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Idiom: Loose lips sink ships
As the world watches the Russo-Ukrainian War and cheers for the Ukrainian underdog, we can’t help but think of WWII.
Although the fighting is mostly happening on land, there are warships involved.
Where are they, and what are they doing?
‘Loose lips sink ships‘ was part of a US propaganda campaign reminding people that talking or commenting about some things could cost people their lives.
Well, we don’t know because loose lips sink ships.
The location of your warships in a time of war is not something you want to be broadcast for all to know.
In the Second World War, convoys of merchant ships and warships to protect them would head to St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, form up and then head over to Britain, bringing much-needed aid.
American propaganda posters reminded people that “loose lips sink ships.”
In other words, don’t talk about what’s going on to anybody.
There were German spies in the US, Canada and Newfoundland.
There are many rumours that German submariners were arrested with Canadian movie and streetcar tickets in their pockets when the war ended.
Loose lips, sink ships was serious.
One moment of unguarded conversation in a bar could have cost hundreds of men their lives on the Atlantic Ocean.
Of course, the Germans knew the convoys were going across the Atlantic, but they didn’t know where they were each minute.
The Atlantic Ocean is a vast area to search.
So, the same goes for today.
The Russians have remained so tight-lipped about their war plans that even their soldiers don’t know where they are.
Remember this; if we end up in the Third World War, loose lips sink ships.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test
This post is understandable by someone with at least a 7th-grade education (age 12).
On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 74.
The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.