put a lid on

put a lid on
put a (or the) lid on
informal put a stop to or be the culmination of

it's time to put the lid on all the talk

* * *

put a lid on
1 : to stop (something) from growing or becoming worse

These changes are intended to put a lid on rising medical costs.

2 informal : to stop doing or saying (something)

He angrily told them to put a lid on their complaints. [=to stop complaining]

I'm tired of listening to your complaints, so just put a lid on it! [=shut up]

3 or put the lid on : to cause the end or failure of (something)

The government used the army to put a lid on [=stop] the rebellion.

The new official vowed that he would put the lid on violence once and for all.

(chiefly Brit) The rain has really put the lid on our holiday plans. [=has ruined our holiday plans]

• • •
Main Entry:lid

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • put a lid on — (something) to stop something from increasing. The mayor wants to put a lid on spending. Diplomats hope to put a lid on rising tensions between the two countries. Usage notes: sometimes used in the form put a lid on it stop complaining: Put a lid …   New idioms dictionary

  • put the lid on — (something) British, old fashioned if something that happens puts the lid on a plan, it causes the plan to fail. When James resigned that put the lid on the whole project …   New idioms dictionary

  • put the lid on it — (informal) 1. To end the matter 2. To be a culminating injustice, misfortune, etc • • • Main Entry: ↑lid …   Useful english dictionary

  • put a lid on it — hey, chatterbox, put a lid on it Syn: stop talking, be quiet, hold your tongue; informal shut up, hush up, shut your mouth, shut your face, shut your trap, button your lip, pipe down, put a sock in it, give it a rest, save it, not another word …   Thesaurus of popular words

  • put a lid on it — verb (forceful) To be quiet; shut up; to stop talking about something or making noise. Oh, put a lid on it already! I heard you the first fourteen times …   Wiktionary

  • put a lid on it — do not be noisy, keep it down    When we shout, he says, Put a lid on it. Not so loud, eh …   English idioms

  • Put a lid on it! — mainly American, informal something that you say in order to tell someone to stop talking. Put a lid on it, you two! You ve been shouting all afternoon …   New idioms dictionary

  • put a lid on something — put a lid on (something) to stop something from increasing. The mayor wants to put a lid on spending. Diplomats hope to put a lid on rising tensions between the two countries. Usage notes: sometimes used in the form put a lid on it stop… …   New idioms dictionary

  • put the lid on something — put the lid on (something) British, old fashioned if something that happens puts the lid on a plan, it causes the plan to fail. When James resigned that put the lid on the whole project …   New idioms dictionary

  • put the lid on — put a stop to; shut someone up …   English contemporary dictionary

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