Quiet as a mouse

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Meaning

Extremely silent or stealthy, barely making a sound.

Origin

From 14th-century England, tied to mice; small, silent movers, as in Chaucer's 1386 'Canterbury Tales' on a 'still as mouse' monk. By 1553, a proverb lists it. Shakespeare's 1600 'Midsummer Night's Dream' boosted it, growing into a cozy idiom of hush from a pest-ridden age.

Variants

  • As a mouse

Usage Examples

  • She crept in quiet as a mouse; no one heard.
  • The room was quiet as a mouse after the news.
  • He's quiet as a mouse; slips by unnoticed.

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