Word.ws English Dictionary

a closed mouth gathers no feet

Syllables: a closed mouth ga·thers no feetUK/ə ˈkləʊzd ˌmaʊθ ˈɡæ.ðəz nəʊ ˈfiːt//ə ˈkloʊzd ˌmaʊθ ˈɡæ.ðɚz noʊ ˈfiːt/

a closed mouth gathers no feet proverb: one who does not speak can be sure of not saying anything embarrassing.

Proverb

a closed mouth gathers no feet

  1. (humorous) One who does not speak can be sure of not saying anything embarrassing.
    • From the wall of a New York bar: "A closed mouth gathers no feet."1958, “Wall Signs Dept.”, in Advertising Agency, volume 51, Bristol, Conn.: Moore Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 9
    • A closed mouth gathers no feet.1972, American Eagle, San Francisco, Calif.: American Forest Products Corporation, →ISSN, →OCLC, column 2

Examples of a closed mouth gathers no feet in a sentence

  • Now disinflation is conventional wisdom on Wall Street, and Rutledge makes no apologies for his flamboyance: "A closed mouth gathers no feet," he says.1987, Forbes, volume 139, New York, N.Y.: Forbes, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 71:
  • And above all remember that "a closed mouth gathers no feet!"1996, Marvin Phillips, “A Closed Mouth Gathers No Feet”, in Never Lick a Moving Blender!: Humorous Insights that Motivate and Encourage...
  • Remember, a closed mouth gathers no feet."2001, Gary W. Carter, “The Role of a Tax Consultant”, in Getting Started in Tax Consulting, New York, N.Y.: John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page...

Origin of a closed mouth gathers no feet

From put one's foot in one's mouth (“to say something embarrassing or wrong, or to make a mistake in public, or a social blunder, that is embarrassing or offensive”), adopting the structure of a rolling stone gathers no moss and a closed mouth catches no flies.

Questions about a closed mouth gathers no feet

What does a closed mouth gathers no feet mean?
A closed mouth gathers no feet means one who does not speak can be sure of not saying anything embarrassing.
How do you use a closed mouth gathers no feet in a sentence?
Now disinflation is conventional wisdom on Wall Street, and Rutledge makes no apologies for his flamboyance: "A closed mouth gathers no feet," he says.
What part of speech is a closed mouth gathers no feet?
A closed mouth gathers no feet is a proverb.
How do you pronounce a closed mouth gathers no feet?
A closed mouth gathers no feet is pronounced /ə ˈkləʊzd ˌmaʊθ ˈɡæ.ðəz nəʊ ˈfiːt/ (UK).

Words near a closed mouth gathers no feet in the dictionary

  1. a cigar is a cigar
  2. a cigar is just a cigar
  3. a clock
  4. a closed mouth catches no flies
  5. a closed mouth doesn't get fed
  6. a closed mouth gathers no feet
  7. a cold day in July
  8. a contented mind is a perpetual feast
  9. A Coruña
  10. a creaking door hangs long on its hinges
  11. a creaking door hangs longest

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: a closed mouth gathers no feet (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-a closed mouth gathers no feet.wav.

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