English phrase of the day : “Put a sock in it!”

This phrase

is used to tell somebody to be quiet. It is a fairly rude way to make this request, so the speaker tends to be annoyed at the time they’re saying this.

The origin actually started with gramophones. As there was no volume on these old speakers, people would literally put a sock in it to reduce the volume.

Here’s an example:

Son 🗣 “NO! I HATE HIM HE’S NOT MY FRIEND!”

Dad 🗣 “oh, put a sock in it! You’re giving me a headache”