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47 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, March 23, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 22, 2005 Since You Asked ‘Kibosh’ root lost in time We were watching "Seinfeld," and Jerry was worried about somebody putting the kibosh on him. The meaning was pretty clear, but does anybody know where the word came from? And how do you put it on somebody? — Rob N., Medford Nobody can say for sure where it came from, Rob, and the Since You Asked lawyers won’t let us tell you how to put it on somebody. Our dictionary attributes the word to the ubiquitous and fearsome "origin unk." The Irish poet Padraic Colum said it comes from the Gaelic cie bais , or "cap of death." But the etymology gurus here at Since You Asked Towers suspect a Yiddish origin, probably from the high German keibe , meaning "dead meat." Its American use dates back well into the 19th century, so people clearly have no problem using a word whose origins are "unk" — not that there’s anything wrong with that. Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to [email protected] . We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Advertisement s