Origin of Phrases - Q
Quiet As A Mouse
Today's version of the expression is a short form of "quiet as a mouse in cheese," which came from The Pleasant History of Two Angry Women of Abington by Henry Porter. The line from the 1599 story went like this, "Mum, mouse in cheese, cat is neare." George Eliot produced today's version in his 1859 book, Adam Bede: "She looks as quiet as a mouse."