kibosh
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈkaɪˌbɒʃ/
ipa: /kɪˈbɑʃ/
ipa: /ˈkaɪˌbɑʃ/
ipa: /kaɪˈbɑʃ/
ipa: /kɪ-/
rhymes: -aɪbɒʃ
rhymes: -ɒʃ
Forms: form: kiboshes
form: kiboshing
form: kiboshed
form: kiboshed
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: Philly Kiboshes Blackout Tutoring [title] […] Plan of the Pennsylvania State Council of Defense to ring in a State-wide network of 45 stations for an "educational" blackout test, was nixed by the Office of Censorship after it was okayed by the Third Service Command of the army. Skedded for Thursday (8), purpose of the broadcast was to educate public with air raid warning signals and all Pennsylvanians were urged to listen to instructions as broadcast.
ref: 1943 July 17, “Philly Kiboshes Blackout Tutoring”, in The Billboard: The World’s Foremost Amusement Weekly, volume 55, number 29, Cincinnati, Oh.: Roger S. Littleford Jr.; William D. Littleford, →OCLC, page 6, column 1:
text: Deal for network star Henry Morgan to sign a Majestic contract for two albums has fallen thru, with Paul Baron, newly-named artist and repertoire topper at the diskery, kiboshing a deal that virtually had been consummated between his predecessors and Music Corporation of America (MCA).
ref: 1947 September 6, “Paul Baron Nixes 2 Morgan Albums”, in Joseph G. Csida, editor, The Billboard: The World’s Foremost Amusement Weekly, volume 59, number 35, Cincinnati, Oh.: Roger S. Littleford Jr.; William D. Littleford, →OCLC, page 14, column 3:
text: His second book is full of spirited advice on how to do business deals. According to [Mark] McCormack, this often amounts to keeping lawyers from kiboshing the deal.
ref: 1987 December 1, Peter Megargee Brown, “We Have Met the Enemy: The Terrible Truth about Lawyers by Mark H. McCormack, William Morrow, New York, N.Y., 260 pages; $17.95 [book review]”, in Laurence Bodine, editor, ABA Journal: The Lawyer’s Magazine, Chicago, Ill.: American Bar Association, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 127:
text: But this discovery, as cheering as it was, also kiboshed the hypothesis about different-colored varieties of H. simus in different reasons, because the dozen animals at Kianjavato were charcoal gray, just as [Patricia] Wright had originally expected.
ref: 1996, David Quammen, “So Huge a Bignes”, in The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions, New York, N.Y.: Scribner, published 2004, →ISBN, page 239:
text: At which point, Mrs Arbuthnot enters to kibosh her son's prospects, only to be told, when the family facts emerge, that she should marry the high-born roué who has ruined her.
ref: 2003 September 17, Michael Billington, “Theatre: A Woman of No Importance, Haymarket Theatre, London [review]”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 May 2022:
text: It appears some chump at Revenue and Customs has, against all rules, put a disc or discs containing 25 million child benefit records – names, addresses, National Insurance numbers, bank account details, the lot – in the post and inevitably it has gone missing. […] As several people pointed out, with particular reference to ID cards, this kiboshes any notion that confidential information is safe in government hands.
ref: 2007 November 20 (date written), Chris Mullin, chapter 2007, in Ruth Winstone, editor, Decline and Fall: Diaries 2005–2010, London: Profile Books, published 2010, →ISBN, pages 213–214:
text: Fortunately the FA [Football Association], in a rare moment of decisiveness, stepped in to kibosh the plan.
ref: 2010 May 15, Andrew Anthony, “Yes, the Capello Index wasn’t a good move, but remember Glenn?”, in The Observer, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 11 Oct 2022:
text: Extensive highlights from Glastonbury, an Allied mission to kibosh the German A-bomb and a homage to Arthur Ashe.
ref: 2015 June 26, Ali Catterall, Julia Raeside, John Robinson, David Stubbs, “Friday’s best TV”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 May 2022, subtitle:
text: Superman bashed Bavarians and kiboshed Krauts with a mix of solemn consecration, righteous anger and cathartic glee.
ref: 2021, Roy Schwartz, “The Galactic Golem”, in Is Superman Circumcised?: The Complete Jewish History of the World’s Greatest Hero, Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, part III (Mensch of Steel: Fulfilling Jewish Fantasy and Faith), page 166:
glosses: To decisively put a stop to or terminate (someone or something).