put to bed

put something to bed

if you put something that is printed, for example a book or magazine, to bed, you finish writing it. We put the first edition to bed an hour before the deadline.

See also: bed

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put something to bed

1. to finish dealing with something. This is an opportunity for us to put some of these problems to bed.

2. to get a newspaper, magazine, or book ready to be printed. You put the paper to bed and you're proud of it, but the next morning you find the world has changed while it's been printed.

3. to clean a garden after the plants have died. It takes about two weeks to put the garden to bed.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of put someone to bed (= to help someone get ready to lie down in bed and sleep)

See also: bed