code of silence

code of silence

The practice of not disclosing important or vital information by members of a group, as due to the threat of violence, reprisal, being branded as a traitor, or an inherent sense of honor. There are parts of the city where the code of silence is so strong that police don't even bother questioning the residents there.
See also: code, of, silence
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • cheese-eater
  • make (something) a practice
  • make a practice of
  • make a practice of (doing something)
  • mention (someone or something) in the same breath
  • mention somebody/something in the same breath
  • hot water
  • cat in the pan
  • pan
  • condemn (someone or something) as (something)
References in periodicals archive
"A code of silence seems to exist among policemen since despite the fact that some of them are aware of corruption incidents, they are reluctant to talk about them.
O'Neill broke the code of silence that exists between such elite men as the Seals and the SAS and, while we appreciate his efforts as part of unit, he compromised his family's and his comrades' safety in return for personal fame.
Hortis contends that notions such as, that the Mafia was comprised of honorable men who adhered to a strict code of silence and refused to traffic in dishonorable vices like narcotics, are all part of the mythology fabricated as plot devices by Hollywood and other fiction writers.
THURSDAY ZOOKEEPER ITV2 8PM When zookeeper Griffin Keyes (Kevin James) decides to quit his job in order to impress his ex-girlfriend, the animals decide to break their code of silence in order to help him out without having to leave his job.
With the legal process at the time yielding only one conviction for the bombing, and retrospectively recognized as compromised by pervasive racism and the Ku Klux Klan's threat-enforced code of silence, the case was revisited in 1995.
According to the Dawn, Holding, now a prominent cricket commentator, said it was unfortunate that Ponting had broken the traditional dressing room code of silence in the book, which was released last month.
AFTER travellers Gary Smith and Frankie Parker savagely murdered retired Welsh farmer Llywelyn Thomas with a crowbar, they thought they could rely on their community's code of silence to escape capture.
Jose Bove (Greens-EFA, France) said he could not understand this rejection by the other parties: "Do the group presidents who voted against this proposal want the code of silence to continue?"
El Proyecto de Ley de Interrupcion Voluntaria del Embarazo, an advocacy organization, is working for legal abortion access in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, in hopes that ending the code of silence around abortion will eliminate criminal and health repercussions associated with illegal procedures.
"Swiss banks may be under attack, but they are unlikely to violate the code of silence and share details on old accounts that have ceased to exist," said Ramanujam Krishnan, a tax consultant.
As they struggle to stay silent and keep up with all the lies they have to tell, they begin to question the code of silence and each other.
Bound by a gentleman's code of silence, they allow history to be left with unresolved mysteries.
A group of zoo animals decide to break their code of silence in order to help their lovable zoo keeper find love - without opting to leave his current job for something more illustrious.
When he senses a chance to win her back, the animals (voiced by Sly Stallone, Cher, Adam Sandler and Nick Nolte) break their code of silence and start offering him dating advice.
"There's a code of silence about it that I think is in Lara's interest and in our interest to break," he said.