hear a pin drop, one/you could

hear a pin drop, one/you could

Complete silence. This hyperbole dates from the early nineteenth century. An early appearance in print is in Susan Ferrier’s The Inheritance (1824): “You might have heard a pin drop in the house while that was going on.” Although pins are a far less common household item than they once were, the expression survives.
See also: could, hear, one, pin
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • bright and early
  • early doors
  • have an early night
  • early bird catches the worm
  • early bird catches the worm, the
  • the early bird catches the worm
  • early bird
  • an early bird
  • I'm with you
  • at an early date