plead the Fifth
phrase (US)
 
- to refuse to testify against oneself in a court of law in accordance with the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
 
- to refuse to answer a question because the answer might cause you to be found guilty of a crime.
 
- to use the right to refuse to answer questions in court about a crime, because you may make yourself appear guilty.
 
- to avoid answering an awkward or embarrassing question—often said humorously.

Merriam-Webster, Cambridge Dictionary, Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
 
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PHRASE ORIGIN
 
"Plead" entered English around 1300 from the Anglo-French pleder / Old French plaidier, "to argue a case in court." It traces back to Latin placitum, "an opinion or decree," literally "that which is pleasing" — from placēre, "to please" (the same root as pleasant and placid). So a "plea" was originally something that had been decided or agreed; only later did it narrow to arguing before a court.
 
"The Fifth" is shorthand for the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights. Its relevant clause states that no person "shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself." The principle itself is older, rooted in English common law's resistance to the coerced oaths of courts like the Star Chamber.
 
The phrase as a fixed idiom is distinctly American and much more recent. "Plead the Fifth" (and the variant "take the Fifth") took hold in the mid-20th century, spreading widely during the 1950s McCarthy-era hearings, when witnesses repeatedly refused to answer on self-incrimination grounds. From the courtroom it drifted into everyday use, where today it playfully means declining to answer any awkward question at all.
 
“Who finished the cake? ‘I plead the Fifth’! “
 
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GIVE ME FIVE
 
Five has always been close at hand—literally. Before calculators, we counted on our fingers. One hand gave us five; two hands gave us ten. That simple piece of anatomy helped five find a permanent place in our language.
 
“Give me five” originally meant slap my open hand. The “high five” became famous in American sport during the 1970s, particularly through baseball players Dusty Baker and Glenn Burke. A “five-finger discount” is a joking expression for shoplifting: the only payment is the use of your hand.
 
Other expressions come from practical life. To “take five” means to pause for five minutes—long enough to recover, but not long enough to disappear. A “fifth wheel” is an unwanted extra person because a four-wheeled vehicle has no obvious need for another.
 
Five also feels naturally complete. We traditionally speak of five senses, five fingers and five toes. It sits halfway to ten, making it easy to count, remember and estimate.
 
Helga & Paul Smith
 
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SYNONYMS
 
Decline to answer, dodge the question, exercise the right to remain silent, invoke the Fifth Amendment, keep mum, PLEAD THE  FIFTH, plead the Fifth Amendment, refuse to answer, remain silent, stonewall, take the Fifth, withhold testimony
 
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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:
 
“If you want a whimsical way to not answer a question, just say ‘I PLEAD THE FIFTH’. “

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