Mum's the word Keep quiet - say nothing. 'Mum's the word' has
become a popular name for baby product shops and nursery
services, but the 'mum' in this phrase isn't mother. Nor has
'mum' anything to do with Egyptian mummies, despite their
prolonged taciturn disposition. That 'mummy' derives from 'mum'
being the name of the bitumen used for embalming. The 'mum' of
'mum's the word' is 'mmm' - the humming sound made with a closed
mouth, indicating an unwillingness or inability to speak. The
word is of long standing in the language and first appeared in
print in William Langland's Middle English narrative poem Piers
Plowman, circa 1376: Thou mightest beter meten the myst on
Malverne hulles Then geten a mom of heore mouth til moneye weore
schewed! That loosely translates as 'You may as well try to
measure the mist on the Malvern Hills as to try and get her to
speak without first offering payment'. As old as Piers Plowman,
and as central to English folklore, is the tradition of mumming.
Sadly, no complete texts of t