World War II poster by Seymour R. Goff. This was the first poster to use some variation of the phrase. It was published by the Canadian Seagram Distillers Corporation for posting in bars.[1][2]
This type of poster was part of a general campaign to advise servicemen and other citizens to avoid careless talk that might undermine the war effort. There were many similar such slogans, but "Loose lips sink ships" remained in the American idiom for the remainder of the century and into the next, usually as an admonition to avoid careless talk in general.[5][6][7] (The British equivalent used "Careless Talk Costs Lives", and variations on the phrase "Keep mum",[8] while in neutral Sweden the State Information Board promoted the wordplay "En svensk tiger" ("A Swedish tiger" or "A Swede keeps silent": the Swedish word "tiger" means both "tiger" and "keeps silent"), and Germany used "Schäm Dich, Schwätzer!" (English: "Shame on you, blabbermouth!").[9]
However, propaganda experts at the time and historians since have argued the main goal of these and similar posters was to actually frighten people into not spreading rumors, even true ones, containing bad news that might hurt morale or create tension between groups of Americans, since the Federal Bureau of Investigation (in charge of dealing with enemy spies) had rounded up the key agents in June 1941, so that the nation "entered the war with confidence that there was no major German espionage network hidden in U.S. society."[10] From the White House's perspective, the FBI had succeeded in virtually ending the German espionage threat. Historian Joseph E. Persico says it "practically shut down German espionage in the United States overnight."[11]
Historian D'Ann Campbell argues that the purpose of the wartime posters, propaganda, and censorship of soldiers' letters was not to foil spies but "to clamp as tight a lid as possible on rumors that might lead to discouragement, frustration, strikes, or anything that would cut back military production."[12][13][14]
^"World War II 'Loose Lips' Poster (product description)". Olive Drav. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
^"Hadley Digital Archive "Loose Lips Might Sink Ships"". Retrieved October 28, 2012.
^ ab"Loose lips sink ships". The Phrase Finder. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
^. Ad Council. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
^"Idiom: Loose lips sink ships". Using English. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
^"Loose lips sink ships". The Free Dictionary. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
^. www.successfullearningcommunities.com. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
^""Keep mum – she's not so dumb" - Charcoal, gouache, ink & pastel on board". British National Archives. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
^"Schäm Dich, Schwätzer! Feind hört mit-Schweigen ist..." The Memory of the Netherlands. Koninklijke Bibliotheek. Retrieved March 24, 2014.(in Dutch)
^Robert S. Mueller; John J. Miller; Michael P. Kortan (2008). The FBI: A Centennial History, 1908-2008. Government Printing Office. p. 44. ISBN9780160809552.
^Joseph E. Persico (2002). Roosevelt's Secret War: FDR and World War II Espionage. Random House. p. 115. ISBN978-0-375-76126-3.
^D'Ann Campbell, Women at War with America: Private Lives in a Patriotic Era (1984) p 71.
^Chip Heath; Dan Heath (2007). Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. Random House. p. 281. ISBN9781400064281.
^J. Douglas Smith; Richard J. Jensen (2003). World War II on the Web: A Guide to the Very Best Sites. Scholarly Resources. p. 95. ISBN9780842050203.
December 15, 2023
loose, lips, sink, ships, this, article, about, english, idiom, other, uses, disambiguation, american, english, idiom, meaning, beware, unguarded, talk, phrase, originated, propaganda, posters, during, world, with, earliest, version, using, wording, loose, lip. This article is about the English idiom For other uses see Loose lips sink ships disambiguation Loose lips sink ships is an American English idiom meaning beware of unguarded talk The phrase originated on propaganda posters during World War II with the earliest version using the wording loose lips might sink ships 3 The phrase was created by the War Advertising Council 4 and used on posters by the United States Office of War Information 3 World War II poster by Seymour R Goff This was the first poster to use some variation of the phrase It was published by the Canadian Seagram Distillers Corporation for posting in bars 1 2 This type of poster was part of a general campaign to advise servicemen and other citizens to avoid careless talk that might undermine the war effort There were many similar such slogans but Loose lips sink ships remained in the American idiom for the remainder of the century and into the next usually as an admonition to avoid careless talk in general 5 6 7 The British equivalent used Careless Talk Costs Lives and variations on the phrase Keep mum 8 while in neutral Sweden the State Information Board promoted the wordplay En svensk tiger A Swedish tiger or A Swede keeps silent the Swedish word tiger means both tiger and keeps silent and Germany used Scham Dich Schwatzer English Shame on you blabbermouth 9 However propaganda experts at the time and historians since have argued the main goal of these and similar posters was to actually frighten people into not spreading rumors even true ones containing bad news that might hurt morale or create tension between groups of Americans since the Federal Bureau of Investigation in charge of dealing with enemy spies had rounded up the key agents in June 1941 so that the nation entered the war with confidence that there was no major German espionage network hidden in U S society 10 From the White House s perspective the FBI had succeeded in virtually ending the German espionage threat Historian Joseph E Persico says it practically shut down German espionage in the United States overnight 11 Historian D Ann Campbell argues that the purpose of the wartime posters propaganda and censorship of soldiers letters was not to foil spies but to clamp as tight a lid as possible on rumors that might lead to discouragement frustration strikes or anything that would cut back military production 12 13 14 See also editAndrew J May The May Incident Operations security Loose Lips disambiguation usually an anapodoton shortening of this phraseReferences edit World War II Loose Lips Poster product description Olive Drav Retrieved June 28 2017 Hadley Digital Archive Loose Lips Might Sink Ships Retrieved October 28 2012 a b Loose lips sink ships The Phrase Finder Retrieved November 11 2010 Security of War Information Loose Lips Sink Ships 1942 1945 Ad Council Archived from the original on September 29 2011 Retrieved April 15 2020 Idiom Loose lips sink ships Using English Retrieved November 11 2010 Loose lips sink ships The Free Dictionary Retrieved November 11 2010 Loose lips sink ships Anti Espionage Posters from WWII www successfullearningcommunities com Archived from the original on 24 February 2015 Retrieved 24 February 2015 Keep mum she s not so dumb Charcoal gouache ink amp pastel on board British National Archives Retrieved November 11 2010 Scham Dich Schwatzer Feind hort mit Schweigen ist The Memory of the Netherlands Koninklijke Bibliotheek Retrieved March 24 2014 in Dutch Robert S Mueller John J Miller Michael P Kortan 2008 The FBI A Centennial History 1908 2008 Government Printing Office p 44 ISBN 9780160809552 Joseph E Persico 2002 Roosevelt s Secret War FDR and World War II Espionage Random House p 115 ISBN 978 0 375 76126 3 D Ann Campbell Women at War with America Private Lives in a Patriotic Era 1984 p 71 Chip Heath Dan Heath 2007 Made to Stick Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die Random House p 281 ISBN 9781400064281 J Douglas Smith Richard J Jensen 2003 World War II on the Web A Guide to the Very Best Sites Scholarly Resources p 95 ISBN 9780842050203 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Loose lips sink ships amp oldid 1180941020, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
