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Still waters run deep

Idiomatic Phrase
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Still waters run deep suggests that quiet or reserved people often possess profound thoughts, emotions, or complexity; in character-driven poetry, it warns against superficial judgment and celebrates hidden depth.

Detailed Definition
Still waters run deep means quiet, reserved, or outwardly calm people may possess deep feelings, intelligence, complexity, or hidden strength. In poetry, the idiom is rich because water often symbolises emotion, memory, and unconscious life. A silent character, calm landscape, or restrained speaker may conceal powerful currents beneath the surface. The phrase is useful for challenging quick judgements based on display. Poets can use it to explore reserve, inwardness, secrecy, and the depth that may exist beneath simplicity.
Example
Example in poetry:
A character poem might say the quiet miller proves that still waters run deep; In a love lyric, the silent beloved's glance shows that still waters run deep; The proverb means calm people may have deep feelings or thoughts; A poet can use it for subtle characterisation.
Additional Notes
Still waters run deep suggests that quiet or reserved people may possess profound feeling, intelligence, or complexity. In poetry, it connects silence with depth, making calm surfaces potentially mysterious. The phrase suits character portraits, love poems, elegies, and meditations on understatement. Students should notice its warning against judging by noise or display. It pairs well with pools, wells, lakes, reflections, hidden currents, and inward life.
Also Known As
quiet but profound
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