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by jacobolus 2998 days ago
'mum' meaning silent dates from the 15th century. 'mum' meaning 'mother' (in England) dates from the 17th century.

Various English posters and signs in WWII warned readers to 'be like dad – keep mum'.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/INF3-243...

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/be-like-dad-ke...

1 comments

Yep. And of course "Mum's the word!"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mum%27s_the_word

Though in terms of Shakespeare, my favorite bit on keeping quiet is actually Iago's last line: "Demand me nothing: what you know, you know: From this time forth I never will speak word." My wife and I tend to quote it around Christmas and birthdays. :-)