curtain lectures

A wife's reprimands to her husband, conducted in private. Honey, you know I hate to give you curtain lectures, but can you please call when you're going to be late, so that our dinner isn't cold? A: "Now that you're married, get used to curtain lectures when your wife's unhappy." B: "I can take 'em. 'Happy wife, happy life,' right?" One of my frequent curtain lectures is that my husband take off his muddy boots outside.

curtain lecture

A reprimand that a wife gives her husband. “Curtain” refers to the drapery on canopied beds; the image is that of a wife giving hubby a piece of her mind in the privacy of their bedroom.