put to bed

1. Complete something and either set it aside or send it on to the next step, as in We put the magazine to bed at ten, or They said they'd put the whole project to bed at least a month ago. This expression, transferring nighttime retirement to other kinds of completion, was first applied to a newspaper, where it meant “send to press,” that is, start to print. [Mid-1900s]

Related Words

• accomplish 
• achieve 
• close 
• conclude 
• determine 
• develop 
• do 
• end 
• execute 
• finalize 
• finish 
• halt 
• perform 
• realize 
• settle 
• wrap up