"What is the matter?' said the three tongue-tied Pickwickians."

Among my grandfather's ancient medical instruments was one called, I think, a trochar, with an flat expansion to be grasped by surgeon's thumb and forefinger, to guide a sharp instrument past tissues not to be cut. But that thumb sized plate had an axial slot through it, that among other reasons, was there to be passed over the frenulum between the floor of the mouth and the base of the tongue, to cut it neatly, if desirable because motions of the tongue being impeded by its being too small. I never knew of its being so used, however.