wall of silence


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Idioms.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.wall of silence - the secrecy of police officers who lie or look the other way to protect other police officers; "the blue wall cracked when some officers refused to take part in the cover-up"
cover-up - concealment that attempts to prevent something scandalous from becoming public
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
References in classic literature ?
He had plunged out and into them through the wall of silence, and back through the wall of silence he had plunged, apparently the next instant, and into the roar and turmoil of the Tivoli.
Grandmother always talked, dear woman: to herself or to the Lord, if there was no one else to listen; but grandfather was naturally taciturn, and Jake and Otto were often so tired after supper that I used to feel as if I were surrounded by a wall of silence. Now everyone seemed eager to talk.
Grieving, she faces a wall of silence surrounding his suicide.
The parents of murdered Toxteth teenagerYusuf Sonkohave penned an open letter on the eve of the anniversary of his death urging people to "break this wall of silence".
They've had nothing really, a wall of silence, because people won't speak."
Despite a PS25,000 reward offered by his family and friends, police were met with a wall of silence.
Detectives admitted at an inquest into his death earlier this week that the case may never be solved because a "wall of silence" was protecting the killer.
TERRIFIED witnesses have erected a wall of silence which is protecting a killer who gunned down a dad in a pub, a coroner has said.
The Israeli psychotherapist Dan Bar-On made an important contribution to this topic in the 1990s when he spoke about Holocaust testimonies being confronted with "a double wall of silence." (1) The first wall of silence refers to the self-imposed restriction of the victim who for various reasons does not choose to speak about his or her experiences.
Nina Nineska-Fidanoska comments for Utrinski Vesnik that ever since PM Gruevski admitted that the Government owed money to businessmen, the wall of silence has been torn down and everyone is allowed to talk about this, thus far, unseen phenomenon.
TOTTENHAM'S players are baffled by the wall of silence at White Hart Lane over the future of manager Harry Redknapp.
The questions here were sent to UNESCOas Director of Liaison Office in New York by the writer two and a half weeks ago - but have been met by a wall of silence despite sending him a reminder.http://a7.org/pictures/304/304157.jpg' style="float:right;" />