Earlier today in reassuring a friend that her secret was safe with me, I actually said in an e-mail, “Mum’s the word.” An odd expression anyway, but it looks funnier in writing even than it sounds. So, of course, I had to look it up and see if I could find out exactly why the word is mum.
Shakespeare gets some credit, from Henry VI, Part 2: “Seal up your lips and give no words but mum."
But the real origin is said to be from one of the Towneley Plays about 100 years earlier in which is found: “Though thi lyppis be stokyn, yit myght thou say ‘mum’”.
It is thought that “mum” actually referred to “mmm,” as in humming. The reference to lips in both quotations gives some credence to that notion, I think, since humming requires the lips to be pressed together, making speech impossible.
Oh – and the Towneley Plays are English mystery plays (a series of 32 of them, no less) of the 15th Century. These are based on Bible stories and include tableaux and singing (probably including Gregorian chants) and recitations. They were very popular in Medieval churches, meant to edify and entertain the faithful all at the same time.
See where one question can lead you?
And after all that, I am feeling like a really noble friend to have given my word that although my lips are stabbing me, the only thing I will say is mmm.
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