How to tell someone to be quiet in English

We are generally a happy bunch at Kaplan. However, sometimes you just have to tell someone to be quiet! This can be because they are too loud, other times you may not agree with what someone is saying. There are even occasions when people are being rude and need to be told to keep their opinions to themselves! We have listed the most popular ways to tell someone to be quiet below.

All these idioms can all be used synonymously to tell someone to be quiet, so we've only added examples in this blog. Discover how you can tell someone to lower their voice in an informal way by using these idioms:

1. PUT A SOCK IN IT
   Example: “Hey, you’re being way too loud. Put a sock in it!”
2. CORK IT
   "Excuse me. What you’ve just said is very rude. Cork it!”
3. BUTTON IT
   Example: " Your argument is way out of line. Button it!" 
4. SHUT YOUR PIE HOLE 
   Example: “You are being very loud and disruptive. Shut your pie hole!”
5. ZIP YOUR LIPS
   Example: “What you just said to me was offensive. Zip your lips!”
6. WIND YOUR NECK IN 
   Example: “Stop being so loud and obnoxious! Wind your neck in!”
7. SIMMER DOWN
   Example: “You are getting too loud and aggressive! Simmer down!”
8. PIPE DOWN
   Example: “Why are you being so noisy when people are trying to concentrate? Pipe down!”

There we have it - eight ways to tell someone to be quiet! Though we don't condone using these types of idioms to everyone you meet, native speakers use them all the time to tell someone to keep their voice down, so using them will develop your vocabulary and make you sound more like a native speaker. You'll also know if someone wants you to be quiet too! How many can you remember? 

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