to put one's pipe out

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

To spoil his piping; to make him change his key or sing a different tune; to "take his shine out.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “to put one's pipe out” mean?

To spoil his piping; to make him change his key or sing a different tune; to "take his shine out.

Is “to put one's pipe out” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.