put a sock in it
To stop talking; to be quiet; to shut one's mouth.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Please put a sock in it while I am trying to study.”
“You should put a sock in it before you wake up the baby.”
“The teacher told the noisy students to put a sock in it so the lesson could continue.”
“My brother was complaining about the dinner for twenty minutes until my dad finally told him to put a sock in it.”
“If that car alarm does not stop ringing soon, I am going to scream at the owner to put a sock in it.”
“Frustrated by the constant interruptions during the meeting, he finally told his colleague to put a sock in it.”
disputed origin
The phrase is recorded from the early 20th century, with a popular but unproven story suggesting it originated as a practical method for muffling the sound of early record players. Before the arrival of the volume control knob, listeners were said to have stuffed a woollen sock into the horn of a gramophone to achieve a tolerable level of noise. Whether the instruction was first directed at mechanical devices or human voices remains a matter of some uncertainty.
- 01
almond Rocks
[Cockney slang]socks
- 02
fox's socks
Something or someone that is ideal or very pleasing.
- 03
knock someone's socks off
To impress greatly; amaze; stun.
- 04
lipstick on a pig
To make superficial or cosmetic changes to something in a doomed attempt to disguise its fundamental flaws.
- 05
not to put too fine a point on it
Used to apologize for a possibly impolite statement one is making; to put it bluntly; to express it in plain terms.
- 06
one's socks off
With a large amount of effort or intensity.
- 07
pull one's socks up
To start making an effort; to renew or redouble one's efforts.
- 08
put a band-aid on a bullet wound
To inadequately treat a serious situation.
Last updated August 10, 2026