come to a screeching halt
(redirected from we come to a screeching halt)come to a screeching halt
To halt progression very abruptly, especially in an ultimately detrimental or undesirable manner. Likened to the wheels or brakes of an automobile making a screeching noise as it stops. Things had been going well with the new project, but when our manager was fired, everything came to a screeching halt. Work on the tax legislation has come to a screeching halt in Congress.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
come to a grinding/screeching halt
Stop suddenly. Referring to the noise made by gears or brakes during a sudden stop, these phrases date from the second half of the 1900s. The National Observer of December 4, 1976, had: “A lot of that stuff is going to come to a screeching halt quickly, and we’re not going to do the screeching.” It is also put as grind to a halt.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer