put the kibosh on it
to stop or terminate something that has been planned
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
McConnell And Reid PUT THE KIBOSH ON Tax Reform
(TPM political news portal)
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The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the organization in charge of a major overhaul of Internet addresses, ruled this week that it's passed a resolution prohibiting so-called dotless domain names, essentially PUTTING THE KIBOSH ON Google's plans for a dotless "http://search" domain.
(CNET technology news portal)
(TPM political news portal)
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The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the organization in charge of a major overhaul of Internet addresses, ruled this week that it's passed a resolution prohibiting so-called dotless domain names, essentially PUTTING THE KIBOSH ON Google's plans for a dotless "http://search" domain.
(CNET technology news portal)
Did you
know?
put the kibosh on
idiom
- to put an end to something
(Random House Dictionaries)
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One of the most researched words in the field of etymology is "kibosh," which by itself is obscure slang for nonsense. Experts have looked into languages as diverse as Hebrew, Arabic, Turkish, Gaelic Irish and French in their quest for the source.
Adding to the confusion is the fact that slang dictionaries in the 19th century define kibosh as everything from a bad accident or defeat, rubbish, nonsense and humbug, to 18 pence and high fashion. Later in the 20th century it took on the additional meaning of 18 months in prison.
The obsession with 18 led to speculation that kibosh stems from the Yiddish "chai," which in addition to meaning "life" also refers to the number 18 in the numerological system of gematria, which allocates numbers to letters.
The first written evidence of kibosh was believed to be in Charles Dickens’s Sketches by Boz of 1836, where he spelled it phonetically as kye-bosk. Databases of newspapers during this period show it was used even earlier. Despite much work by many professional and amateur linguists, the origin has yet to be pinpointed.
Kibosh also appeared in a silly but popular British patriotic song during World War I called "Belgium Put The Kibosh On The Kaiser," a reference to a 1914 campaign by Belgian and British forces to delay the German army’s march on France. Here is a typical refrain, which always repeats the first two lines:
For Belgium put the kibosh on the Kaiser,
Europe took the stick and made him sore,
On his throne it hurts to sit,
And when John Bull starts to hit,
He will never sit upon it any more.
*Note: John Bull is a national personification of the UK in general, who is seen whipping the Kaiser with a stick like a parent disciplining a child.
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SYNONYMS
stop, end, halt, check, shut down, put an end to, curb, cancel, terminate, pull the plug on, kill, finish, cease
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"The management board put the kibosh on the idea of a 4-day workweek."
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Thanks to Hartmut for suggesting today's word!
idiom
- to put an end to something
(Random House Dictionaries)
---
One of the most researched words in the field of etymology is "kibosh," which by itself is obscure slang for nonsense. Experts have looked into languages as diverse as Hebrew, Arabic, Turkish, Gaelic Irish and French in their quest for the source.
Adding to the confusion is the fact that slang dictionaries in the 19th century define kibosh as everything from a bad accident or defeat, rubbish, nonsense and humbug, to 18 pence and high fashion. Later in the 20th century it took on the additional meaning of 18 months in prison.
The obsession with 18 led to speculation that kibosh stems from the Yiddish "chai," which in addition to meaning "life" also refers to the number 18 in the numerological system of gematria, which allocates numbers to letters.
The first written evidence of kibosh was believed to be in Charles Dickens’s Sketches by Boz of 1836, where he spelled it phonetically as kye-bosk. Databases of newspapers during this period show it was used even earlier. Despite much work by many professional and amateur linguists, the origin has yet to be pinpointed.
Kibosh also appeared in a silly but popular British patriotic song during World War I called "Belgium Put The Kibosh On The Kaiser," a reference to a 1914 campaign by Belgian and British forces to delay the German army’s march on France. Here is a typical refrain, which always repeats the first two lines:
For Belgium put the kibosh on the Kaiser,
Europe took the stick and made him sore,
On his throne it hurts to sit,
And when John Bull starts to hit,
He will never sit upon it any more.
*Note: John Bull is a national personification of the UK in general, who is seen whipping the Kaiser with a stick like a parent disciplining a child.
---
SYNONYMS
stop, end, halt, check, shut down, put an end to, curb, cancel, terminate, pull the plug on, kill, finish, cease
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"The management board put the kibosh on the idea of a 4-day workweek."
---
Thanks to Hartmut for suggesting today's word!
