# "Quietus" substitutes **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 17, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quietus-substitutes/585885 "2011-06-17T21:56:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quietus-substitutes/585885/1 "2011-06-17T21:56:05Z")
Mainly because I’m partial to Merriam-Webster, I submit their take on [“quietus” definition and usage](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quietus) but what I’m more curious about than its definition is what you have heard _substituted_ for it in polite or casual conversation. A mildly educated buddy of mine liked the word (or at least the idea of the word) but was always saying things like, “that ought to put the _kwaheelies_ on that for a while.” That’s just an effort at pronunciation as I didn’t dare to ask him to spell it. Give me your best shot in the wonderful world of Quietus. Please? ---
**Author:** ![CoffinMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9bd4f/32.png) [@CoffinMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoffinMan)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quietus-substitutes/585885/2 "2011-06-17T22:45:07Z")
I recall a film where the government issued suicide pills called Quietus to folks so that they could painlessly opt out of the drudgery of modern life. After that movie I started to call the evening nightcap “Quietus” out of a strange sense of humor. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quietus-substitutes/585885/3 "2011-06-17T22:51:02Z")
In sense 3, the one I presume your friend is using, I’d generally use ‘kibosh’. In all senses, various permutations of ‘end’ (‘end’ as both noun and verb, ‘put an end’, ‘ending’), depending on various factors of the rest of the sentence.