English Idioms

Put a Sock in it

Meaning:

• an informal and sometimes rude way of telling someone to be quiet or stop talking (use this idiom with care)

Frequency of Use: Medium

1. I was tired of his complaining, so I told him to put a sock in it.
2. Put a sock in it—I’m trying to concentrate on my homework.
3. She wouldn’t stop singing loudly, so her brother yelled, “Put a sock in it!”
4. The coach told the arguing players to put a sock in it and get back to practice.
5. If you don’t put a sock in it, we’ll never hear the announcement.

1. Has anyone ever told you to “put a sock in it”? How did you feel and what happened next?
2. In what situations is it okay—or not okay—to tell someone to “put a sock in it”? Why?
3. If you could politely tell someone to “put a sock in it” without offending them, how would you say it?

Situation:
You are on a long road trip with your best friend and two other friends. However, your best friend keeps singing loudly to every song on the radio—even when no one else knows the words. The other friends are starting to get annoyed, and the driver is losing focus because of the noise. You want to ask your friend to be quiet without hurting their feelings.

Possible Answer with the Idiom:
“Hey, you’ve got a great voice, but maybe put a sock in it for a little while so we can chat and enjoy the drive. You can sing again when we’re closer to the hotel!”

Possible Answer without the Idiom (More Diplomatic):
“Your singing’s fun, but could we take a little break so everyone can talk and enjoy the scenery for a bit?”

Sometimes, learners know the meaning of an idiom, but they don’t know how to use it correctly in conversation or writing. Thus, this activity checks your grammatical accuracy with the idiom so you become more confident in using it. 

Have you ever been in a situation where someone just won’t stop talking and you’re about to lose your mind? Well, there’s an idiom for that: “put a sock in it.” Not always very polite, but it means can you please be quiet or stop talking already?

It’s like when your friend is going on and on about their new favorite movie and, well, for the 50th time, and you’re sitting there thinking, “I don’t need to hear this again.” You’re not being mean, but you just really wish they’d put a sock in it, or imagine you’re at work and your coworker is complaining about the same problem over and over again every single day, and you’ve heard it all a million times. You just want to say, “Put a sock in it.” Like, how many times do we have to go over this again?

It’s not always the most polite expression, but it works.

And then there’s the person at the party who’s talking so loudly you can’t hear everything else, anything else, and everyone’s trying to have a conversation, but nope, there they are, dominating the room and just. You just want to scream, “Put a sock in it!”

So the next time someone is going on and on, whether it’s about the latest gossip, they’re never ending complaints or the same story they tell all the time. Remember, it’s okay to tell them to “put a sock in it.” Just say it with a smile and maybe hand them an actual sock. Who knows, it just might help.