I am keeping my lips zipped about the bet

The Hindu

21-07-2025

'Did you find the time to watch the Wimbledon finals on TV?'
'I watched the men's match completely. But when it came to the ladies final, I watched only the first three games before switching off the TV.'
'Only three games? Why is that?'
'It was fairly obvious by then that Swiatek was going to blow away Anisimova.'
'Blow away? What do you mean?'
'The expression 'blow away' has many different meanings. But in the context of sports, it is mostly used to mean to defeat someone comprehensively.'
'In other words, you outperform everyone else. You destroy the competition.'
'I guess you could say that. Here's an example. At this year's Wimbledon, after the second round, Iga Swiatek just blew away her opponents.'
'That's true. After the second round, she didn't lose a set. How about this example? During the first half of the game, the two teams were evenly matched. In the second half, however, our opponent blew us away by scoring seven goals.'
'Ouch! That must have hurt! Anyway, that's a good example. Here's another one. We thought Sindhu would blow away the competition. We were shocked when she lost in the first round.'
'That's what makes every tournament exciting. You know what they say about sports. Expect the unexpected. So, did Sujatha buy you breakfast? After all, you did take a bet with her that Swiatek would win.'
'That's true. But Sujatha is going through a tough time. Lots of problems at the office. So, I'm keeping my lips zipped about the bet.'
'Keeping your lips zipped? Does it mean the same thing as 'keeping your lips buttoned'?'
'Very good. When you keep your lips zipped, what you are doing is keeping quiet. You're not opening your mouth about some matter. The Manager was angry and wasn't willing to listen to reason. So, I decided to keep my lips zipped.'
'Keeping one's lips buttoned is the best thing to do when someone is angry.'
'Exactly! There's so much corruption in this office. I can't keep my lips zipped, I'm afraid. So, how are things at your office? Heard you're getting a new boss.'
'That's true. He'll be joining us in a week or two.'
'A week or two? That's a long time! What are you guys going to be doing in the meanwhile?'
'What we've been doing the past few days, I suppose! Sleepwalk through the workday.'
'Sleepwalk through the day? What are you talking about?'
'Do you know what sleepwalk means?'
'Of course, I do! Doesn't it mean to walk in one's sleep?'
'That's right! I'm told I used to sleepwalk when I was a kid.'
'I believe my uncle sleepwalks even now. He's nearly 70.'
'Sleepwalk has other meanings as well. It's frequently used in informal contexts to mean to say something without really thinking.'
'And you're not thinking because you're asleep! Since your mind is not functioning or has been switched off, you're not really worried about the consequences of what you do or say.'
'Very good! Some of my colleagues are of the opinion that America is sleepwalking itself into a financial crisis.'
'How about this example? Last night, I saw a movie where most of the actors sleepwalked through their roles.'
'So, what you're suggesting is that the actors were wooden. There was little or no life in their acting.'
'Yes.'