Idiom
silent as the grave
Meaning
Saying absolutely nothing (especially about a particular subject).
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“He promised to be silent as the grave about the surprise party.”
“When the police asked about the missing money, the witness remained silent as the grave.”
“Despite the intense pressure from the investigators to reveal his source, the journalist remained silent as the grave throughout the entire interrogation.”
Examples
simple
“He promised to be silent as the grave about the surprise party.”
contextual
“When the police asked about the missing money, the witness remained silent as the grave.”
complex
“Despite the intense pressure from the investigators to reveal his source, the journalist remained silent as the grave throughout the entire interrogation.”
Origin
The phrase is perhaps connected to the notion of taking a secret to the grave, or the observation that dead men tell no tales. Both theories suggest that absolute silence is best secured by the finality of interment.
Key words
Related idioms
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