bring down the curtain

bring down the curtain (on something)

1. To bring a performance or act of a play to an end by lowering the theater curtain. The audience gave the performance a standing ovation as the theater brought down the curtain. The shocking twist at the end of the second act left the audience in stunned silence as the curtain was brought down. Someone on stage crew missed their cue and brought the curtain down in the middle of Hamlet's big soliloquy.

2. To bring about or signal the end of something. The company announced that it will bring down the curtain after nearly 50 years of business. The government is bringing down the curtain on the controversial program next month. If the board decides to bring down the curtain on our funding, that's it for our research project—it's over.

See also: bring, curtain, down

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

bring down the curtain

(on something) Go to ring down the curtain (on something).

See also: bring, curtain, down

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

bring/ring down the ˈcurtain (on something)

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bring/ring the ˈcurtain down (on something)

bring an end to something: The BBC has finally decided to bring the curtain down on one of its oldest television programmes.

See also: bring, curtain, down, ring

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017