# pull the shutters down

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/pull-the-shutters-down
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To shut down, terminate, or ignore.

## Examples

- He pulls the shutters down whenever I ask about his past.
- When the manager started discussing the budget cuts, the team pulled the shutters down and stopped listening.
- Faced with the uncomfortable truth of his failure, he pulled the shutters down on the conversation and retreated into a cold, defensive silence.

## Origin

From the practice of shopkeepers installing roller shutters to secure their storefronts and entrances against the night. The mechanism allowed a business to be sealed once the day’s trade had concluded.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.