silent as the grave
1
5.7
- idiom
- Literature
:
silencioso como la tumba
- As the storm passed, the street became silent as the grave, with not a sound to be heard.
Examples
-
In the meantime, we must be as silent as the grave. 3.
Fiction book (1998) -
The Bend was silent as the grave when he drifted by.
Fiction book (1990) -
The whole room falls silent as the grave, and the old man stalks up the aisle between our desks, looking hard all about him.
Fiction book (1996) -
The old library was silent as the grave during the exam, with students focused on their papers.
-
In the early morning, the forest was silent as the grave, with only the sound of my footsteps.
Synonyms
257
1.0
Not making any sound
22
4.1
Very quiet in a careful, respectful, or secret way
20
4.1
Not using speech, often shown by a look or gesture
11
6.6
Not producing normal sound and bounce, like a drum or ball
7
2.4
Someone or something that is quiet and still and not moving
4
4.0
Not making any sound
2
3.5
Not making any sound
2
5.8
Very quiet so no one notices you
1
6.7
Strangely quiet in a way that makes you feel scared
A quiet, peaceful time or place with very little sound
Antonyms
How Quiet
Surface Forms
Morphology
The simile structure 'silent as the grave' is compositionally transparent: a learner who knows 'silent' and 'grave' can infer that graves are associated with death and therefore extreme stillness, so the phrase means 'extremely quiet'. Similar metaphors (e.g. 'silencio sepulcral', 'silence de tombe') exist in many languages, making the comparison predictable to B1 learners.
Etymology
The idiom silent as the grave may come from the image of a grave, a place where the dead lie and there is no sound. That's why saying someone is silent as the grave means they are 'completely silent'.