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Glite Dictionary
to ring up the curtain

to ring up the curtain

7.5
To start a show by lifting the curtain
  • idiom
  • Archaic
translation icon : levantar el telón
  • The audience clapped eagerly as the stage manager prepared to ring up the curtain for the first act.

Examples

  • After weeks of rehearsals, they were ready to ring up the curtain and showcase their hard work.

  • The director was excited to ring up the curtain for the opening night of the performance.

  • All of us invited that afternoon to attend an understudy's performance, about which the management knew nothing until they were forced to ring up the curtain at nine o'clock.

    All About Eve (1950)

Antonyms

to end
∞ 1.0

To stop something or make it finish

closing curtain
3.8

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

Surface Forms

ring up the curtain infinitive
ringing up the curtain present participle
rings up the curtain third person singular
rang up the curtain past
rung up the curtain past participle

Morphology

ring + up + the + curtain

There is partial transparency: 'up' (to raise) combined with 'curtain' clearly suggests 'raise/open the curtain', which aligns with 'begin a performance'. However, the verb 'ring' (given as 'to form a circle around or enclose') does not transparently contribute the meaning 'raise', and the collocation 'ring up the curtain' is unusual in English, so a B1 learner might not predict this phrasing without prior exposure.

Etymology

Ring up the curtain comes from old theatres where workers would ring a bell and pull the curtain up to show the audience the stage. So ring up the curtain means 'to start' a performance or event.