ABSTRACT
Gold 2011 sees put the kibosh on as likely deriving from the term kibosh, a tool used in clog-making. Supposedly the application of the kibosh (tool) to the leather of the clog was the final step in the clog-making process, with this finality somehow leading to 'put the kibosh on'. Some difficulties immediately arise with this proposed etymology. The 'kibosh' tool is first attested in 1860, whereas slang put the kibosh on is attested already by 1834. For the clog-making etymology to have any chance of being valid, it is necessary to assume the clog-making term already existed by 1834; there is no evidence to support that assumption. Also, Gold sees kibosh spreading from the north of England, where clog-making thrived, while (as Goranson has pointed out), put the kibosh on is first attested much further south (London). Furthermore, there has thus far been no attestation of put the kibosh on in a clog-making context.
