put the kibosh on

put the kibosh on

English

Etymology

See kibosh.

Pronunciation

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Verb

put the kibosh on (third-person singular simple present puts the kibosh on, present participle putting the kibosh on, simple past and past participle put the kibosh on)

1. (idiomatic) To halt, stop, or squelch.

   Someone really needs to go put the kibosh on that noisy party.

   • 1837, “Boz” [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], Sketches by Boz: Illustrative of Every-day Life, and Every-day People. The Second Series, London: John Macrone, […], OCLC 905901972, chapter SEVEN DIALS, page 149:

     (“Hoo-roa,” ejaculates a pot-boy in a parenthesis, “put the kye-bosh on her, Mary.”)

   • 1914, Mark Sheridan (lyrics and music), “Belgium Put the Kibosh on the Kaiser”:

     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.

Anagrams

• put on the kibosh