ROGET'S THESAURUS OF ENGLISH WORDS AND PHRASES ...

585. Taciturnity -- N. silence, muteness, obmutescence † ; taciturnity, pauciloquy † ,
costiveness † , curtness; reserve, reticence &c (concealment) 528.
man of few words.
V. be silent &c adj.; keep silence, keep mum; hold one's tongue, hold one's peace, hold
one's jaw; not speak.
&c 582; say nothing, keep one's counsel; seal the lips, close the lips, button the lips,
zipper the lips, put a padlock on the lips, put a padlock on the mouth; put a bridle on one's
tongue; bite one's tongue, keep one's tongue between one's teeth; make no sign, not let a
word escape one; keep a secret &c 528; not have a word to say; hush up, hush, lay the
finger on the lips, place the finger on the lips; render mute &c 581.
stick in one's throat.
Adj. silent, mute, mum; silent as a post, silent as a stone, silent as the grave &c (still)
403; dumb &c 581; unconversable † .
taciturn, sparing of words; closetongued; costive † , inconversable † , curt; reserved;
reticent &c (concealing) 528.
Int. shush!, tush!, silence!, mum!, hush!, chut! † , hist!, tut!, chup! † , mum's the word; keep
your mouth shut! [Vulg.].
Phr. cave quid dicis quando et cui [Lat.]; volto sciolto i pensieri stretti [It].
586. Allocution -- N. allocution, alloquy † , address; speech &c 582; apostrophe,
interpellation, appeal, invocation, salutation; word in the ear.
[Feigned dialogue] dialogism † .
platform &c 542; plank; audience &c (interview) 588.
V. speak to, address, accost, make up to, apostrophize, appeal to, invoke; ball, salute; call
to, halloo.
take aside, take by the button; talk to in private.
lecture &c (make a speech) 582.
Int. soho! † , halloo!, hey!, hist!,
587. Response -- N. &c see Answer 462.
588. Conversation -- N. conversation, interlocution; collocution † , colloquy, converse,
confabulation, talk, discourse, verbal intercourse; oral communication, commerce;
dialogue, duologue, trialogue.
causerie, chat, chitchat; small talk, table talk, teatable talk † , town talk, village talk, idle
talk; tattle, gossip, tittle-tattle; babble, babblement † ; tripotage † , cackle, prittle-prattle † ,
cancan, on dit [Fr.]; talk of the town, talk of the village.
conference, parley, interview, audience, pourparler; tete-a-tete; reception,
conversazione [It]; congress &c (council) 696; powwow [U.S.].
hall of audience, durbar † .
palaver, debate, logomachy † , war of words.
gossip, tattler; Paul Pry; tabby; chatterer &c (loquacity) 584; interlocutor &c
(spokesman) 582; conversationist † , dialogist † .
the feast of reason and the flow of soul [Pope]; mollia tempora fandi [Lat.].