YourDictionary

Dictionary Home » Phrase Meanings » put a damper on

What does "put a damper on" mean?

Discourage, dishearten, deter, as in Grandpa's death put a damper on our Christmas holidays. This idiom employs the noun damper in the sense of “something that damps or depresses the spirits,” a usage dating from the mid-1700s.

link/cite print suggestion box