From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mum’s the word is a popular English idiom. It is related to an expression used by William Shakespeare, in Henry VI, Part 2.[1]
The word «mum» is an alteration of momme, which was used between 1350 and 1400 in Middle English with very close to the same meaning, «be silent; do not reveal».
Meaning[edit]
«Mum’s the word» means to keep silent or quiet.
Mum is a Middle English word meaning ‘silent’,[2] and may be derived from the mummer who acts without speaking.[3]
Note the similar English word «mime» (Old English «mīma», Latin «mimus») meaning silent actor or imitator.
Origin[edit]
The origins of the phrase can be traced back to the fourteenth century and William Langland’s narrative poem, Piers Plowman:
Thou mightest beter meten the myst on Malverne hulles
Then geten a mom of heore mouth til moneye weore schewed!
It can also be seen in popular fifteenth-century Towneley Plays:[4]
Though thi lyppis be stokyn, yit myght thou say ‘mum’.
The phrase notably appears in Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Part 2, Act 1, Scene 2:
Seal up your lips and give no words but mum.
References[edit]
- ^ ««Henry Act VI Part 2»«.
- ^ » ««mum»«.
- ^ ««Definition of Phrases»«. Archived from the original on 2011-02-07. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
- ^ OED
Why do we say mum’s the word?
The ‘mum’ in the expression ‘mum’s the word’ is derived from the humming sound a closed mouth makes, indicating an inability or unwillingness to speak. The word ‘mum’ was first used by William Langland in his 1376 work Piers Plowman, and the expression itself became popular in the 16th century.
informal. —used to say that some information is being kept secret or should be kept secret We want her birthday party to be a surprise, so mum’s the word.
Is it mums the word or mum’s the word?
“Mum’s the word” means to keep silent or quiet. Mum is a Middle English word meaning ‘silent’, and may be derived from the mummer who acts without speaking. Note the similar English word “mime” (Old English “mīma”, Latin “mimus”) meaning silent actor or imitator.
Is mum a real word?
When to Use Mum
Mum can be a noun or an adjective. As an adjective, mum is a synonym of silent, like in the phrase mum’s the word. … It is also an alternative spelling of mom, where it means mother. Mom is more common in American English, while mum is more common in British English.
When did the word mum come into use?
In terms of recorded usage of related words in English, mama is from 1707, mum is from 1823, mummy in this sense from 1839, mommy 1844, momma 1852, and mom 1867. That’s when each form was first used in writing that survived to be available for research.
What is meaning of No Dice?
No, certainly not; also, impossible. For example, Anthony wanted to borrow my new coat, but Mom said no dice, or We tried to rent the church for the wedding, but it’s no go for the date you picked, or Jim asked Dad to help pay for the repairs, but Dad said no soap.
Where does the saying keep mum come from?
“Keeping mum” may be a reference to the wax used to prepare Egyptian mummies for burial. “Mum” appears to be a word of imitative origins, referencing the “mmmmmm” sound that people make when their mouths are closed and they try to talk, or when someone tries to talk with a hand clamped over his or her mouth.
What does keeping KV mean?
: does anyone know the origin of the phrase “keep cavey” (i.e. keep a lookout for someone)? It’s properly spelt “cave”, which is Latin for “Beware!” It is British public-schoolboy slang (n.b. that in Britain “public schools” are actually expensive private schools).
What does icing on the cake mean?
Definition of icing on the cake
: something extra that makes a good thing even better The concert itself was great, and getting to meet the band afterward was (the) icing on the cake.
What does can’t swing a cat mean?
If you say ‘There’s no room to swing a cat’ or ‘You can’t swing a cat’, you mean that the place you are talking about is very small or crowded. It was described as a large, luxury mobile home, but there was barely room to swing a cat.
What does South of cheese mean?
At the rally point Wade asks Reiben to smell a wounded soldier’s leg to find out if it’s “South of Cheese”, what does that mean? It means its a sign of serious infection, at that point it would need to be surgically debrided along with antibiotics.
What does like a fish out of water mean?
A person away from his or her usual environment or activities. For example, Using a computer for the first time, Carl felt like a fish out of water, or On a hiking trail, Nell was a fish out of water. This expression alludes to the fact that fish cannot survive for long on dry land. [
Can’t cut the mustard meaning?
What does “cut the mustard” mean? … Most often, the phrase is used in negative constructions for when something doesn’t live up to expectations or can’t do the job, e.g., The quarterback couldn’t cut the mustard in the playoffs.
What does it mean cherry on top?
(also the cherry on (top of) the sundae, the cherry on top) something that makes something that is already good even better, or perfect: For his career, the Olympic Games would be the cherry on the cake. He put the cherry on top of the cake by scoring for the third time.
What is jumping the gun?
Start doing something too soon, act too hastily. For example, The local weather bureau jumped the gun on predicting a storm; it didn’t happen for another two days. This expression alludes to starting a race before the starter’s gun has gone off, and supplants the earlier beat the pistol, which dates from about 1900. [
What does toe the line?
Meet a standard, abide by the rules, as in The new director will make us toe the line, I’m sure, or At daycare Brian has to toe the mark, but at home his mother’s quite lenient. This idiom refers to runners in a race placing their toes on the starting line and not moving until the starting signal.
What chew the fat means?
Chat in a friendly, leisurely way, as in Let’s get together for coffee and chew the fat, or John and Dave spend hours just chewing the rag. Before the 1880s in Britain, chew the fat meant “to grumble or complain,” and chew the rag also has been used in this way.
What does hitting the sack mean?
hit the sack in American English
slang. to go to bed; go to sleep.
What does picking up the tab mean?
Definition of pick up the tab
US, informal. : to pay a bill (such as for a meal or drinks at a bar) She offered to pick up the tab for the meal.
What is the meaning get one’s feet wet?
Definition of get one’s feet wet
: to begin doing a new job, activity, etc., in usually a slow and simple way in order to become more familiar with it She got her feet wet at her new job by doing some simple filing tasks.
What does egg on your face mean?
Definition of with egg on one’s face
: appearing foolish usually because something one said would happen has not happened The unexpected election result left a lot of journalists with egg on their faces.
What does it cost me an arm and a leg mean?
Definition of cost an arm and a leg
informal. : to be too expensive I want a new car that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.
What does a penny for thoughts mean?
Definition of (a) penny for your thoughts
—used to ask what someone is thinking about “A penny for your thoughts?” “Oh, I’m just thinking about what I want to do over the weekend.“
What does egg on your chin mean?
to be very embarrassed because of something you said or did: He told everyone the deal was happening, and if it falls through now he’ll have egg on his face.
What does Taken at face value mean?
Definition of at face value
1 : for the price that is printed on something We bought the tickets at face value. 2 : as true or genuine without being questioned or doubted After all his lying, nothing he says now should be taken/accepted at face value.
‘Mum’s the word’ is one of the most used idioms in the English language. We all know what it means but very few of us can see the logic of it in our everyday language and how it is related to our mothers.
The phrase has emerged in that form from a line in Shakespeare’s Henry VI Part 2 and it means to be quiet, to be silent, not to utter a word. In the play, it appears as an instruction: “Seal up your lips and give no words but mum.”:
“Hume must make merry with the duchess’ gold;
Marry, and shall. But how now, Sir John Hume!
Seal up your lips, and give no words but mum:
The business asketh silent secrecy.”(Act 1 Scene 2)
Origin of ‘Mum’s the word’
However, in using the word ‘mum’ Shakespeare was using one of the Old English words that were still in use in his time. It has nothing to do with ‘mother,’ which is how we use the word today, and it is that that leads to the confusion that this is about one’s mother.
There is a similar word in Old High German – “stum” – which indicates a common ancestry. In modern German the word became “stumm” and is the origin for the phrase “keep schtum,” which we also use in English today.
The word “mum” is related to the modern English word ‘mime’ which is to communicate without speaking.
The first time the word ‘mum,’ meaning silence, appears in literature is in the Middle English 1376 poem, Piers Plowman by William Langland:
“Thou mightest beter meten the myst on Malverne hulles. Then geten a mom of heore mouth til moneye weore schewed!,” which means that you may as well measure the mists on the Malvern hills as to try and get her to speak until you offer her payment.”
It also appears in the fifteenth-century Towneley Mystery Plays:
“Though thi lyppis be stokyn, yit myght thou say ‘mum’.”
“Mum’s the word”, Shakespeare idiom
Development of the idiom ‘Mum’s the word’
In 1540 in John Palgrave’s translation of The Comedye of Acolastus we come across a variant of the phrase, “I dare not to do so moche as put my hande to my mouthe, and say mum, is counseyle”, which led to Shakespeare using it in the same way in Henry VI Part 2.
The first instance of the use of the phrase ‘mum’s the word’ to caution someone to keep silent appeared in a tourist guide, A Walk Around London and Westminster, published in 1720, “But mum’s the word – for who would speak their mind amongst Tarrs and commissioners”.
What ‘Mum’s the word’ is not
‘Mum’ has nothing to do with Egyptian mummies, The word ‘mummy, applied to embalmed Egyptian corpses’ derives from ‘mum’ being an alternative name for the bitumen used for embalming. That may be the same word but it has completely different roots.
Neither does ‘’mum’ come from the humming sound, ‘mmmm’ made with a closed mouth, indicating an unwillingness or inability to speak.
It has been suggested, that ‘mum’ shares the same root as “mummer,” a type of play which has been popular in Britain since medieval times. The characters were stereotypical, one representing good – Saint George – and the other evil – a Turkish knight or rogue soldier. There are still some mummers groups today, their traditions kept alive by Morris and sword dancing groups.
Mummers were not mimes: they were lively, raucous plays with music and dancing and singing, and a lot of audience participation. Collections were taken after the show and everyone got drunk. That is directly the opposite of the meaning of ‘mum’, which is ‘silent.’
Other idioms for keeping silent or quiet
Put a sock in it
Hold your tongue
Button your lip
Keep under wraps
Zip it
Bite your lip
Zip your lip
Keep it under your hat
Bite your lip
Bite your tongue
Keep your cards close to your chest
Put a cork in it
Keep a lid on it
Words with similar meanings to ‘mum’
Silent
Quiet
Dumb
Mute
Secretive
Uncommunicative
Tight-lipped
Closemouthed
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The phrase ‘Mum’s The Word’ is used when you mean to keep quiet or say nothing.
Example of Use: “Please don’t tell Mom what I’m getting her for her birthday.” Answer: “Mum’s the word!”
Interesting fact about Mum’s the Word
The ‘mum’ in the expression ‘mum’s the word’ is derived from the humming sound a closed mouth makes, indicating an inability or unwillingness to speak. The word ‘mum’ was first used by William Langland in his 1376 work Piers Plowman, and the expression itself became popular in the 16th century. You’ll find it in Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Part 2: “Seal up your lips and give no words but mum.”
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Asked by: Angelo Fisher
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Definition of mum’s the word
—used to say that some information is being kept secret or should be kept secret We want her birthday party to be a surprise, so mum’s the word.
Is it mums the word or mum’s the word?
Note that the word mum’s in mum’s the word is a contraction of mum is, and therefore requires an apostrophe.
Where did Mums the word come from?
The ‘mum’ in the expression ‘mum’s the word’ is derived from the humming sound a closed mouth makes, indicating an inability or unwillingness to speak. … You’ll find it in Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Part 2: “Seal up your lips and give no words but mum.”
What does mums mean in UK slang?
In the U.K. and other places, mum is used as a word for mom or madam. It’s also commonly used as a short way of saying chrysanthemum, a type of flower.
Is mum a word in English?
Mom is the American English version. Mum is the British English version.
40 related questions found
Do British say Mom or Mum?
One word in particular that stands out in English dialects is the word we use for our mothers. The British typically use ‘mum’, and the Americans, ‘mom’.
Why do the British say mum instead of Mom?
In terms of recorded usage of related words in English, mama is from 1707, mum is from 1823, mummy in this sense from 1839, mommy 1844, momma 1852, and mom 1867. So in fact both ‘mom’ and ‘mum’ are words derived from the word ‘mamma’ with early recorded usage back in the 1570s in England.
What is a mum in Texas?
A mum is a large arrangement of ribbons, bells, charms, and a button sewn together and designed to be worn pinned to a woman’s dress or — if it gets too big — around a woman’s neck. The male counterpart to a mum is the garter, which is a smaller, less flashy version of the mum designed to fit around a man’s arm.
What is mum short for?
The term “mum” is short for chrysanthemum, and this plant is the largest commercially grown flower in the U.S., known as the “Queen of Fall Flowers,” according to FTD.
What does it mean when a girl says mum?
MUM. Definition: Mother. Type: Slang Word (Jargon)
What is a homecoming mum?
Made of mostly ribbon, the homecoming mum is given to a girl at Homecoming to wear to school then to the Homecoming game and dance, if any. Males wear a mum as well referred to as a “garter”, the mum is attached to a garter worn on the arm.
Where does make no bones about it come from?
To Make No Bones About Something
The expression comes from fifteenth century England…if someone wanted to show that they were dissatisfied with something, they would find bones in it — a reference to finding bones in soup, which was not a pleasant discovery! Therefore, finding bones was bad, and no bones was good.
How do you use the word mums in a sentence?
We are throwing a party for our friend Jeremy, but its a surprise, so don’t tell him anything about it. Mum’s the word. I’ll tell you about our secret hiding place, but mum’s the word; don’t tell anyone about it. Mum’s the word about tonight’s plan.
What does Mummered mean?
noun. a person who wears a mask or fantastic costume while merrymaking or taking part in a pantomime, especially at Christmas and other festive seasons.
How do you care for outdoor mums?
Caring for outdoor mums
- Give mums plenty of space. It’s wise to plant your mums about 18 inches from other plants so their roots have room to expand.
- Water, but not too much. …
- Deadhead. …
- In colder climates your mums may need to be mulched using leaves, wood chips, or straw. …
- If frost gets your mums, don’t fret.
What is the difference between marigolds and mums?
Mari-mums are large-flower marigolds, known botanically as Tagetes erecta, that are reminiscent of chrysanthemums. … Mari-mums or the marigolds, if you will, typically produce flowers before chrysanthemums and are still blooming when frost actually takes them out.
Why are senior mums white?
Mums are made with the spirit colors of the high school, and often the addition of silver or gold if it’s not an official color. Black is often added as an accent color to silver schools. Senior mums are white and usually the metallic color of the school, silver or gold. … It depends on the tradition of the school.
Where did the homecoming mum originate?
Homecoming mums are said to have appeared in Texas during the 1930s, but the first known homecoming mums were worn in Missouri, which also hosted the first-ever homecoming football game in 1911. Some claim the tradition of wearing mums—at the time, made from real chrysanthemums—began before the 1930s.
How much does a mum cost?
Mums can cost anywhere from about $5 to $27 depending on the size and if it has multiple colors. More specifically: 6-inch: $4.49.
Why do British say bloody?
Bloody. Don’t worry, it’s not a violent word… it has nothing to do with “blood”.”Bloody” is a common word to give more emphasis to the sentence, mostly used as an exclamation of surprise. Something may be “bloody marvellous” or “bloody awful“. Having said that, British people do sometimes use it when expressing anger…
Does bloody mean the F word?
The word «bloody» is the expletive derived from shortening the expression «by our Lady» (i.e., Mary, mother of Christ). As such, it represents the invocation of a blasphemous oath.
Why do Americans say zee?
The British and others pronounce “z”, “zed”, owing to the origin of the letter “z”, the Greek letter “Zeta”. … As to why people in the United States call “z”, “zee”, it is thought that this is likely simply adopted from the pronunciation of the letters “bee”, “cee”, “dee”, “eee”, “gee”, “pee”, “tee”, and “vee”.
What’s mean ma am?
: madam —used without a name as a form of respectful or polite address to a woman Thank you, ma’am.»
Do British say ma am?
In British English, ma’am has become uncommon, although it is prescribed when addressing the queen more than once: after first addressing her as Your Majesty, one uses ma’am. The term is also sometimes still used in the armed forces and security services when addressing female superiors.