[Ads-l] Kibosh

Douglas G. Wilson douglas at NB.NET
Tue Sep 13 23:05:34 UTC 2016


I've heard mostly /k at baS'/ or /k at bOS'/ ("ka-BOSH"), and only rarely 
(IIRC) /kaj'baS/ or /kaj'bOS/ ("KYE-bosh") ... but I haven't heard 
"kibosh" spoken very often. My youth was wasted mostly in the Great 
Lakes area. A twenty-something Pittsburgh-originated informant reports 
similar experience with "kibosh".

My MW3 shows both of these and my MW2 also shows both. My RHUD (1987, I 
think) also shows both. HDAS also shows both. I don't know why the 
recent MW item shows only "KYE-bosh".

Online old Century Dictionary (supplement, 1909) shows "ka-BOSH" or so 
plus "kye-BOSH", but no "KYE-bosh" (incidentally this dictionary shows 
several distinctly different _definitions_ of "kibosh"). New Century 
Dictionary (1927 or so) shows only the "ka-BOSH" version.

-- Doug Wilson

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