Jen: Oh my gosh! What happened to this glass vase? It’s broken!
Jason: I know. I’ve been trying to find out who did it.
Jen: Did you ask the kids who were running around here earlier?
Jason: I did. When I asked them who did it they all clammed up about it. So I never did find out who broke the glass vase.

본문에서 제가 Jason에게 “Oh my gosh! What happened to this glass vase? It’s broken! 원 세상에, 이 유리 꽃병이 왜 이래. 깨졌네.”라고 하자 Jason이 “I know. I’ve been trying to find out who did it. 나도 알아. 지금 누가 그랬는지 찾고 있어.”라고 하네요.

제가 “Did you ask the kids who were running around here earlier? 이 주변에서 놀던 애들한테 물어봤니?”라고 묻자 Jason이 “I did. When I asked them who did it they all clammed up about it. 응, 물어봤는데 다들 입을 꼭 다물고 아무 말도 하지 않아. So I never did find out who broke the glass vase. 그래서 누가 깼는지 아직 알아내지 못했어.”라고 하네요.

Now keep today’s expression, ‘clam up’ in mind and let’s hear the conversation again. 그럼 다시 한번 대화를 들어볼까요?

Jen: Oh my gosh! What happened to this glass vase? It’s broken!
Jason: I know. I’ve been trying to find out who did it.
Jen: Did you ask the kids who were running around here earlier?
Jason: I did. When I asked them who did it they all clammed up about it. So I never did find out who broke the glass vase.

Today’s expression is clam up. When you clam up, you suddenly refuse to speak or reply. People usually clam up because they don’t want to talk about a particular subject, or they are embarrassed or nervous about something.

Clam up on something 은 대화 하다가 비밀을 말하게 될까 봐 갑자기 입을 다문다는 표현입니다. 아울러 당혹스럽고 불안해서 침묵을 지키는 경우에도 쓸 수 있고요. 이야기하고 싶지 않은 주제가 나와서 말을 멈추게 될 때도 사용할 수 있습니다.

Clam은 조개죠. Clam up은 조개가 입을 꼭 다물듯이 입을 열지 않는다는 의미입니다. 상황이 연상 되시겠죠? 오늘 본문에서 제가 Jason에게 아이들한테 물어봤느냐고 묻자 Jason는 물어보기는 봤는데 아이들이 그 깨진 유리 꽃병에 대해 다들 입을 꼭 다물고 아무 말도 하지 않더라고 했죠. “When I asked them who did it they all clammed up about it.” 라고요.

그럼 예문을 들어 볼까요? “Mr. Johnson asked who had thrown the pencil, but the students clammed up.”이라고 하면 “존슨 선생님이 학생들에게 누가 이 연필을 던졌느냐고 묻자 다들 아무 말도 하지 않았다.” 라는 뜻이 됩니다.

이 표현 잘 기억하시고요. 오늘의 대화를 마지막으로 들어보겠습니다. Now that you know what today’s expression means, let’s listen to the conversation for the last time.

Jen: Oh my gosh! What happened to this glass vase? It’s broken!
Jason: I know. I’ve been trying to find out who did it.
Jen: Did you ask the kids who were running around here earlier?
Jason: I did. When I asked them who did it they all clammed up about it. So I never did find out who broke the glass vase.

Let’s review. When you clam up, you suddenly refuse to speak or reply. CLAM UP.