Common Italian expression
| Pronunciation | |
| Literal translation | Water in [the] mouth |
| English translation | Lips sealed, not a word |
| Meaning | Used to ask someone to keep a secret |
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
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