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clam up

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia 0.04 sec.
clam up
to refuse to talk or answer. Every time I think he's going to tell me what's bothering him, he just clams up.
Etymology: based on the behavior of a clam (= a sea creature), which quickly closes its shell when something touches it
See also: clam

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Vogel explains how clams use muscle to clam up, how birds use it to fly, and how people have designed tools based on it.
And that's how we feel about the latest bit of silliness by Fortune magazine: Clam up.
Shelby lives in a shell, so it will clam up if it's scared or sleeping
 
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