IdiomDaily Life
English
Englishcast a pall over
Meaning: To make a gathering or occasion suddenly gloomy or subdued, usually because of bad news or a tactless remark.
Example: “News of the layoffs cast a pall over the office holiday party.”
Equivalents in other languages
French: Jeter un froid Literally: To throw a cold
Origin: A pall is the heavy cloth draped over a coffin at a funeral; the word goes back through Old English pæll to the Latin pallium, a cloak. To cast a pall over something is to lay that funeral cloth across it figuratively, so that a cheerful scene takes on the hush of a burial. The phrase is still used both for a single awkward moment and for a lasting shadow over an event.
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