curtain lecture

American  

noun

1. Older Use. a scolding administered in private by a wife to her husband.

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curtain lecture British  

noun

1. a scolding or rebuke given in private, esp by a wife to her husband

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Etymology

Origin of curtain lecture

First recorded in 1625–35

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

curtain lecture

Parks left the subject and turned his attention to the bruised pilot, who came in for a curtain lecture.

From The Brighton Boys with the Flying Corps by James R. [pseud.] Driscoll

I committed to memory a curtain lecture for my brother, though somehow or other it escaped me and was never delivered.

From The Outlet by Andy Adams

The curtain lecture that followed was of unusual virulence, and in the midst of it he fell asleep.

From Toaster's Handbook Jokes, Stories, and Quotations by C. E. (Clara Elizabeth) Fanning

Every morning Victor gave himself a curtain lecture under the bed-quilt for the evening previous; the bed is a good confessional and audience-hall of conscience.

From Hesperus or Forty-Five Dog-Post-Days Vol. I. A Biography by Jean Paul

Had Primgate wanted to paint her at that particular moment I should have suggested Katherine—during the earlier stages—listening to a curtain lecture from Petruchio.

From They and I by Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka) Jerome

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