Tuesday, April 14, 2009

"puts paid"

I came across this early this morning:

As Tariq Alhomayed, the editor of Asharq al-Awsat, noted in response to the news, the deal puts paid Nasrallah's contention that Hizbullah does not operate outside Lebanon except to wage war against Israel. But it also points to a severe problem with the West.

Any idea what that means? Does paid modify Nasrallah? Is "puts paid" some kind of idiom with which I am unfamiliar?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've seen it in older Brit novels. You have too.

Scooter said...

Probably. It just wasn't registering yesterday. Stephanie set me straight.

Stephanie said...

"First, it will have to get the does out of Efrafa and secondly it will have to put paid to the pursuit". Watership Down, p. 255

Scooter said...

Proves Anon's point in that I read Richard Harris’s WD about 30 years ago.

Stephanie said...

I used to make it a point to write in the cover of books the year(s) that I read them. So I can see that I first read WD in 1982. Richard Adams. Liked it the first time. It's boring me to tears this time. Quite a contrast with House of Leaves.

Scooter said...

I loved it the first time and couldn't imagine even trying it now. OOps...just noticed I put Harris...not that he isn't a terrific actor.