Put a sock in it
Meaning
A direct and informal command to someone to stop talking or making noise.
Origin
In the early 20th century, as gramophones and phonographs became popular, a common household problem arose: the lack of volume control. These early machines could blare out music with enthusiastic force, often to the annoyance of others. To dampen the overwhelming sound, resourceful listeners would literally stuff a sock into the flared horn of the device, effectively muffling the noise. This practical act of silencing a loud machine quickly morphed into a colloquial, if rather blunt, command to a person making too much racket, demanding they quiet down with the same directness.
Examples
- I wish he would put a sock in it; I'm trying to concentrate on my work.
- After listening to them argue for an hour, I finally had to tell them to put a sock in it.