shut up like a clam
shut up like a clam
1. adjective Silent or laconic. Johnny's been shut up like a clam ever since he came back from the party. I hope he's OK. This town is always shut up like a clam after 9 PM. It's so boring!
2. verb To stop talking and refuse to speak. Whenever I ask her about her love life, she just shuts up like a clam.
See also: clam, like, shut, up
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
shut up like a clam
If you shut up like a clam, you become very quiet and do not communicate with people because you are upset. When a teenager is worried, they may well shut up like a clam, not wanting to tell you what's wrong. Later, when I found I wasn't his only love, I shut like a clam and let no one close.
See also: clam, like, shut, up
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
- shut up
- Shut up!
- shut it
- be shut of
- be shut of (someone or something)
- get shut of
- get shut of (someone or something)
- shut in
- shut out
- shutout