putting a damper on

Verb

put a damper on (third-person singular simple present puts a damper on, present participle putting a damper on, simple past and past participle put a damper on)

1. (idiomatic) To stop people from enjoying an activity.
   • John told us he had lost his job, which put a damper on the celebrations.

   Synonyms:

   rain on somebody's parade, upset the applecart, burst someone's bubble, piss in someone's cereal, piss in someone's Cheerios, piss in someone's cornflakes, piss on someone's chips, piss on someone's bonfire, piss on someone's campfire, rain on someone's parade