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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

that's all she wrote en · X

Pronunciation

Etymology

Unknown; circa 1940s; thought to be a reference to Dear John letters. Ernest Tubb recorded a song titled "That's All She Wrote" (sheet music published in 1942), but earlier printed references exist (e.g. The Brownsville Herald, June 1935).

Meanings

  1. (idiomatic) Indicating an abrupt termination of a project, or of one’s hopes or plans.
    • If you see a long yellow streak of all fine smoke / That’s my rocket pulling out, that’s all she wrote / […] 1951, Jackie Brenston, “My Real Gone Rocket”:
    • […] Goodbye — that’s all she wrote. 1963, Johnny Cash, “Jackson”:
    • Bye bye, baby, bye-bye, she said in a letter / And that was all she wrote 1990, Firehouse, “All She Wrote”:
    • Then I got Mary pregnant and man that was all she wrote / And for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat 1980, Bruce Springsteen, “The River”:
    • I, I, got a little paycheck / You got big plans and you gotta move / And I don't feel nothing at all / And you can't feel nothing small / "Honey, I love you", that's all she wrote 2016 February 5, Wesley Schultz and Jeremy Fraites, “Ophelia”, in Cleopatra, performed by The Lumineers:
    • There was a note upon my door... I won’t be back no more / That’s all she wrote, "Dear John". 1951, Hank Williams, “Dear John”:
    • I get five short beeps when the machine starts to boot, and then that's all she wrote[…] 2004, Michael Graves, A+ Guide to PC Hardware Maintenance & Repair, page 525:
    • Inside information taken down note by note / A silent footstep that's all she wrote 1987, Deep Purple, “Black And White”:
    • He said a prayer, and that was all she wrote 2004, Gaither Vocal Band, “I Catch 'Em, God Cleans 'Em”:

Translations (1)

es pau pau (Translations)