put the lid on (something)
put the lid on (something)
1. To induce something's failure. Unfortunately, a broken leg put the lid on my vacation to the ski resort.
2. To quash or suppress something; to control something so as to keep it from flourishing, increasing, or succeeding. We need to put the lid on rumors about the company going bankrupt. We decided to put the lid on the project since we didn't have enough funds to see it through to the end.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
put the lid on
Also, keep the lid on. Suppress, as in I don't know how but we'll have to put the lid on that rumor about her, or Let's keep the lid on our suspicions. The word lid here is used in the sense of "a cover for a container." [Early 1900s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
put the (or a) lid on
put a stop to. informal 1996 Observer Nothing's final. I haven't put the lid on anything.
put the (tin) lid on
be the culmination of a series of acts or events that makes things unbearable. British informal 1999 Chris Dolan Ascension Day Mum found she was pregnant a month before the wedding, then Dad put the tin lid on it by getting himself laid off.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
keep/put a/the ˈlid on something
try to make sure that people do not do something or find out about something: The government wants to keep the lid on discussion of tax reforms at the moment.put the (tin) ˈlid on something
(British English, informal) bring to an end an activity, your hopes or plans: I’ve got a place at an American university but I can’t afford to go, so that’s put the lid on that. ♢ It rained and rained, which put the tin lid on our plans for a picnic in the park.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017