strong silent type

Idioms  

1. A man of action who is reserved and masks his feelings. For example, Paula always preferred the strong silent type to more extroverted men. Almost never used for a woman, this expression may be obsolescent. [c. 1900]

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Example Sentences

Even bones, long thought to be the strong, silent type, turn out to be chatty, reaching out to the muscles, brain, and other organs.

From Science Magazine • May 22, 2024

In “Abigail,” Joey is the strong, silent type with a maternal soft spot for her young captive.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2024

A model citizen of the strong, silent type, he is well liked in his small, unnamed town and always seems to appear just when an extra skilled hand is needed.

From New York Times • Jun. 20, 2023

For defensive tackle Jonathan Allen’s mindset: Every player needn’t be the strong, silent type, but Washington could use a few more like Allen.

From Washington Times • Nov. 27, 2019

With his protestations, his volubility, his torrent of excuses, his evasive pertinacity, Sir Walter Raleigh is the very opposite of the "strong silent" type of soldier which the nineteenth century invented for exclusive British consumption.

From Some Diversions of a Man of Letters by Gosse, Edmund