History Main / MultipurposeTongue

* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': Tsuyu Asui, being a frog girl thanks to her Quirk, she naturally has an OverlyLongTongue which she can use in a variety of ways, from attacking to carrying people and items, among other uses.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': Some monsters, such as the froghemoth or mohrg, can use their tongues or equivalent appendages as limbs to aid in feeding or combat.

%%* ''WesternAnimation/Hero108'': Mystique Sonia has several uses of her long tongue.%%Like?

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': [[Recap/DoctorWhoS24E1TimeAndTheRani "Time and the Rani"]]: The bat-like Tetraps have weaponized tongues similar to the Luxans noted below.
%%** Silurians in the new series. The PowerPerversionPotential is all but outright stated in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar "A Good Man Goes to War"]]...%%ZCE, bad formatting -- Examples Are Not Recent. Specify series and how the trope is used.

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1375060637019176000
%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.

* Tsuyu Asui of ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' being a frog girl thanks to her Quirk, she naturally has an OverlyLongTongue which she can use in a variety of ways, from attacking to carrying people and items, among other uses.

* ''ComicBook/XMen'':
** Toad uses his long, prehensile tongue in combat as one of his primary abilities.
** Amphibius, also from ''ComicBook/XMen'', has a long tongue he uses to capture people.
* Anole, also from the MarvelUniverse, uses his prehensile tongue as a weapon and to reach distant objects. And considering that he's gay, naturally fans have [[PowerPerversionPotential taken this and ran with it.]]
* Sugar-Man, from ''Generation Next'', uses his long, razor-sharp tongue as a weapon.

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
* In ''La lengua asesina'' (The Killer Tongue), a woman gets a giant tongue that speaks and kills people. At first, the woman wants to get rid of it, but eventually learns to use it as a weapon against others.
* Gungans have this feature, which was PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''.
* One of the creatures from ''Film/{{Evolution}}'' has an extendible tongue tipped with a second, predatory head.
* The iconic Franchise/{{Alien}} is famous for the jaws on its tongue, and the above-mentioned ''Evolution'' creature is likely a ShoutOut to it.
* [[spoiler:Alice]] in ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'' tries to kill Sam by impaling him with [[spoiler:her]] robotic tongue.

* ''Expedition'', a science-fiction book by Wayne Douglas Barlowe, features many strange creatures including the Arrowtongue and Bolt-tongue, which use their retractable tongues (or rather the appendages in their mouths that resemble tongues) to subdue prey. An Arrowtongue usually uses its tongue to pierce its victim's skin and inject digestive juices.

** According to ''The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide'', a Bantha has a long prehensile tongue that it can use to hold objects and communicate with another Bantha.
** ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'''s Enzeen look like RubberForeheadAliens, but while they do have human-style mouths, they eat exclusively through their long, powerful nutrient-draining tongues. Usually those are kept neatly retracted.
* ''Murasaki'' includes one alien species whose tongues also function as sexual organs. The human visitors have been known to cause scandals now and then by opening their mouths in public.
* In Creator/LarryNiven's ''Literature/KnownSpace'' Verse, the two-headed puppeteers use the long, dexterous tongues in their mouths as hand-substitutes, together with the mobile, fleshy knobs on their lips.
* In Jack Sharkey's "Arcturus Times Three", a xenobiologist's consciousness is projected into alien organisms to observe them. One is an ambush predator with an extensible tongue, which is actually its own conjoined, budded offspring. When this "tongue" catches prey, it eats and grows larger, eventually becoming too big for its "parent" (now dying) to retract. It then sprouts a juvenile "tongue" of its own, and the process repeats.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS24E1TimeAndTheRani "Time and the Rani"]]: The bat-like Tetraps have weaponized tongues similar to the Luxans noted below.
** Silurians in the new series. The PowerPerversionPotential is all but outright stated in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar "A Good Man Goes To War"]]...

* A minor character in one episode of ''Series/SpacePrecinct'' used his to remove a bomb stuck to the hood of the car he was in.

* In ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'' vampires using the discipline Serpentis (which are almost exclusively the [[Main/TheCorrupter Followers of Set]] and their bloodlines) are able to turn their tongue into a serpent's tongue, which can be used in as many ways as one can imagine, including in a fight and for drinking blood -- during said fight, at that. Mortals are said to find the touch of the Setite's tongue pleasing.
* ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheDreaming'': According to their splatbook, some sluagh have prehensile tongues. In combat, such a sluagh can lick an opponent, and, contrary to the Setite's tongue, have the opponent utterly overcome with revulsion.
* Some ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' monsters can attack with their tongues, such as the froghemoth or mohrg.
* Steeds of Slaanesh from ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'', ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'' and ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' have whip-like tongues several meters long, which are coated with a paralyzing poison. The Steeds use these tongues to attack their enemies, immobilizing the opponent so that they are helpless against their rider's tender mercies.

* [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Yoshi]] invokes this trope quite a fair bit in some of his games. Although a lot of his skillset revolves around eating living things, he can use his tongue for other things, especially in ''VideoGame/YoshisStory'', where Yoshi can use it to nudge bubbles around if need be, and use it to hookshot his way onto red ! balls.
* VideoGame/{{Gex}} uses his tongue for several things, especially volleying out fire, ice and slime when he's eaten a powerup, as well as to grab ledges in lieu of his hands.
* Sting Chameleon of ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' uses this for two of his primary attacks. His melee attack comprises of a painful metal tongue lash, but he can also hang from the roof with it to cause spikes to rain down from the ceiling.
* This is the main mechanic of ''VideoGame/ChameleonTwist''.
* The ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' games feature the Lickers, who often use their elongated tongues to decapitate or impale people.
* Smokers in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' will use their elongated tongues (which may or may not actually be their intestines) to [[YouWillNotEvadeMe grab survivors at long range and pull them close in order to beat the crap out of them]]. It's especially nasty if the Smoker has the high ground over you, since you will be hanged and lose health more quickly than if he was beating you up. It's even worse if he drags you into a {{Bottomless Pit|s}} for an instant kill.
* In ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow]]'', the Headhunter's lizard form will attack Soma with its tongue. In ''Dawn of Sorrow'', capturing the soul of a Cave Troll will enable Soma to use a tongue attack himself.
* Final boss Mondu's stomach mouth uses its tongue as an attack in the aptly named ''Tongue of the Fatman'', rereleased under the name ''Slaughter Sport'' on the Genesis.

* Tahm Kench in ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends''. His tongue ''is'' his weapon. [[SwallowedWhole But that's not the real threat]].
* Yooka of VideoGame/YookaLaylee utilizes his tongue as a [[WhipItGood whip]] and grappling hook.
* The Luring Slurker in ''[[VideoGame/{{Pikmin}} Hey! Pikmin]]'' can use its tongue to squish enemies. It also has the ability to drain its preys and water from their heat.
* ''[[VideoGame/{{Oddworld}} Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus]]'' has the Fleeches, slug creatures that use their long tongues to ensnare their prey a'la frogs, [[BizarreAlienLocomotion as well as grappling hooks to navigate their environment.]]
* Frog from ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' is, well, a giant frog, and able to use his tongue in combat offensively and defensively (he can heal allies by licking them). In fact, he actually ''thanks'' the man responsible for his transformation, as he'd never have made it this far without his new abilities.

* In ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' the Frelenti have prehensile tongues. Legs, the Toughs' Frelenti member, uses hers when piloting shuttlecraft or to wield a pugil stick as part of the Toughs' combat courses (and despite the pugil sticks normally being communal use, she has her own with her name written on it because of this fact). It's also hypersensitive. Legs can track by taste nearly as well as Schlock can, but dislikes doing so for sanitary reasons.
* In ''Webcomic/{{tinyraygun}}'', baby alien Doppler can wrap its tongue around objects and yank 'em with enough force to snatch it out of a grown brute's hand.

* The frog in the protagonist's party in ''[[Webcomic/FifteenMinds Blue Moon Blossom]]'' is seen using their tongue as an appendage- first to grab the rabbit spirit, and second to tip a mug full of drink into their mouth. It's a good thing they can do this, [[{{Cephalothorax}} since they have no other appendages]].

* Carmilla of the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'' has it, along with BodyHorror and CombatTentacles. She's demonstrated the PowerPerversionPotential of it, and has also used it just to freak people out or scare them.

* Mystique Sonia from ''WesternAnimation/Hero108'' has several uses of her long tongue.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'', Drew Saturday's EvilTwin from another dimension has a prehensile tongue that she uses as a whip.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheMarvelousMisadventuresOfFlapjack'', Bubbie's tongue is sometimes shown as being prehensile.
* One of the antagonistic alien species in ''WesternAnimation/MenInBlack'' is a sort of six-foot-tall anthropomorphic lizard-salamander thing. Apparently their tongues can be fired from their mouths with enough force to knock out a human being, among other uses.
* Tung from ''WesternAnimation/DexHamiltonAlienEntomologist'' often uses his elastic tongue as a weapon or an extra arm.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E13BetweenDarkAndDawn Between Dark and Dawn]]" introduces Mr. Tortoise-Snap, a colossal tortoise that can deploy its long tongue with the speed of a whip to coil around objects. It's coated in sticky saliva and strong enough to uproot a full-grown tree before bringing it to the ravenous beast's beak.
* The eponymous character of ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'', being a FunnyAnimal frog, has used her tongue to snatch objects in certain episodes as a sort of FurryReminder.

[[folder:Roleplay]]
* From the ''Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'' the Fabulous Frog-Man has a six-foot long prehensile tongue that he can use as a weapon in combat, or to grab stuff.
[[/folder]]

* According to the Sluagh splatbook in ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheDreaming'', some sluagh have prehensile tongues. In combat, such a sluagh can lick an opponent, and, contrary to the Setite's tongue, have the opponent utterly overcome with revulsion.

* Steeds of Slaanesh from ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'', ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'' and ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' have long whip-like tongues, several meters long that are coated with a paralyzing poison. The Steeds use these tongues to attack their enemies, immobilizing the opponent so that they are helpless against their rider's tender mercies.

* In ''Roleplay/AsteroidQuest'', members of the yich eater species have a tongue long enough to lick their own eye. Which they do in lieu of blinking, since they don't appear to have eyelids.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* In ''Series/{{Farscape}},'' Luxans have long tongues, tipped with knock-out venom. However, D'Argo has also used it for dangling off ledges and snatching objects in a hurry- though it takes a lot of practice to perfect.

* Silurians in the revived ''Series/DoctorWho''. The PowerPerversionPotential is all but outright stated in "A Good Man Goes To War"...
** In the classic episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS24E1TimeAndTheRani Time and the Rani]]", the bat-like Tetraps have weaponized tongues similar to the Luxans noted above.
* ''Series/JukenSentaiGekiranger'': Mele can use her tongue to ''stab'' people, or hit their pressure points and disrupt the flow of their chi.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

PowerPerversionPotential abounds. Usually, this trope needs an OverlyLongTongue just to function.

** Giraffes and okapis possess long, prehensile tongues strong enough to tear small branches off of trees to transport the leaf-covered sticks into their mouths.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E13BetweenDarkAndDawn Between Dark and Dawn]]" introduces the Tortoise-Snap. This colossal tortoise, albeit otherwise slow, can deploy its long tongue with the speed of a whip to coil around a tree. It's coated in sticky saliva and strong enough to uproot a full-grown tree before bringing it to the ravenous beast's beak.

[[folder:ComicBooks]]

* Anole, also from the MarvelUniverse, uses his prehensile tongue as a weapon and to reach distant objects.
** And considering that he's gay, naturally fans have [[PowerPerversionPotential taken this and ran with it.]]

[[folder:{{Film}}]]
* In ''La lengua asesina'' (The Killer Tongue), a woman gets a giant tongue that speaks and kills people. At first, the woman wants to get rid of it, but eventually learns to use it as a weapon against others.

[[folder:{{Literature}}]]
* ''Expedition'', a science fiction book by Wayne Douglas Barlowe, features many strange creatures including the Arrowtongue and Bolt-tongue, which use their retractable tongues (or rather the appendages in their mouths that resemble tongues) to subdue prey. An Arrowtongue usually uses its tongue to pierce its victim's skin and inject digestive juices.
* According to ''The Wildlife of StarWars: A Field Guide'', a Bantha has a long prehensile tongue that it can use to hold objects and communicate with another Bantha.

* In Creator/LarryNiven's ''Literature/KnownSpace'' Verse, the two-headed puppeteers use the long, dextrous tongues in their mouths as hand-substitutes, together with the mobile, fleshy knobs on their lips.

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]

[[folder:{{TabletopGames}}]]

[[folder:{{Video Games}}]]

[[folder:WebOriginal]]
* From the ''Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'' the Fabulous Frog-Man has a six-foot long prehensile tongue that he can use as a weapon in combat, or to grab stuff.
* Carmilla of the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'' has it, along with BodyHorror and CombatTentacles. She's demonstrated the PowerPerversionPotential of it, and has also used it just to freak people out or scare them.
* In ''Roleplay/AsteroidQuest'', members of the yich eater species have a tongue long enough to lick their own eye. Which they do in lieu of blinking, since they don't appear to have eyelids.

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' the Frelenti have prehensile tongues. Legs, the Toughs' Frelenti member, uses hers when piloting shuttlecraft or to wield a pugil stick as part of the Toughs' combat courses (and despite the pugil sticks normally being communal use, she has her own with her name written on it because of this fact).
** It's also hypersensitive. Legs can track by taste nearly as well as Schlock can, but dislikes doing so for sanitary reasons.
* In ''Webcomic/{{tinyraygun}}'', baby alien Doppler can wrap its tongue around objects and yank 'em with enough force to snatch it out of a grown brute's hand.
* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Nanase, while in a gecko form, [[http://egscomics.com/egsnp/nanasecraft-20 uses her tongue]] to attach to a switch in midair which allows her to flip it despite failing to grab it with her hands.
* The frog in the protagonist's party in ''[[Webcomic/FifteenMinds Blue Moon Blossom]]'' is seen using their tongue as an appendage- first to grab the rabbit spirit, and second to tip a mug full of drink into their mouth. It's a good thing they can do this, [[{{Cephalothorax}} since they have no other appendages]].

* One of the antagonistic alien species in ''WesternAnimation/MenInBlack'' is a sort of six foot tall anthropomorphic lizard-salamander thing. Apparently their tongues can be fired from their mouths with enough force to knock out a human being, among other uses.

[[folder:RealLife]]

* Smokers in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' will use their elongated tongues to grab survivors at long range. It's especially nasty if there's a big hole between you and the smoker.

[[folder: Anime & Manga]]
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': Orochimaru has a [[AnimalMotifs snake motif]]; one of the most unsettling applications of this is his repeated use of his tongue as a weapon, which he does so efficiently that he was still able to defend himself when [[spoiler: he was briefly deprived use of his hands]]. All of this, of course, invokes ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamata_no_Orochi Yamata-no-Orochi]]'', the so-called "Japanese Hydra."

[[folder: {{Film}}]]

* [[spoiler: Alice]] in ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'' tries to kill Sam by impaling him with [[spoiler: her]] robotic tongue.

[[folder: LiveActionTV]]

[[folder: RealLife]]

* In ''{{Webcomic/tinyraygun}}, baby alien Doppler can wrap its tongue around objects and yank 'em with enough force to snatch it out of a grown brute's hand.

** In the classic episode "Time and the Rani", the bat-like Tetraps have weaponized tongues similar to the Luxans noted above.

* Sugar-Man, from ''Generation Next'', uses his long tongue as a weapon.

* Chameleons have enormously long tongues ([[OverlyLongTongue anywhere to half again as long as their owners to more than twice as long as the rest of the chameleon]]) made up of a complex springlike system of muscle and collagen, which they famously use to catch prey. When they do this, their tongues don't just stick to the target -- they physically grab a solid hold of their prey and wrench it back into the chameleon's mouth.