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curtains for, be.

Idioms  

  1. Also, it's curtains. Be the end, especially death. For example, If he hadn't worn a bullet-proof vest, it would have been curtains for him, or It's curtains if she doesn't finish on time. This expression is a metaphor for the falling curtain signifying the end of a performance. [Slang; c. 1900]

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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