[kiss] {sth} goodbye
1
to accept the fact that one has lost something and might never be able to get it back
The origin of the idiom "kiss something goodbye" comes from the early 1900s. The literal action of waving and blowing a kiss to something as a farewell gesture has been a sign of permanent goodbye for centuries. This gestures derives from earlier traditions where kissing one's fingers and waving them was seen as transferring a kiss through the air to the departing person or thing. This expression emerged in the early 20th century and is now used to refer to the action of accepting something is gone for good in the same way one would blow a farewell kiss.
- When she missed her flight, she had to kiss her vacation plans goodbye.
- The sudden illness made him kiss his dreams of participating in the marathon goodbye.
- When the proposal was rejected, the team had to say goodbye to their hopes of securing the contract.
- The unexpected turn of events forced them to wave goodbye to their plans for a peaceful vacation.
- When the computer crashed and the data was lost, she had to kiss goodbye to all her important documents.