clammed up

As a nation, we are so “clammed up” about death, illness and mental health, says Alison, that it is a stigma that Parys died from an accidental drug overdose.

“But as soon as we turned our microphones on and stuck them in their faces, they totally clammed up.”

“There was a dreadful silence, and they literally clammed up. It was incredibly unnerving for the White House and the Pentagon.”

I clammed up, my confidence deflating at the edge of derision in his voice.

In the aftermath of Martinez’s death, friends and neighbors who knew him in Lewiston have clammed up, unsure how to feel about the man they knew as a kind, affable friend.