Quote: wheel that squeaks the loudest ... gets the grease (Cal Stewart as Josh Weathersby 1903)

[Garson O'Toole]

Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> A guest on CNN a day or so ago remarked in a similar vein, "As
> my grandmother used to say, 'The closed mouth doesn't get fed.'"

Thanks for your response, Jon. Here is an instance of the saying you
mention in 1989. Admittedly, this may be years after the grandmother
of the CNN guest deployed the expression.

Cite: 1989 January 8, Sun-Sentinel, "Ignore Regular Season, Road
Warriors to Win" by Bob Hill, Page 8C, [South Florida], Fort
Lauderdale, Florida. (NewsBank)

Florida State defensive back and probable top-five selection Deion
Sanders on why he talks so much: "Because I feel a closed mouth never
gets fed."


Of course, sometimes it is better not to be fed.

Cite: 1972 May 26, Owosso Argus-Press, Dear Abby: Advertisers: Pick Up
The Cue, Page 5 [GNArchive Page 3], Owosso, Michigan. (Google News
archive)

CONFIDENTIAL TO "BEAUCOUP SORRY" IN NEW ORLEANS: A shut mouth never
has to eat crow. [QUOTE MAGAZINE]


The online Oxford Dictionary of Quotations has a distinct proverb that
it dates to "late 16th century":

818. A shut mouth catches no flies.

The meaning of this maxim and the first one may converge in the realm of frogs.

Garson

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