Hey student! How about a new idiom? But hey, mum’s the word!
Today we are going to talk about secrets! A very common idiom native speakers use is “mum’s the word”. But what does “mum’s the word” mean?
Definition
You will “mum’s the word” when you tell someone, or agree with someone to keep something a SECRET.
So, keep quiet and DO NOT tell ANYONE!
So you can use this idiom to ASK someone to keep a secret or TO TELL someone you WILL keep something a secret.
Examples
- Hey, I will tell you, but no one knows about it yet and I want to keep it that way. Ok, got it! Mum’s the word. So, what happened? I wanna know everything.
In this example, the first person says: I will tell you BUT it is a secret (nobody knows). The second person can say: mum’s the word (in this case, the expression means the person will keep the secret and won’t tell anything to anyone.
- I don’t want anyone to know I am quitting, so mum’s the word, ok?
In this example, someone is quitting their job (hasta la vista! No more), but he/she doesn’t want anyone to know about that, so the person says at the end: mum’s the word. In this example, the person is telling the listener to KEEP a secret.
- Hey, mum’s the word about Peter’s farewell party, alright? He doesn’t know anything about it. It is a surprise!
There will a part for Peter, but the person listening about this needs to keep this information A SECRET.
- Susie, I really trust you, so mum’s the word about what I am going to tell you
The person talking to Susie is going to tell her a big secret and asks her to KEEP IT A SECRET, NOT TO TELL ANYONE.
- Are you sure you won’t tell anyone? Of course! Mum’s the word. Where are you going?
The person listening promised NOT to tell anyone about what he/she is about to hear.
I wanna know about you!
CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET? Let me know in the comments!
Teacher Prix