Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A private reprimand given to a husband by his wife.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A private admonition or chiding; a lecture or scolding, such as might be given behind the curtains or in bed by a wife to her husband.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a private lecture to a husband by his wife
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[So called because it was originally given in a curtained bed.]
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Examples
Sorry, no example sentences found.
chained_bear commented on the word curtain lecture
"Impatient for her critique, he opens and closes the bed curtains, a scene that's a nice play on the eighteenth-century phrase 'curtain lecture,' a shrewish version of what we mean by 'pillow talk')."
--Jill Lepore, "The Divider," New Yorker, March 17, 2008, p. 90
May 6, 2008
whichbe commented on the word curtain lecture
A wife’s private reprimand to her husband. (from WordCraft)
May 20, 2008