kibosh
kibosh Lexical Profile
kibosh Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Something that serves as a decisive check, veto, or stop (used almost exclusively in the phrase 'put the kibosh on').
"Sudden budget cuts put the kibosh on the department's plans to expand the research facility."
• verb
To put a decisive end to; to reject, halt, or thwart (a plan, idea, or activity).
"The city council kiboshed the proposal for a new stadium after residents voiced concerns about traffic."
Word Nuance & Usage
As a noun, 'kibosh' is almost exclusively bound to the informal idiom 'put the kibosh on,' meaning to put a decisive end to a plan or activity.
Word Origin & Etymology
First recorded in British slang in the 1830s (notably by Charles Dickens in 'Sketches by Boz'), its exact origin remains uncertain; leading scholarly theories trace it to the Irish phrase 'caidhp bháis' ('cap of death') or to the Ottoman Turkish whip 'kurbash'.