“Hush-hush” is an idiom used to keep information confidential between a small group of people. It emphasizes the need for discretion and silence and is often used as a command to keep quiet. The phrase derives its meaning from the way it is used and understood in a certain culture.
“Hush-hush” is an English idiom that is generally used when someone wants to keep information confidential. Such information is generally only held between two people or, at most, a small group of people. This phrase is commonly used when someone tells another person to keep something “quiet,” meaning that the other person shouldn’t broadcast that item to anyone else she meets. The phrase draws its power from the fact that the word “silence,” which means to be silent, is said twice, further emphasizing the need for discretion and silence.
People will, at times, stray away from using strictly literal language. There may be some occasions where they use words and phrases that actually mean something very different from the literal definitions of the words or what the expressions meant when they were originated. These words and phrases are known as idioms; they derive their meanings from the ways they are used and understood by people in a certain culture. A popular idiom that refers to the need for silence is the phrase “hush-hush.”
When someone uses this phrase, they are indicating that information is being deliberately kept secret. It could be because the information could be harmful to other people or because someone is holding a surprise for someone else. Either way, it conveys a desire that no one tell the information to anyone who hasn’t received prior approval to hear it. For example, he considers the line, “I really wanted to keep this party on hush-under, but it seems like everyone knows it now.”
It is common for a person to directly use this phrase to tell someone else not to spread information around. This type of phrase usage is more like a command to someone else to shut up. For example, someone might one day say, “I really need you to keep this quiet, or I could get in trouble.”
This is an example of an idiom that gets its meaning from the way words are phrased. By saying “silence,” the speaker doubles the emphasis on the word to show its importance. Consequently, everything described in the way must be kept from unwanted ears at all costs.
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