dummy up
Definition
- Verb (informal):
- To refuse to talk or to stop talking; to become silent: The primary meaning is to choose to stop speaking, often suddenly or deliberately.
- To create a mock-up or preliminary version: A secondary, more specific meaning is to make a dummy (a model or prototype) of something, such as a book layout.
Usage and Examples
Meaning 1: To become silent:
- The witness was told to dummy up by the intimidating lawyer.
- When the teacher entered, the noisy classroom dummied up immediately.
Meaning 2: To make a dummy of:
- The designer will dummy up the magazine pages before final printing.
- We need to dummy up the annual report to show the client the proposed format.
Advanced Usage
- The phrase "dummy up" in the sense of becoming silent is often used in contexts involving pressure, intimidation, or a command. It implies a conscious decision to withhold speech.
- In publishing and design, "to dummy up" is a technical term for arranging text and graphics in a preliminary layout to visualize the final product.
Variants and Related Words
- Dummy (noun): 1. A model or replica of a human being. 2. A silent or stupid person. 3. In publishing, a preliminary layout.
- Clam up (verb, phrasal): A close synonym for the "become silent" meaning.
- Mock-up (noun): A model or prototype, related to the second meaning.
Synonyms
- For "refuse to talk": Clam up, shut up, hold one's tongue, keep quiet, button one's lip.
- For "make a dummy of": Mock up, prototype, model, layout.
Related Phrasal Verbs / Constructions
- Shut up: The most common and direct synonym for the "become silent" meaning of "dummy up." ("Dummy up" is less common and can sound more dated or slangy.)
Related Idioms
- Button your lip: An idiom meaning to stop talking.
- Keep mum: An idiom meaning to say nothing, especially to keep a secret.
Verb
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refuse to talk or stop talking; fall silent
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The children shut up when their father approached
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make a dummy of
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dummy up the books that are to be published
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