Common Italian expression
| Literally | Water in [the] mouth |
| Meaning | Used to ask someone to keep a secret |
| IPA pronunciation | /ˈakkwa im ˈbɔkka/ |
Acqua in bocca
Lips sealed, not a word
Examples
Stiamo preparando una festa a sorpresa per il compleanno di Riccardo. Acqua in bocca!
We are planning a surprise party for Riccardo’s birthday. Not a word!
Ho intenzione di prendere un cane per Natale. Acqua in bocca, mi raccomando!
I plan to get a dog for Christmas. Lips sealed, mind you!
Where does this idiom come from?
Take a sip of water. Now take another sip until your mouth is full. Can you talk? I bet you can’t without spilling all the water! And if you can’t talk, you can’t share a secret (segreto) with anyone else… 😉
It is believed that this phrase comes from the story of a very religious but gossipy Italian woman. One day this woman confessed to the priest that she was tired of gossiping because it was considered a sin and she wanted to find a cure for it. The story goes that the priest gave her a water jug and told her to take a sip every time she felt like gossiping. And… it worked!
Related lessons
- acqua (water)
- bocca (mouth)
- in (preposition)
- prepositions
More free Italian resources
You might want to keep learning Italian online with these free Italian resources:
Aiuta Lingookies con un 👍!
❤️ If you liked this lesson on the expression acqua in bocca, share it with your friends!