curtain lecture

9.9

A private scolding that a wife gives her husband in the bedroom

noun

Archaic

: reprimenda privada

After the party, Tom received a curtain lecture about his reckless behavior from his wife.

Examples

After dinner, she gave him a curtain lecture about his spending habits.
He dreaded the nightly curtain lectures more than any public argument.
In Victorian novels, the curtain lecture is a recurring motif of marital life.
He dreaded the curtain lectures that followed his late nights.
After the party, Tom received a curtain lecture about his reckless behavior from his wife.
He dreaded the nightly curtain lectures more than any public argument.
After dinner, she gave him a curtain lecture about his spending habits.

Synonyms

speech

vscurtain lecture

Informal

184 4.8

A long talk that tells someone they did wrong

is a private intimate scolding given in the bedroom

lecture

vscurtain lecture

68 4.1

A long serious talk that warns or scolds someone about what they did

is a private reprimand given in an intimate domestic setting

Antonyms

to praise

331 1.0

To tell a person that you admire or approve of them

Surface Forms

curtain lecture singular

curtain lectures plural

Morphology

curtain + lecture

The word 'lecture' clearly signals an admonishing talk and 'curtain' can be interpreted metaphorically to imply privacy or something done behind closed doors, so a learner who knows both words could plausibly infer a private scolding. However, the metaphorical use of 'curtain' and the idiomatic/cultural nuance of this collocation (and its somewhat archaic register) make the connection not fully predictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

Curtain lecture may come from a simple picture: a wife drawing the curtain around the bed and giving a private lecture to her husband away from guests. That's why it means 'a private scolding'.