# Is "Put the kibosh on..." a regional phrase? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 28, 2024, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-put-the-kibosh-on-a-regional-phrase/1008209 "2024-09-28T18:37:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2024, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-put-the-kibosh-on-a-regional-phrase/1008209/21 "2024-09-29T21:45:01Z")
The book _Origin of Kibosh_ (which is a real book since it’s available online), quoted in a post above, says that it comes from something a Cockney chimney sweep says in 1834. He said, “it vos the Vigs vot passed this bill, and vot the Duke of Vellington put the kibosh on ‘em for, and sarve ‘em right. It warnt nothing else than this here hact vot floored them.” Cockneys are relatively poor people of London, and the following are translations of the term they use in this case. It really looks like it comes from a Cockney word: vots = was Vigs = Wigs vot = what (which means “which” in this sentence) Vellington = Wellington 'em = them sarve = serve warnt = wasn’t nothing else = anything else this here hact = this act floored = knocked to the ground ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2024, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-put-the-kibosh-on-a-regional-phrase/1008209/22 "2024-09-29T21:50:30Z")
Colonel Potter on MASH said it at least once as a recall. And of course reruns of MASH were popular well into the early-model millennial era. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2024, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-put-the-kibosh-on-a-regional-phrase/1008209/23 "2024-09-29T22:12:36Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > Colonel Potter on MASH said it at least once as a recall. I know Hawkeye said something to Potter about “putting the kibosh on the Kaiser”, referencing the action Potter saw in Europe; that episode was on MeTV relatively recently. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2024, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-put-the-kibosh-on-a-regional-phrase/1008209/24 "2024-09-29T22:21:17Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > I have heard and used it in Australia for many years. +1 … ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2024, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-put-the-kibosh-on-a-regional-phrase/1008209/25 "2024-09-30T00:33:40Z")
Here’s a way to read the first known uses of the word “kibosh” in print. Do a search on Google for the phrase “Vellington put the kibosh”. Be sure to put quotation marks around that phrase. When I do it, a page appears (sort of floating) in front of a website. It says that the word “kibosh” appears for the first time on various pages of various British newspapers in November and December of 1834. Apparently you have to pay to actually read that page. Pay for it and read it. Tell us what those articles in those newspapers say. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2024, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-put-the-kibosh-on-a-regional-phrase/1008209/26 "2024-09-30T00:52:34Z")
SoCal native. I’m familiar with it. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2024, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-put-the-kibosh-on-a-regional-phrase/1008209/27 "2024-09-30T01:11:28Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Vigs = Wigs [Whigs.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whigs_(British_political_party)) With an aitch. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2024, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-put-the-kibosh-on-a-regional-phrase/1008209/28 "2024-09-30T02:31:43Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > [Whigs.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whigs_(British_political_party)) With an aitch. Sorry, that was me not error-correcting well. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2024, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-put-the-kibosh-on-a-regional-phrase/1008209/29 "2024-09-30T06:19:49Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Well known, if a bit dated, in the UK My immediate thought was to post “Oh, What a Lovely War”. I’m from a former UK colony, more British than the British. ---
**Author:** ![jjakucyk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3d9bf3/32.png) [@jjakucyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjakucyk)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2024, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-put-the-kibosh-on-a-regional-phrase/1008209/30 "2024-09-30T13:22:12Z")
What about the pronunciation? I thought it was pronounced ki-BOSH (“ki” like kid or kick, rolled together in what sounds like a Yiddish pronunciation) but then I heard more people say KI-bosh (“KI” like kind or kite, in what sounds like two words). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2024, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-put-the-kibosh-on-a-regional-phrase/1008209/31 "2024-09-30T13:24:50Z")
The latter pronunciation was what I learned as a kid. Although I have heard people (mostly northeasterners) use the former. If it really did have a Yiddish origin, or if people mistakenly assumed it did, I could sure see them adjusting the pronunciation to be more authentically Yiddish-sounding. I know I don’t know for sure. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2024, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-put-the-kibosh-on-a-regional-phrase/1008209/32 "2024-10-03T05:22:55Z")
The OED gives KIGH-bahsh as the only UK pronunciation. That’s also the first USA pronunciation and kuh-BAHSH is the second. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-put-the-kibosh-on-a-regional-phrase/1008209.md?page=1)