could hear a pin drop
could hear a pin drop
Could hear nothing at all because it was completely quiet and still. After the boss's outburst, the meeting room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Waiting to see what happened next in the play, everyone in the audience stayed so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
hear a pin drop, can
Be able to hear even the smallest noise because of the quiet, as in When he came onstage you could have heard a pin drop. This hyperbolic expression dates from the early 1800s.
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.
you could hear a pin drop
You say you could hear a pin drop to emphasize how quiet it is because nobody is speaking. I had never before prayed in silence with several thousand young people. You could hear a pin drop. You could have heard a pin drop in the press briefing room after he said that.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
you could hear a pin drop
there was absolute silence or stillness.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
you could have heard a ˈpin drop
it was extremely quiet: When the play finished you could have heard a pin drop.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017