Idiom
Put a sock in it
Put a sock in it is a rude, informal way of telling someone to stop talking or to be quiet.
How people use it
People say it, often jokingly, to someone who is complaining, bragging or being noisy (put a sock in it, we're trying to watch the movie). It is informal and can be rude, so it suits friends and family more than work or strangers. The tone depends on the voice: it can be playful teasing or real irritation. It is more common in British English but understood in the United States. Similar phrases include pipe down and zip it.
Examples
- Put a sock in it, Leo; nobody wants to hear about your fantasy football team again.
- When my brother sang the same song for the tenth time, Mom told him to put a sock in it.
- Grace laughed and told her roommate to put a sock in it when he kept bragging about his test score.
Where it comes from
The phrase is British and dates from the early 1900s, around the time of World War I. No one knows for sure where it came from. One popular theory says early record players, which had large horns and no volume control, could be made quieter by stuffing a sock into the horn. Another simply imagines stuffing a sock into a noisy person's mouth. Both are guesses.
Check yourself
1. What does someone mean by telling you to put a sock in it?
Answer: Be quiet. Put a sock in it is a blunt way to tell someone to stop talking.
2. In which situation would the phrase fit best?
Answer: A friend keeps bragging about his new phone during dinner.. It suits a casual moment with a friend who will not stop talking. It is too rude for formal settings.
Word game fan? See every word hiding in SOCK.