keep mum
to keep quiet, to say nothing
TRANSLATION
Schweig! Sag nichts!
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
"The Swiss are famed for their discretion when it comes to banking matters. They are certainly KEEPING MUM about Martin Ebner."
(Hugo Dixon in The Wall Street Journal - 6th August 2002)
(Hugo Dixon in The Wall Street Journal - 6th August 2002)
Did you
know?
Say the word 'mum' out loud and notice that your mouth is tightly closed at the beginning and end of the word.
'Mum' is a word that truly imitates or echoes some sound. The sound in this case is the murmur 'mmmmm', the only noise one can make when one's mouth is kept firmly shut. The word has been recorded in English from the fourteenth century in various spellings but settled to its modern form in the sixteenth century.
'Mum' has produced several compounds, including mummer (a mime actor, one who performs silently, though the word is also linked to the French momeur), the verb to mumble and, less obviously, the name of that nasty disease mumps, which obviously affects one's speech.
Those of you interested in modern history will now understand the double meaning of the World War II poster which warned people not to engage in careless conversation to strangers:
"Be like Dad: keep Mum".
(adapted from Michael Quinion - World Wide Words)
Usage notes:
- Learn the related phrase "mum's the word" (Ich verspreche nichts zu sagen)
- Use the preposition 'about' with "keep mum":
"Do tell me when you're getting married. I promise to keep mum about it."
'Mum' is a word that truly imitates or echoes some sound. The sound in this case is the murmur 'mmmmm', the only noise one can make when one's mouth is kept firmly shut. The word has been recorded in English from the fourteenth century in various spellings but settled to its modern form in the sixteenth century.
'Mum' has produced several compounds, including mummer (a mime actor, one who performs silently, though the word is also linked to the French momeur), the verb to mumble and, less obviously, the name of that nasty disease mumps, which obviously affects one's speech.
Those of you interested in modern history will now understand the double meaning of the World War II poster which warned people not to engage in careless conversation to strangers:
"Be like Dad: keep Mum".
(adapted from Michael Quinion - World Wide Words)
Usage notes:
- Learn the related phrase "mum's the word" (Ich verspreche nichts zu sagen)
- Use the preposition 'about' with "keep mum":
"Do tell me when you're getting married. I promise to keep mum about it."
