Idom: to keep mum

[Strawberry girl]

Test No. incompl/inter-42 "Keeping it Quiet", question 2

As she was on a very dangerous mission for the government she had to keep ......... about what she did for a living.

(a) dad
(b) aunt
(c) uncle
(d) mum

Test No. incompl/inter-42 "Keeping it Quiet", answer 2

As she was on a very dangerous mission for the government she had to keep mum about what she did for a living.

Correct answer: (d) mum

Your answer was: incorrect
As she was on a very dangerous mission for the government she had to keep uncle about what she did for a living.
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Hi,Alan
Why should she keep her mum about what she did for a living?What meaning is it?

[Alan]

Hi strawberry,

I see you have been busy this morning. This is an idiom and means keep quiet about something. It probably comes from the verb mumble meaning speak indistinctly/unclearly so that you can't be understood.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story A day in the life of a flat hunter