The whole line is from Shakespeare. It's Puck's Epilogue from "A Midsummer Night's Dream;"
"And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearnèd luck,
Now, to 'scape the serpent's tongue
We will make amends ere long,
Else the Puck a liar call.
So goodnight unto you all.
Give me your hands if we be friends
And Robin shall restore amends."
The "serpent's tongue" is the chorus of boos, and especially hisses, from a dissatisfied audience presented with a less than satisfactory performance that night. To "'scape the serpent's tongue" means to escape that sorry fate - the "unearnèd luck."
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