hush up
1. To be quiet. You kids need to hush up once we go into the church, OK? Would you hush up already? I'm sick of hearing you complain. Can you hush up? I can't eavesdrop with you yapping in my ear!
2. To cause someone to be quiet. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "hush" and "up." The baby wouldn't stop crying until she was reunited with her favorite stuffed animal—that hushed her right up! The teacher slammed the ruler against the desk, which hushed up the classroom immediately. Alicia seemed to be panicking, so I didn't try to hush her up. Instead, I just held her and reminded her that everything would be OK.
3. To keep sensitive information from being publicized. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "hush" and "up." They were accused of trying to hush up the scandal by firing anyone involved. A: "What are we going to do about that witness?" B: "Don't worry, we'll hush him up with some money." You can hush up just about anyone with money and nondisclosure agreements.
4. slang To kill someone. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "hush" and "up." Ray hushed up the informant, just as the boss told him to. An attack that large could hush us all up. A sniper positioned high above City Hall hushed up the mayor and created a panic.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
hush someone up
1. to make someone quiet. Please hush the children up. I have a telephone call. Hush up those kids!
2. Sl. to kill someone. The gang was afraid the witness would testify and wanted to hush him up. Mr. Big told Sam to hush up Richard.
hush something up
Fig. to keep something a secret; to try to stop a rumor from spreading. We just couldn't hush it up. We wanted to hush up the story, but there was no way to do it.
hush up
to be quiet; to get quiet; to stop talking. You talk too much. Hush up! I want you to hush up and sit down!
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
hush up
Keep from public knowledge, suppress mention of. For example, They tried to hush up the damaging details. [First half of 1600s]
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.
hush up
v.1. To stop talking; become quiet: The crowd hushed up as the speaker approached the podium. Hush up—you'll wake the baby!
2. To make someone stop talking or become quiet: The guards hushed up the prisoners. Please hush the kids up—I've got a headache.
3. To prevent something from being talked about; keep something from public knowledge: The government acted quickly to hush up the scandal. The editor hushed the news story up.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
hush someone up
1. tv. to make someone be quiet. Please hush your baby up!
2. tv. to kill someone. Nobody knew how to get to Mr. Gutman to hush him up.
hush something up
tv. to keep something a secret; to try to stop a rumor from spreading. We wanted to hush up the story, but there was no way to do it.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.