kiss of death
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noun
a fatal or destructive relationship or action: The support of the outlawed group was the kiss of death to the candidate.
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“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.
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Origin of kiss of death
First recorded in 1945–50
Words nearby kiss of death
Kissinger, Henry, kissing gate, kissing gourami, kissing kin, kissingly, kiss of death, kiss-off, kiss of life, kiss of peace, kisspeptin, kissy
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for kiss of death
British Dictionary definitions for kiss of death
kiss of death
noun
an act or relationship that has fatal or disastrous consequences
Word Origin for kiss of death
from Judas' kiss that betrayed Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:44–45)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Idioms and Phrases with kiss of death
kiss of death
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.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.