"grind X to a halt" = 'bring X to a standstill'

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Tue, Feb 17, 2009 at 1:31 PM, Benjamin Zimmer
<bgzimmer at ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
> A transitivization of an intransitive VP idiom...
>
> ---
> http://wonkette.com/406311/faq-how-to-communicate-very-important-opinions-to-your-congressperson
> Ideology, in practice, just means that even the notion of a
> large-vs.-small-government bill floating through Congress grinds
> productivity in your Capitol to a halt. (Wonkette, 17 Feb 09)
> ---
>
> Fairly well attested in news stories, often in reference to severe
> weather conditions (e.g., "Heavy snow grinds county to a halt"):
>
> http://news.google.com/news?q=grind|grinds|grinding|ground-*-to-a-halt
>
> And it looks like it's nothing new:
>
> ---
> 1949 _Los Angeles Times_ 15 July 21/1 They say higher labor costs at
> this time would ... thus grind industry to a halt, bringing on either
> a deepening recession or another dizzy whirl on the inflation spiral.
> ---
>
> OED's not much help even for the usual transitive form of the idiom.

(I meant the usual *intransitive* form, of course.)


--Ben Zimmer

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