Akeem Lasisi
‘Shut’ can be described as a fertile verb based on the number of phrasal verbs it procreated. Among such are shut down, shut out, shut in and shut up. Of the four, ‘shut up’ is usually derogatory when directed at a person. It is thus not surprising that hell broke loose between a former Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili; and Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi last week when she asked him to ‘shut up’ during a Senate Committee hearing. As usual, we are not interested in the politics of the matter involved and the arguments the issue has ignited. We shall, however, take a deeper look at the phrasal verb in terms of its meanings and its synonyms that are not likely to generate anxiety.
Between shut in and shut out
Before breaking down ‘shut up’, we quickly define and exemplify the other expressions around ‘shut’. When you prevent some people from leaving a place, you shut them in. When you stop them from entering, you shut them out. By shutting down a business or equipment, however, you make it stop operating. The following are examples from Cambridge Dictionary:
The cat was shut in all night.
The wind blew the door closed behind me and now I’m shut out (of the house).
The company plans to shut down four factories and cut 10,000 jobs.
Shut up?
When you ask someone to shut up, you ask them to stop talking or making a noise. Of course, you too can deliberately shut up, in which case you choose not to say anything. It is, however, clear that when you tell a person so, you are ordering them to stop talking for whatever reason.
The implication is that although ‘shut up’ is often a baby of anger or frustration (can also be that of arrogance), it is not an expression expected from a junior to a senior or the young to elders, just as it is not compliant with formal situations. When there is cause to ask a fellow to stop talking, there is, therefore, the need to explore alternative expressions.
Synonyms of ‘shut up’
‘Shut up’ has a good number of synonyms. While some are as harsh as it is (keep mum, be silent, keep quiet, fall silent, hold your tongue, be still etc.) others are mild and less provocative. Examples of these are: excuse me, calm (down), cool (down) chill and pipe down. Of the five, ‘excuse me’ and ‘calm down’ are more suitable for formal situations:
Excuse me, senator; allow me to talk.
Calm down, senator. What you are saying is wrong.
Cool down, Linda; you are embarrassing me.
Pipe down, sister. You have said too much.
Chill. It’s time to close the matter.
Other meanings of shut up
Another meaning of ‘shut up’ is to stop someone from talking about a particular subject or from complaining or asking for things:
The kids kept saying how hungry they were, so their father gave them some biscuits to shut them up.
It can also mean to close a shop or other business for a period of time, usually when business is finished for the day, as Cambridge Dictionary further explains:
The battery seller had shut up when I got there.
