[Ads-l] Proverb Origin: A Fish Wouldn't Get Caught If It Kept Its Mouth Shut

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The thread initiated by JL on January 9 inspired the creation of a
Quote Investigator article located here:

Proverb Origin: A Fish Wouldn’t Get Caught If It Kept Its Mouth Shut
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2026/01/14/fish-mouth/

This saying is difficult to trace because it can be expressed in many
ways. Here is an overview with dates which summarizes the evolution:

1891 Nov: Man is a good deal like a fish. You know, the fish would
never get in very serious trouble if it kept its mouth shut.

1902 May: A fish can avoid a lot of trouble by keeping its mouth shut.
So can the house furnishing buyer.

1915 Jul: A man like a fish can generally avoid being caught by
keeping his mouth shut.

1920 Jun: Consider the fish; he never gets caught so long as he keeps
his mouth shut.

1921 Oct: Even a fish won’t get caught if it keeps its mouth shut.

1923 Nov: Even a fish would not get caught if it would just keep its
darn mouth shut.

1934 Mar: It’s when he doesn’t keep his mouth shut that a fish gets
caught and that’s when some people get into trouble, too.

1958 Jan: What did one fish say to the other fish? Keep your mouth
shut and you won’t get caught.

2020 Aug: Even a fish won’t get caught if it keeps its mouth shut.

[Begin acknowledgement]
Great thanks to Jonathan Lighter whose inquiry led QI to formulate
this question and perform this exploration. Thanks also to discussant
Bill Mullins.
[End acknowledgement]

Garson

On Sat, Jan 10, 2026 at 10:08 AM ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> "The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs" contains a pertinent entry for
> this fish proverb with citations beginning in 1921. Further below I
> present citations for a version of this saying beginning in 1891.
>
> [ref] 2012, The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs, Compiled by Charles
> Clay Doyle, Wolfgang Mieder, and Fred R. Shapiro, Quote Page 79, Yale
> University Press, New Haven. (Verified with hardcopy) [/ref]
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> A fish wouldn't get caught if it kept its mouth shut.
>
> 1921 T. J. R[uddy], "Gossip Is a Form of Insanity," Western Osteopath
> 16, no. 5 (Oct.) 41: "This man in turn was threatening a slander suit.
> Perhaps he was justified, but we all can agree with the editor of Whiz
> Bang [Wilford H. Fawcett?] that 'Even a fish won't get caught if it
> keeps its mouth shut.'"
> [End excerpt]
>
> This saying/quip can be expressed in many ways which makes searching
> difficult. Here is an instance:
>
> [ref] 1891 November 18, The Yonkers Statesman, Whim-Whams, Quote Page
> 2, Column 4, Yonkers, New York. (Newspapers_com) [/ref]
> https://www.newspapers.com/image/675805270/?terms=fish&match=1
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> Man is a good deal like a fish. You know, the fish would never get in
> very serious trouble if it kept its mouth shut.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Other periodicals such as "Puck" and "The York Dispatch" reprinted
> this saying while acknowledging "The Yonkers Statesman".
>
> [ref] 1891 December 9, Puck, Section: The Pretty Typewriter, Quote
> Page 283, Column 2, Keppler & Schwarzmann, Puck Building, New York.
> (Google Books Full View) link [/ref]
> https://www.google.com/books/edition/Puck/k7MiAQAAMAAJ?gbpv=1&bsq=%22like%20a%20fish%22
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> Man is a good deal like a fish. You know, the fish would never get in
> very serious trouble if it kept its mouth shut. —Yonkers Statesman.
> [End excerpt]
>
> [ref] 1891 December 14, The York Dispatch, City Happenings, Pickings,
> Quote Page 4, Column 1, York, Pennsylvania. (Newspapers_com) [/ref]
> https://www.newspapers.com/image/614558660/?terms=trouble&match=1
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> Man is a good deal like a fish. You know, the fish would never get in
> very serious trouble if it keeps its mouth shut. —Yonkers Statesman.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Garson
>
> On Fri, Jan 9, 2026 at 4:16 PM Jonathan Lighter
> <00001aad181a2549-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
> >
> > Rev. Al Sharpton on _Deadline White House_ (MSNOW TV) today:
> >
> > I always quote, a wise man told me, "A fish wouldn't get caught if they
> > kept their _mouth shut_."
> >
> > Note too "they" applied to a fish (instead of "its").
> >
> > JL
> > --
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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