loose lips sink ships

English
US WWII poster

Etymology

Shortening of a wartime slogan.

Proverb

loose lips sink ships

  1. Saying too much or releasing confidential information can have dangerous consequences.
    • 2000, Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin, Anchor, published 2007, →ISBN, page 448:
      Loose Lips Sink Ships, said the wartime poster. Of course the ships will all sink anyway, sooner or later.
    • 2014, Crystal Chan, Bird, Random House, →ISBN, page 59:
      ‘Loose lips sink ships,’ she spat at Dad once, when they were arguing about Grandpa, but ‘loose lips killed our son.’

Translations

Further reading
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