I had an interesting conversation with Mummy last night.

Mummy: What can melt the Snow Queen in you? ... Or is it because you talk too much? I realise you tend to talk a lot when you're outside with others. Remember "silence is golden"!
Me: Silence can be plain yellow. Nowadays, silence is only golden in the library.
Mummy: Yes, yes... true. Maybe. You know in primary school, my teacher used to paste many of these things behind my class.
Me: Idioms you mean.
Mummy: Ya idioms... "Silence is golden", "spare the rod and spoil the child", and what else eh? (and she goes in a rambling, deep-in-thought mode)
Me: (tries hard to think of idioms)

Funny how she can change the subject so quickly.

I don't like the idiom "Silence is golden". It encourages apathy and passivity. What sort of idiom is this? It's like a disciplinary tool that tells you to shut up and don't speak up.

It is useful to discipline a class in the past, but now, in certain circumstances, I say no. Students need to be encouraged to be inquisitive. As I said, silence can be plain yellow sometimes.

Hmm, on a random thought, PAP probably is a huge fan of this idiom.