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Glite Dictionary
curtain fall

curtain fall

1 6.0
A moment when a play or show ends and the curtain comes down
  • noun
  • /ˈkɜrtən fɔl/
translation icon : caída del telón
  • As a fellow player on the international stage, Mr. Powers, I'm sure you'll enjoy watching the curtain fall on the third and final act.
  • let the curtain fall
  • then the curtain falls

Examples

  • Before the curtain fell, Tess lunged for the door.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • When the curtain falls, she sinks back into her seat, palpitating, exhausted.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Thus, the curtain falls on a unique program with an interesting history.

    Academic text (2008)

  • With this, the curtain fell and the audience dispersed.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • The curtain fell, the audience roared, and the evening ended.

    Blog text (14)

  • Ibsen frames a final tableau for us just before the curtain falls.

    Academic text (1996)

  • And as the curtain falls on the tragedy, "Obama's Single Term," the audience rises without a sound, returns home to reduced opportunities, degraded savings, and confiscatory gas, food, and energy costs.

    Blog text (13)

  • As the last scene concluded, the curtain fall signaled the end of the captivating performance.

  • The audience clapped enthusiastically until the curtain fall marked the conclusion of the show.

  • At the curtain fall, the actors took their final bows, and the theater echoed with applause.

Synonyms

final curtain
vscurtain fall
3 4.6

The end of a performance, especially a play or show

focuses on the stage-lowering conclusion rather than a general end
closing curtain
vscurtain fall
3.8

The final part of a show when the stage curtain goes down

is the broader term for an event ending rather than the physical lowering

Antonyms

curtain raising
5.6

An opening performance of a play or show

Surface Forms

curtain fall singular
curtain falls plural

Morphology

curtain + fall

The image of a curtain dropping is directly suggested by combining 'curtain' and 'fall', so a learner can plausibly infer it refers to the curtain coming down at the end of a show. However, using this as a conventional metaphor for 'the end' or 'conclusion of something' depends on theatrical/cultural knowledge and is an extended, partly conventionalized sense, so it is not fully predictable to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Curtain fall comes from the theatre: at the end of a show the stage curtain is lowered — the fall of the curtain marks the end of the performance. So, 'curtain fall' now means 'the end of an event'.