iron curtainn.

Brit.

/ˌʌɪən ˈkəːtn/, U.S.

/ˌaɪ(ə)rn ˈkərt(ə)n/

Forms: also with capital initials.

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: iron adj., curtain n.¹

Etymology: < iron adj. + curtain n.¹Sense 2a is apparently not paralleled in other European languages until considerably later (e.g. in German and French not before the 20th cent.). Sense 2b is apparently also found earliest in English. Compare German eiserner Vorhang , attested in similar use from 1945, e.g. in the speech by Schwerin von Krosigk reported in quot. 1945¹ at sense 2b and in the speech by Goebbels reported in the following:1945 tr. P. J. Goebbels in Times 23 Feb. 3/4 If the German people lay down their arms, the whole of eastern and south-eastern Europe, together with the Reich, would come under Russian occupation. Behind an iron screen [Ger. ein eiserner Vorhang] mass butcheries of peoples would begin.Compare also similar use of Russian železnyj zanaves iron curtain (1930 or earlier, e.g. L. Nikulin in Literaturnaja gazeta (1930) 13 Jan. 1) with reference to the alleged creation of such a barrier around the Soviet Union by the capitalist countries in order to prevent the world revolution from spreading.

1. Theatre. An iron screen which can be lowered on to the front of the stage to protect the auditorium from any fire occurring on or behind the stage. Cf. iron n.¹ 22, safety curtain n. at safety n. Compounds 3.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > theatrical equipment or accessories > [noun] > curtain

curtain1598

drop1781

iron curtain1794

green curtain1805

greeny1821

tableau curtain1830

drop-curtain1832

rag1848

hipping1858

cloth1881

safety curtain1881

asbestos curtain1890

olio1923

tab1929

sail curtain1941

iron1951

swag1959

1794 Morning Post 15 Feb. The preventions used against fire in this Theatre [sc. Drury Lane] are singular and ingenious; all the wood-work is covered with thin plates of iron, and there is in addition an iron curtain, which extends to the walls, and is so calculated as completely to prevent the flames spreading to the front of the House, though the scenes were to catch fire.

1794 R. Fitzpatrick Occas. Prol. 3 Consume the Scenes, your safety yet is certain, Presto! for proof, let down the Iron Curtain.

1829 H. Foote Compan. to Theatres 30 As a precaution against fire, an iron curtain was constructed, so as to let down in a moment of danger and separate the audience from the stage.

1867 Times 12 Dec. 7/6 I am afraid that the often-suggested iron curtain would be found, like the immense water tank on the roof of the late theatre, wholly useless when most it was required.

1908 P. G. Wodehouse & H. Westbrook Globe by Way Bk. 51/2 ‘The iron curtain,’ she gasped, and exerting her full strength, held the actor under the descending sheet of metal.

1974 Peter Brook's Production of Midsummer Night's Dream 49 At Stratford, the iron curtain has to be seen by the audience to close off the stage from the auditorium—fire regulations.

2004 C. Soutar Real Nureyev (2006) 11 The iron curtain arrives and shudders to a halt.

2. figurative. An impenetrable barrier, esp. one which prevents access or communication.

a. In general use.In later use influenced by sense 2b.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > [noun] > one who or that which hinders > a hindrance, impediment, or obstacle > insurmountable or impenetrable

brick wall1571

firewall1578

iron curtain1819

blank wall1904

Chinese wall1907

the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > [noun] > one who or that which hinders > a hindrance, impediment, or obstacle > to spiritual or social union or intercourse > specific

iron curtain1877

bamboo curtain1949

Zion Curtain1969

1819 Earl of Munster Jrnl. Route across India 1817–18 iv. 58 On the 19th November we crossed the river Betwah, and as if an iron curtain had dropt between us and the avenging angel, the deaths diminished.

1877 D. Cook Doubleday's Children iv. ii. 271 It was something that came between us, like an iron curtain sundering me from Paul.

1915 G. W. Crile Mechanistic View War & Peace iv. 69 Suppose that Mexico were a rich, cultured, and brave nation of forty million with a deep-rooted grievance, and an iron curtain at its frontier.

1939 J. Gloag Word Warfare xi. 113 In an international crisis Germany can be cut off from the world by an iron curtain of censorship.

1959 Listener 29 Jan. 198/1 By tact and determination she gradually broke down the iron curtain and mobilized the women into a united Conservative front.

1976 I. M. Lewis Social Anthropol. in Perspective i. 21 Disciplinary frontiers should be vibrant channels of communication, not iron curtains of mutual unintelligibility and mistrust.

2000 N.Y. Mag. 18 Dec. 28 Those guests able to get past the publicists' iron curtain..became privy to celebrity musings.

b. spec. Usually with the and capital initials. Esp. during the Cold War: a notional barrier dividing the capitalist West and the communist countries of the Eastern bloc. Cf. bamboo curtain n. at bamboo n. Compounds 2, curtain n.¹ 3c. Now historical.Quot. 1946 is considered the locus classicus for this usage.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > condition or fact of being interjacent > [noun] > that which is interjacent > and separates two things > a partition > specific international

iron curtain1920

The Wall1961

1920 E. Snowden Through Bolshevik Russia ii. 32 We were behind the ‘iron curtain’ at last!

1945 Times 3 May 4/5 (Report of speech by the German Foreign Minister, Schwerin von Krosigk) In the East the iron curtain behind which, unseen by the eyes of the world, the work of destruction goes on is moving steadily forward.

1945 W. S. Churchill Telegram 12 May in H. S. Truman & W. S. Churchill Defending West (2004) ii. 75 An iron curtain is drawn down upon their front. We do not know what is going on behind.

1945 Sir St. V. Troubridge in Sunday Empire News 21 Oct. 2/2 A Curtain Across Europe... Yet at present an iron curtain of silence has descended, cutting off the Russian zone from the Western Allies.

1946 W. S. Churchill in Times 6 Mar. 6/1 (Address at Westminster College, Fulton, U.S.A., 5 March) From Stettin, in the Baltic, to Trieste, in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.

1953 Encounter Oct. 58/1 If they live behind the Iron Curtain they can do none of these things—for, while the Communists agree that knowledge is power, they are persuaded that they are already in essential possession of both.

1971 Times Lit. Suppl. 31 Dec. 1621/5 Societies on both sides of the Iron Curtain are conditioned by similar forces in all essential respects.

1973 J. M. White Garden Game 184 One of Harrison's local contacts, an experienced Iron Curtain operator.

2006 Philadelphia Inquirer 6 Aug. c3/1 The fall of the Iron Curtain brought the curtain down on the mass market for ‘Red Menace’ books.

Compounds

Iron Curtain country n. now historical (during the Cold War of the mid to late 20th cent.) any of the communist countries of the Soviet bloc, esp. one in central or eastern Europe.Usually taken to include the Soviet Union itself.

ΚΠ

1946 Troy (N.Y.) Record 10 Dec. 13/4 Mr. Stowe returned..after visiting the Iron Curtain countries of Hungary, Romania and Czechslovakia [sic].

1962 N. A. Graebner Cold War Diplomacy i. iv. 79 Any evolution toward self-determination..required nothing less than the voluntary withdrawal of Soviet occupation forces from the Iron Curtain countries.

1989 Times 16 Nov. (Appointments section) p. xiv/6 Kinsman..points to the changes in former Iron Curtain countries which will have an impact on business.

2010 D. Oshinsky in A. W. Artenstein Vaccines xii. 218 Sabin accepted an invitation to experiment inside the Soviet Union and other Iron Curtain countries.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	iron curtain
释义	iron curtainn. Brit. /ˌʌɪən ˈkəːtn/, U.S. /ˌaɪ(ə)rn ˈkərt(ə)n/ Forms: also with capital initials. Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: iron adj., curtain n.¹ Etymology: < iron adj. + curtain n.¹Sense 2a is apparently not paralleled in other European languages until considerably later (e.g. in German and French not before the 20th cent.). Sense 2b is apparently also found earliest in English. Compare German eiserner Vorhang , attested in similar use from 1945, e.g. in the speech by Schwerin von Krosigk reported in quot. 1945¹ at sense 2b and in the speech by Goebbels reported in the following:1945 tr. P. J. Goebbels in Times 23 Feb. 3/4 If the German people lay down their arms, the whole of eastern and south-eastern Europe, together with the Reich, would come under Russian occupation. Behind an iron screen [Ger. ein eiserner Vorhang] mass butcheries of peoples would begin.Compare also similar use of Russian železnyj zanaves iron curtain (1930 or earlier, e.g. L. Nikulin in Literaturnaja gazeta (1930) 13 Jan. 1) with reference to the alleged creation of such a barrier around the Soviet Union by the capitalist countries in order to prevent the world revolution from spreading. 1. Theatre. An iron screen which can be lowered on to the front of the stage to protect the auditorium from any fire occurring on or behind the stage. Cf. iron n.¹ 22, safety curtain n. at safety n. Compounds 3. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > theatrical equipment or accessories > [noun] > curtain curtain1598 drop1781 iron curtain1794 green curtain1805 greeny1821 tableau curtain1830 drop-curtain1832 rag1848 hipping1858 cloth1881 safety curtain1881 asbestos curtain1890 olio1923 tab1929 sail curtain1941 iron1951 swag1959 1794 Morning Post 15 Feb. The preventions used against fire in this Theatre [sc. Drury Lane] are singular and ingenious; all the wood-work is covered with thin plates of iron, and there is in addition an iron curtain, which extends to the walls, and is so calculated as completely to prevent the flames spreading to the front of the House, though the scenes were to catch fire. 1794 R. Fitzpatrick Occas. Prol. 3 Consume the Scenes, your safety yet is certain, Presto! for proof, let down the Iron Curtain. 1829 H. Foote Compan. to Theatres 30 As a precaution against fire, an iron curtain was constructed, so as to let down in a moment of danger and separate the audience from the stage. 1867 Times 12 Dec. 7/6 I am afraid that the often-suggested iron curtain would be found, like the immense water tank on the roof of the late theatre, wholly useless when most it was required. 1908 P. G. Wodehouse & H. Westbrook Globe by Way Bk. 51/2 ‘The iron curtain,’ she gasped, and exerting her full strength, held the actor under the descending sheet of metal. 1974 Peter Brook's Production of Midsummer Night's Dream 49 At Stratford, the iron curtain has to be seen by the audience to close off the stage from the auditorium—fire regulations. 2004 C. Soutar Real Nureyev (2006) 11 The iron curtain arrives and shudders to a halt. 2. figurative. An impenetrable barrier, esp. one which prevents access or communication. a. In general use.In later use influenced by sense 2b. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > [noun] > one who or that which hinders > a hindrance, impediment, or obstacle > insurmountable or impenetrable brick wall1571 firewall1578 iron curtain1819 blank wall1904 Chinese wall1907 the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > [noun] > one who or that which hinders > a hindrance, impediment, or obstacle > to spiritual or social union or intercourse > specific iron curtain1877 bamboo curtain1949 Zion Curtain1969 1819 Earl of Munster Jrnl. Route across India 1817–18 iv. 58 On the 19th November we crossed the river Betwah, and as if an iron curtain had dropt between us and the avenging angel, the deaths diminished. 1877 D. Cook Doubleday's Children iv. ii. 271 It was something that came between us, like an iron curtain sundering me from Paul. 1915 G. W. Crile Mechanistic View War & Peace iv. 69 Suppose that Mexico were a rich, cultured, and brave nation of forty million with a deep-rooted grievance, and an iron curtain at its frontier. 1939 J. Gloag Word Warfare xi. 113 In an international crisis Germany can be cut off from the world by an iron curtain of censorship. 1959 Listener 29 Jan. 198/1 By tact and determination she gradually broke down the iron curtain and mobilized the women into a united Conservative front. 1976 I. M. Lewis Social Anthropol. in Perspective i. 21 Disciplinary frontiers should be vibrant channels of communication, not iron curtains of mutual unintelligibility and mistrust. 2000 N.Y. Mag. 18 Dec. 28 Those guests able to get past the publicists' iron curtain..became privy to celebrity musings. b. spec. Usually with the and capital initials. Esp. during the Cold War: a notional barrier dividing the capitalist West and the communist countries of the Eastern bloc. Cf. bamboo curtain n. at bamboo n. Compounds 2, curtain n.¹ 3c. Now historical.Quot. 1946 is considered the locus classicus for this usage. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > condition or fact of being interjacent > [noun] > that which is interjacent > and separates two things > a partition > specific international iron curtain1920 The Wall1961 1920 E. Snowden Through Bolshevik Russia ii. 32 We were behind the ‘iron curtain’ at last! 1945 Times 3 May 4/5 (Report of speech by the German Foreign Minister, Schwerin von Krosigk) In the East the iron curtain behind which, unseen by the eyes of the world, the work of destruction goes on is moving steadily forward. 1945 W. S. Churchill Telegram 12 May in H. S. Truman & W. S. Churchill Defending West (2004) ii. 75 An iron curtain is drawn down upon their front. We do not know what is going on behind. 1945 Sir St. V. Troubridge in Sunday Empire News 21 Oct. 2/2 A Curtain Across Europe... Yet at present an iron curtain of silence has descended, cutting off the Russian zone from the Western Allies. 1946 W. S. Churchill in Times 6 Mar. 6/1 (Address at Westminster College, Fulton, U.S.A., 5 March) From Stettin, in the Baltic, to Trieste, in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. 1953 Encounter Oct. 58/1 If they live behind the Iron Curtain they can do none of these things—for, while the Communists agree that knowledge is power, they are persuaded that they are already in essential possession of both. 1971 Times Lit. Suppl. 31 Dec. 1621/5 Societies on both sides of the Iron Curtain are conditioned by similar forces in all essential respects. 1973 J. M. White Garden Game 184 One of Harrison's local contacts, an experienced Iron Curtain operator. 2006 Philadelphia Inquirer 6 Aug. c3/1 The fall of the Iron Curtain brought the curtain down on the mass market for ‘Red Menace’ books. Compounds Iron Curtain country n. now historical (during the Cold War of the mid to late 20th cent.) any of the communist countries of the Soviet bloc, esp. one in central or eastern Europe.Usually taken to include the Soviet Union itself. ΚΠ 1946 Troy (N.Y.) Record 10 Dec. 13/4 Mr. Stowe returned..after visiting the Iron Curtain countries of Hungary, Romania and Czechslovakia [sic]. 1962 N. A. Graebner Cold War Diplomacy i. iv. 79 Any evolution toward self-determination..required nothing less than the voluntary withdrawal of Soviet occupation forces from the Iron Curtain countries. 1989 Times 16 Nov. (Appointments section) p. xiv/6 Kinsman..points to the changes in former Iron Curtain countries which will have an impact on business. 2010 D. Oshinsky in A. W. Artenstein Vaccines xii. 218 Sabin accepted an invitation to experiment inside the Soviet Union and other Iron Curtain countries. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.1794
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