put (a person's) lights out

put (a person's) lights out
   to kill
   Lights are eyes, but the phrase also puns on extinguishing a lamp:
    All men who were lucky at gambling very soon had their lights put out. (F. Richards, 1933, writing of First World War trench life)

How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. . 2014.

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  • Lights Out (radio show) — Lights Out was an extremely popular American old time radio program, an early example of a network series devoted mostly to horror and the supernatural, predating Suspense and Inner Sanctum . Versions of Lights Out aired on different networks, at …   Wikipedia

  • Put — Put, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Put}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Putting}.] [AS. potian to thrust: cf. Dan. putte to put, to put into, Fries. putje; perh. akin to W. pwtio to butt, poke, thrust; cf. also Gael. put to push, thrust, and E. potter, v. i.] 1. To… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Put — Put, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Put}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Putting}.] [AS. potian to thrust: cf. Dan. putte to put, to put into, Fries. putje; perh. akin to W. pwtio to butt, poke, thrust; cf. also Gael. put to push, thrust, and E. potter, v. i.] 1. To… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Put case — Put Put, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Put}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Putting}.] [AS. potian to thrust: cf. Dan. putte to put, to put into, Fries. putje; perh. akin to W. pwtio to butt, poke, thrust; cf. also Gael. put to push, thrust, and E. potter, v. i.] 1. To …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • out — /owt/, adv. 1. away from, or not in, the normal or usual place, position, state, etc.: out of alphabetical order; to go out to dinner. 2. away from one s home, country, work, etc., as specified: to go out of town. 3. in or into the outdoors: to… …   Universalium

  • out — I [[t]a͟ʊt[/t]] ADVERB USES ♦ (Out is often used with verbs of movement, such as walk and pull , and also in phrasal verbs such as give out and run out .) 1) ADV: ADV after v When something is in a particular place and you take it out, you remove …   English dictionary

  • To put about — Put Put, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Put}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Putting}.] [AS. potian to thrust: cf. Dan. putte to put, to put into, Fries. putje; perh. akin to W. pwtio to butt, poke, thrust; cf. also Gael. put to push, thrust, and E. potter, v. i.] 1. To …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • To put away — Put Put, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Put}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Putting}.] [AS. potian to thrust: cf. Dan. putte to put, to put into, Fries. putje; perh. akin to W. pwtio to butt, poke, thrust; cf. also Gael. put to push, thrust, and E. potter, v. i.] 1. To …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • To put back — Put Put, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Put}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Putting}.] [AS. potian to thrust: cf. Dan. putte to put, to put into, Fries. putje; perh. akin to W. pwtio to butt, poke, thrust; cf. also Gael. put to push, thrust, and E. potter, v. i.] 1. To …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • To put by — Put Put, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Put}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Putting}.] [AS. potian to thrust: cf. Dan. putte to put, to put into, Fries. putje; perh. akin to W. pwtio to butt, poke, thrust; cf. also Gael. put to push, thrust, and E. potter, v. i.] 1. To …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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