button one's lip

== English == === Alternative forms === button up one's lip === Pronunciation === === Verb === button one's lip (third-person singular simple present buttons one's lip, present participle buttoning one's lip, simple past and past participle buttoned one's lip) (idiomatic) To remain silent, especially in order to keep a secret or to avoid saying something inappropriate. 1910, Jim Nasium, "The Baseball League on the Styx," The Sunday Press (Pittsburgh), 15 May, p. 2 (retrieved 19 July 2010): "Yes," put in Solomon. "I've been tipped off to this guy Mars, and you'd better tell him to button up his lip and not start anything." ==== Synonyms ==== bite one's lip zip one's lip ==== See also ==== button it