Trending: ‘shush’

Lookups spiked 28,900% on September 29, 2020

Why are people looking up shush?

Shush was among the top lookups during the presidential debates on September 29, as one candidate asked for another one to do just this.

Joe Biden to President Trump: "Will he just shush for a minute?" #Debates2020 pic.twitter.com/xVAL0mW5pK
— The Hill (@thehill) September 30, 2020

What does shush mean?

Shush is defined as “to urge to be quiet; to hush.” It is of imitative origin, formed in mimicry of shhh. The word is of a fairly recent age, dating in use from the early 20th century.

Several of the brothers and sisters tried to “shush” him, but he was not going to be “shushed.”
— The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 23 Dec. 1915

Trend Watch is a data-driven report on words people are looking up at much higher search rates than normal. While most trends can be traced back to the news or popular culture, our focus is on the lookup data rather than the events themselves.