English Translation
Nary a word was uttered that day.
Wie verliert man ein Wort?
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The english equivalent is “to breathe a word”, meaning “to divulge a secret”.
By extension, it also means the opposite of “to stay silent”, even if it’s not about a secret.
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PittI’ s explanation on the spot - as always.
I just would like to add that is much more often used in the negative:
“ohne ein Wort zu verlieren” = “without sparing a word”
I think the idea of “verlieren” in this context is, that any word / explanation / comment would be unnecessary, superfluous, “lost”.
On the other hand, you might e.g. in lecture, start a certain part with “Lassen Sie mich darüber auch noch ein paar Worte verlieren” (Let me add a few words about this, too.).
The idea then is, that this is a digression, an afterthought, something of lesser interest, something that might be “lost”. Of course, some speakers will use the expression in feigned modesty to achieve the opposite effect.
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