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Glite Dictionary
kiss of death

kiss of death

7 6.2
An action or event that causes something to fail completely
  • idiom
translation icon : sentencia de muerte
  • A scoop is one thing, but any sort of in-depth conversation about spoilers is pretty much the kiss of death.

But really that's the kiss of death for the ACT because I should be focusing on our scene, our argument, our whatever it is that's binding us up there.

Examples

  • MMOs are like the kiss of death for small to middle-sized developers.

    Blog text (18)

  • Yet, just the hint of being a "woman's car" can prove the kiss of death.

    Blog text (27)

  • It's the kiss of death.

    Taking Lives (2004)

  • If you said no, it could be your kiss of death right there.

    Blog text (15)

  • Because comparison is a kiss of death for people.

  • Listen, for a hot chick, ten days in Europe can be the kiss of death, okay?

    Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)

  • Being different is the kiss of death to most teens.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Every department is quite aware of professors whose very name on a course announcement is the kiss of death.

    Academic text (1993)

  • False information is a kiss of death.

    Academic text (2012)

  • Failing to adapt to changing trends can be the kiss of death for a business.

Synonyms

undoing
vskiss of death
20 4.9

A cause of someone's failure or ruin

implies an unavoidable ruin rather than a general causal factor
nail in the coffin
vskiss of death
  • Informal
11 6.3

A last action that makes something fail completely

is an event that makes failure unavoidable rather than merely contributing
death knell
vskiss of death
5 8.1

An event or sign that shows something will end

describes a cause that makes failure unavoidable instead of a signal
deathblow to
vskiss of death
  • Informal
7.6

An action or event that ends something completely

causes inevitable failure or long-term ruin rather than instant end

Antonyms

advantage
∞ 2.8

Something that helps a person do better than others

blessing
269 1.4

A good thing or situation that brings happiness

How Ruinous

kiss of death
7 6.2
nail in the coffin
  • Informal
11 6.3
setback
148 3.6
blow
184 4.4

Surface Forms

kiss of death singular
kisses of death plural

Morphology

kiss + of + death

The phrase combines the literal words 'kiss' and 'death' in a metaphorical way so learners who know the constituents can guess it signals something harmful or final, but the specific idiomatic sense of an event that causes inevitable failure is not fully predictable from the parts alone. Cross-linguistic parallels exist, making the metaphor somewhat accessible, but the usage is figurative enough that a B1 learner may not reliably infer the precise meaning without exposure.

Etymology

The idiom kiss of death comes from a Bible story where Judas gave Jesus a kiss to show the soldiers who to arrest, and that kiss led to death. So today a 'kiss of death' means something that brings ruin or 'to cause failure'.