kiss of death

noun

1. a fatal or destructive relationship or action.

   The support of the outlawed group was the kiss of death to the candidate.

kiss of death

noun

1. an act or relationship that has fatal or disastrous consequences

Word History and Origins

Origin of kiss of death¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Word History and Origins

Origin of kiss of death¹

from Judas' kiss that betrayed Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:44–45)

Idioms and Phrases

An action or relationship that is ultimately ruinous. For example, Some regard a royal divorce as a kiss of death to the monarchy. This term alludes to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot, who kissed him as a way of identifying him to the soldiers who came to arrest him (Matthew 26: 47–49). It dates only from about 1940 but was previously called a Judas kiss.