still waters run deep

still waters run deep

English

Alternative forms

• still water runs deep

Etymology

Of Latin origin, but possibly popularized by William Shakespeare, c. 1590, in "Henry VI," part 2, act 3, scene 1:

Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep;

And in his simple show he harbours treason.

Proverb

still waters run deep

1. A person with a calm appearance has, or may have, considerable inner emotion, character, or intellect.
   • 1822, Catharine Maria Sedgwick, "A New-England Tale":

     I always knew she was an artful jade; 'still waters run deep;' but she shall be exposed, the mask shall be stripped from the hypocrite.

   • 1885, Thomas Hardy, "A Mere Interlude":

     But still waters run deep; and no crisis had come in the years of her early maidenhood to demonstrate what lay hidden within her, like metal in a mine.

   • 1903, Samuel Butler, The Way of All Flesh, ch. 58:

     Baxter had never known of any goings on in that quarter, but, bless you, still waters run deep, and these girls were all alike, one as bad as the other.

   • 2003 June 8, Alice Elliott Dark, "Book Review: Rainy Day Woman," New York Times (retrieved 9 July 2008):

     Isabel Pierce, the central character of Sweetwater, Roxana Robinson's fluid third novel, gives the appearance of being a thoughtful, reserved, quiet woman who won't rock any boats in her life. Yet she harbors passions; it might be said of her that still waters run deep.

Translations

a person's calm appearance may be misleading

Arabic: Moroccan Arabic: دوز على لواد لهرهوري ولا تدوز على لواد سّكوتي‎ (duz ʿla l-uwad l-hərhuri ula t-duz ʿla l-uwad s-skuti) Bashkir: йыуаштан йыуан сыға (yıwaştan yıwan sığa) Belarusian: у ціхім балоце чэрці вядуцца (u cixim balócje čerci vjaducca) Bulgarian: ти́хите води́ са на́й-дълбо́ки (tíhite vodí sa náj-dǎlbóki) Chinese: Mandarin: 靜水流深 (jìngshuǐlíushēn) Czech: tichá voda břehy mele (cs) Danish: det stille vand har den dybe grund Dutch: stille wateren hebben diepe gronden Finnish: syvissä vesissä ne isot kalat uivat French: il faut se méfier de l’eau qui dort (fr) (literally “one must not trust the water that sleeps”) German: stille Wasser sind tief (de) Greek: τα σιγανά ποταμάκια να φοβάσαι (ta siganá potamákia na fovásai) Hungarian: lassú víz partot mos (hu) Italian: l'acqua cheta rompe i ponti Japanese: 能ある鷹は爪を隠す (ja) (のう-ある-たか-は-つめ-を-かく-す　nō aru taka wa tsume o kakusu) Malay: diam-diam ubi berisi, diam-diam besi berkarat (literally “a hidden tuber bulks, a hidden piece of iron rusts”) Norwegian: det stille vann har den dype grunn Polish: cicha woda brzegi rwie (pl) Russian: в ти́хом о́муте че́рти во́дятся (ru) (v tíxom ómute čérti vódjatsja, literally “in a quiet slough devils are found”), тихая вода́ берега подмывает (tixaja vodá berega podmyvajet) Serbo-Croatian: tiha voda brijege dere, тиха вода брег рони Spanish: las aguas quietas calan hondo Swedish: i de lugnaste vattnen går de största fiskarna Thai: น้ำนิ่งไหลลึก (th) (náam-nîng-lǎi-lʉ́k) Ukrainian: тиха вода греблю рве (tyxa voda hreblju rve) Walloon: c'est todi l'aiwe ki doime ki neye, i s'fåt dmefiyî des coetès aiwes, i n'a rén d'pé ki l'coete aiwe

See also

• empty vessels make the most noise
• the calm before the storm

References

• Gregory Y. Titelman, Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, 1996, →ISBN, page 308.

Anagrams

• still water runs deep