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Truth, Secrecy, & Deception - Keeping Secrets

Master English idioms that relate to keeping secrets, like "between you and me" and "keep a lid on".

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English idioms related to Truth, Secrecy, & Deception
hidden agenda

a secret reason behind a plan or action

Ex: He helped us, but with a hidden agenda. 
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between you and me

said to ask someone to keep a conversation secret

Ex: Between you and me, he is planning to quit. 
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to [breathe|say] a word about {sth}

to tell other people what is supposed to stay secret

Ex: Don't breathe a word about this. 
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conspiracy of silence

used to refer to an agreement made in order to keep someone from sharing or revealing information that should be otherwise publicly known

Ex: There was a conspiracy of silence around the incident. 
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to [keep] a lid on {sth}

to not let something become revealed to others

Ex: They tried to keep a lid on the scandal. 
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to [keep|play|hold] {one's} cards close to {one's} (chest|vest)

to refrain from revealing one's true intentions or plans

Ex: During the merger talks, the CEO kept her cards close to her chest until the final offer. 
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to [keep] {sth} under {one's} hat

to avoid sharing a secret with others

Ex: I can tell you what happened, but you have to keep it under your hat. 
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to [keep|stay] schtum

to decide to remain silent about something, particularly out of fear of making a situation worse

Ex: I wanted to correct him, but I stayed schtum because everyone was already tense. 
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mum is the word
mum is the word
[sentence]

said as a promise or request to not tell something to anyone else

Ex: Mum is the word, okay?  No one can know about the engagement yet. 
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{one's} lips [are] sealed

used when one says that one will not reveal secret information

Ex: Tell me what happened; my lips are sealed. 
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skeleton in the closet

something about a person's past that they do not want to reveal or mention because it is embarrassing or unpleasant

Ex: Every family has a skeleton in the closet, but his was impossible to hide once the trial began. 
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these four walls

used to refer to a room, in which a group of people knows or witnesses something that others do not

Ex: What I'm about to say stays within these four walls. 
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to [tell] tales (out of|outside) school

to share information that is secret or private

Ex: I don't want to tell tales out of school, but the meeting was a disaster. 
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to [keep] {one's} own counsel

to keep one's thoughts or plans to oneself and not share them with others

Ex: Maya kept her own counsel while everyone argued about the budget. 
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to [keep] {sth} dark

to not let other people know about something

Ex: The directors kept the deal dark until every contract was signed. 
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(as|) (close|dumb) as an oyster

a person who can be trusted with one's secrets

Ex: You can tell Nora; she's as close as an oyster. 
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to [cover] {one's} tracks

to conceal or destroy evidence of one's activities or whereabouts to avoid detection or punishment

Ex: After hacking into the system, he deleted the logs to cover his tracks. 
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to [paper] over the cracks

to try to conceal flaws or problems temporarily, without addressing or solving them properly

Ex: The new policy just papers over the cracks instead of fixing the real problem. 
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to [keep] {sth} under wraps

to keep something secret or confidential and not to reveal it to others

Ex: The company kept the new phone under wraps until the launch event. 
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trade secret

a piece of personal or private information that one refuses to share with anyone

Ex: Her morning routine is a trade secret she refuses to share. 
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to [bottle] things up

to hide or suppress feelings instead of expressing them

Ex: He bottled things up until he finally broke down. 
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to [keep] {sth} under lock and key

to keep something private, hidden, or carefully protected

Ex: The manager kept the documents under lock and key. 
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