kibosh
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈkaɪˌbɒʃ/
ipa: /kɪˈbɑʃ/
ipa: /ˈkaɪˌbɑʃ/
ipa: /kaɪˈbɑʃ/
ipa: /kɪ-/
rhymes: -aɪbɒʃ
rhymes: -ɒʃ
Forms: form: cabosh
form: kaibosh
form: kibbosh
form: kiebosh
form: kybosh
form: kyebosh
Etymology: The origin of the noun is uncertain; the following etymologies have been suggested:
* According to Gerald Leonard Cohen, Stephen Goranson, and Matthew Little, at present the most likely derivation is as a non-rhotic variant of kurbash (“heavy whip, lash”), from Arabic كُرْبَاج (kurbāj, “lash, whip”), or from its etymon Ottoman Turkish قرباچ (kırbaç, “lash, whip”) (whence Turkish kırbaç (“whip”)).
* From Irish caidhp bháis (literally “death cap”), said to denote, among other things, the black cap worn by English judges when pronouncing the death sentence, the hood put on a person before they were put to death by hanging, or a form of torture called pitchcapping. However, there appears to be no convincing evidence that the term was used in these senses.
* From a Yiddish word (compare Hebrew כָּבַשׁ (kavásh, “to conquer, subjugate”)); however, no such word has been found.
* From Middle English cabochen (“to cut off (the head, chiefly of a deer), behead”), from Middle French cabocher (“to cut off (the head)”), from caboche (“the head”) (Northern France, informal) (whence Middle English caboche (“head of cabbage”)), from Italian capocchia (“the head”) (derogatory), ultimately from Latin caput (“the head”). The Middle English word is said to have been adopted in Cockney slang; however, how this is supposed to have happened remains unexplained
* A clogmakers’ term kibosh (“iron bar about a foot long that, when hot, is used to soften and smooth leather”).
The verb is derived from the noun.
Senses: examples: text: “What do you mean by hussies?” interrupted a champion of the other party, who has evinced a strong inclination to get up a branch fight on her own account. (“Hoo-roa,” ejaculates a pot-boy in a parenthesis, “put the kye-bosh on her, Mary.”)
ref: 1837, “Boz” [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], “Seven Dials”, in Sketches by Boz: Illustrative of Every-day Life, and Every-day People. The Second Series, London: John Macrone, […], →OCLC, page 149:
text: Once or twice triumphant memories of the earlier incidents nerve his face for awhile. "I put the ky-bosh on his little game," he remarks.
ref: 1896, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “The Envoy”, in The Wheels of Chance: A Holiday Adventure, London: J[oseph] M[alaby] Dent and Co.; New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Co., →OCLC, section XLI, page 312:
text: It's one of my little chores as private secretary to smell out these revolutions and affix the kibosh before they break out and scratch the paint off the government property.
ref: 1904 November, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “The Phonograph and the Graft”, in Cabbages and Kings, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., pages 114–115:
text: The right plan would be to put the complete kybosh (if I may use the expression) on your chances of becoming an alderman.
ref: 1909 October – 1910 February, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, “The Knock-out for Mr. Waring”, in Psmith Journalist, London: A[dam] & C[harles] Black, […], published October 1923, →OCLC, page 239:
text: Robbing Peter to pay Paul. Gob, that puts the bloody kybosh on it if old sloppy eyes is mucking up the show.
ref: 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 12: Cyclops]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part II [Odyssey], page 321:
text: George put the kibosh on the Kirov case and now he's trying to get it right, flying solo in his old age.
ref: 1979 November, John le Carré [pseudonym: David John Moore Cornwell], chapter 15, in Smiley’s People (A Borzoi Book), 1st trade edition, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A[braham] Knopf, published 1980, →ISBN, page 198:
text: I know because I worked with the Home Office and the service for many years to accomplish what became the envy of the world. It was being dismantled long before [Theresa] May took office – [David] Blunkett started the rot – but May has the ultimate kibosh.
ref: 2013 January 31, Saville Kushner, “Letters: The high price society and officers are paying for policing cuts”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 May 2022:
glosses: Chiefly in put on the kibosh or put the kibosh on: something which checks or restrains.
Derived terms: put on the kibosh
put the kibosh on