lit. [for something frozen] to melt. The glacier melted down little by little. When the ice on the streets melted down, it was safe to drive again.
2. Fig. [for a nuclear reactor] to become hot enough to melt through its container. The whole system was on the verge of melting down.
melt in one's mouth
1. to taste very good. (Also can be literal.) This cake is so good it'll melt in your mouth. John said that the food didn't exactly melt in his mouth.
2. [of meat] to be very, very tender. My steak is so tender it could melt in my mouth. This filet will melt in your mouth!
melt in something
1. [for something] to melt to a liquid at a high temperature. Surely the plastic cup will melt in such heat. This tray will melt in the oven, so keep it out of there.
2. [for something] to dissolve in a particular liquid. Sugar melts in hot water easily. Will this substance melt in heated water?
melt into something
to melt and change into a different state. All the ice cream melted into a sticky soup. The candles melted into a pool of colored wax in all the heat we had last summer.
melt something away
to cause something to melt into a liquid. The sun melted the ice away. The sun melted away the ice.
melt something down
to cause something frozen to melt; to cause something solid to melt. The rays of the sun melted the candle down to a puddle of wax. The heat melted down the ice.
melt something into something
to cause something to change its state when melting. The ice melted into a cold liquid that we could drink. We melted the fat into a liquid that we could deep-fry in.
butter wouldn't melt in somebody's mouth
if butter wouldn't melt in someone's mouth, they look as if they would never do anything wrong although you think they would She looks as though butter wouldn't melt in her mouth but I've seen her fighting with the younger kids.
melt in the/your mouth
if food melts in your mouth, it is soft and tastes very pleasant This sponge cake just melts in your mouth.
a melting pot
a place where people of many different races and from many different countries live together Rules of mutual tolerance must be agreed in an area which is a melting pot of such diverse cultures.
butter wouldn't melt in one's mouth
Be overly coy or demure; be insincere. For example, She looked quite innocent, as though butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, but we knew better . Already a proverb in John Heywood's collection of 1546, this metaphoric expression alleges that one is literally so cool that butter inside the mouth would not melt.
melt in one's mouth
Taste very good, as in
This cake is wonderful-it just melts in one's mouth. This expression, first recorded in 1693, at first alluded to the tenderness of some food that therefore did not require chewing, but it had acquired its present meaning by about 1850. Also see
butter wouldn't melt.
melt away
v.1. To dissipate or fade away by or as if by melting: As the sun rose, the fog melted away.
2. To cause something to dissipate or fade away by or as if by melting: The medication melted my anxiety away. The soothing words melted away the child's fears.
melt down
v.1. To melt from a solid into a liquid: As ice cubes melt down, the water level in the glass remains constant.
2. To cause something to melt from a solid into a liquid: The sun melted the snowman down into a puddle. I melted down the ice on the window with a hair dryer.
3. To overheat severely and melt, resulting in the escape of radiation from a nuclear reactor core: The nuclear reactor melted down, and thousands of people had to evacuate the area.
4. Slang To have an emotional breakdown: I was dealing with a lot of stress, and I melted down on the subway when it stopped between stations.