🔇 Button Your Lip: The Silent Art of Keeping Quiet 🧵
Definition:
Button your lip: An idiom meaning to keep quiet, hold one’s tongue, to refrain from speaking out, especially when silence is preferable or required.
Related & Similar Terms:
- Zip it: Informal, tell someone to stop talking.
- Keep it zipped: Mind the chatter.
- Mum’s the word: A promise not to reveal secret information.
- Hold your tongue: To remain silent even when one may wish to speak.
- Bite your tongue: To struggle against expressing a particular opinion or truth.
Synonyms:
- Silence
- Hush
- Quiescence
Antonyms:
- Speak up
- Spill the beans
- Blab
- Let the cat out of the bag
Humorous Quotes:
- “I never gossip. I observe. And then I share my observations.” – Anonymous
- “A gossip is someone with a great sense of rumor.” – Anonymous
Proverbs:
- “Speech is silver, silence is golden.”
- “Silence is a true friend who never betrays.”
Literature, Books, Songs, Poetry, and Movies:
- Book: The Sound of Silence by Philip Green - A poetic journey exploring themes of silence and introspection.
- Song: “The Sound of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel - A melancholic tune encapsulating the beauty of quiet communication.
- Movie: A Quiet Place - A film where silence is a survival skill.
- Poem: “Silence” by Edgar Lee Masters - A haunting tribute to the forgotten eloquence of quietude.
### Which idiom means 'keep silent'?
- [ ] Let the cat out of the bag
- [ ] Spill the beans
- [x] Button your lip
- [ ] Blabbermouth
> **Explanation:** "Button your lip" is an idiom meaning to keep quiet or remain silent. The other options involve revealing information or excessive talking.
### Synonym for 'keep quiet'?
- [x] Zip it
- [ ] Shout out
- [ ] Babble on
- [ ] Spill the tea
> **Explanation:** "Zip it" is another slangy way to tell someone to be quiet. The rest suggest speaking up or disclosing secrets.
### Which phrase relates to silence?
- [x] Hold your tongue
- [ ] Cry wolf
- [ ] Break the ice
- [ ] Bend over backwards
> **Explanation:** "Hold your tongue" means to stay silent, making it the only fitting answer here.
### True or False: 'Mum's the word' is similar to 'button your lip'.
- [x] True
- [ ] False
> **Explanation:** True! Both idioms suggest staying quiet or keeping secret information under wraps.
### What does "a gossip is someone with a great sense of rumor" imply?
- [x] A humor-filled take on gossip
- [ ] Gossiping as a noble art
- [ ] Silence as irrelevance
- [ ] Negativity of gossips
> **Explanation:** It’s a witty way of poking fun at gossips, implying they’re always tuned into (and spreading) rumors.
Inspirational Thought-Provoking Farewell:
“Silence isn’t empty, it’s full of answers. So sometimes, don’t just button your lip, let your silence speak louder than words.” – S. T. Silencescribe
