(as) quiet as a mouse
Silent, meek, and gentle. I just can't believe that Kate actually yelled at Mike—she's usually as quiet as a mouse! We remained as quiet as mice to avoid being detected by the guards. My son, usually so boisterous, always goes as quiet as a mouse during church.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
quiet as a mouse
Also, still as a mouse. Silent, without noise, as in She sneaked into the house, quiet as a mouse, or When he heard the news he was still as a mouse. The first of these similes dates from the mid-1500s, the second from the 1300s.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
quiet as a mouse
If someone is quiet as a mouse, they are very quiet or silent. During the day Mom was quiet as a mouse. She hardly said or did anything. We were quiet as mice, hiding in there.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
quiet as a mouse (or lamb)
(of a person or animal) extremely quiet or docile. 1982 Robertson Davies The Rebel Angels I shall be as quiet as a mouse. I'll just tuck my box…in this corner, right out of your way.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
(as) quiet as a ˈmouse
(of a person) saying very little or making very little noise: He’s quiet as a mouse in class. ♢ Be as quiet as a mouse when you go upstairs — the baby’s asleep in our bedroom.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
quiet as a mouse
Hushed, subdued. This simile dates from the sixteenth century and presumably refers to the behavior of a mouse that stops dead in its tracks at the approach of a cat and remains as quiet as possible, hoping to avoid notice. Also put as still as a mouse, it has been repeated again and again, outliving the still older (fourteenth century) quiet as a lamb.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer