mum's the word

English

Etymology

From mum (“silence”). Recorded since 1704.

Pronunciation
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Phrase

mum's the word

  1. (idiomatic) The accompanying facts are a secret, not to be divulged.
    • 1879, Anna Katharine Green, The Leavenworth Case: A Lawyer's Story, G. P. Putnam's Sons, page 256:
      … and that mum is the word till I give you liberty to speak

Translations

See also
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