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clamming up

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clam

1  [klam] noun, verb, clammed, clam⋅ming.
Use clamming up in a Sentence
–noun
1. any of various bivalve mollusks, esp. certain edible species. Compare quahog, soft-shell clam.
2. Informal. a secretive or silent person.
3. clamminess.
4. Slang. a dollar or the sum of a dollar: I only made 60 clams a week.
–verb (used without object)
5. to gather or dig clams.
—Verb phrase
6. clam up, Slang. to refuse to talk or reply; refrain from talking or divulging information: The teacher asked who had thrown the eraser, but the class clammed up.
Origin:
1585–95; short for clam-shell, i.e., bivalve with a shell that clamps. See clam 2 , shell

Related forms:
clamlike, adjective
clammer, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Clam-ups
Clam-ups Recipe. Quick & Easy. Free recipes online
www.MyDailyMoment.com
Slang Dictionary
clam

  1. n.
    a dollar. (Underworld.) : You got a couple of clams I can bum for a little bottle?
  2. n.
    a tight-lipped person. : Suddenly, she became a clam and wouldn't talk anymore.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

clam 
c.1500, "bivalve mollusk," originally Scottish, from M.E. clam "pincers, vice, clamp," from O.E. clamm "bond, fetter," from P.Gmc. *klam-. Clambake is from 1835. Clam up is 1916, Amer.Eng., but clam was used in this sense as an interjection c.1350.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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