that's all she wrote

English

Etymology

Unknown; circa 1940s; thought to be a reference to Dear John letters. Ernest Tubb recorded a song titled "That's All She Wrote" (sheet music published in 1942), but earlier printed references exist (e.g. The Brownsville Herald, June 1935).

Pronunciation

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Phrase

that's all she wrote

1. (idiomatic, originally US) Indicating an abrupt termination of a project, or of one’s hopes or plans.
   • 1951, Jackie Brenston, “My Real Gone Rocket”:

     If you see a long yellow streak of all fine smoke / That’s my rocket pulling out, that’s all she wrote / […]

   • 1951, Hank Williams, “Dear John”:

     There was a note upon my door... I won’t be back no more / That’s all she wrote, "Dear John".

   • 1963, Johnny Cash, “Jackson”:

     […] Goodbye — that’s all she wrote.

   • 1980, Bruce Springsteen, “The River”:

     Then I got Mary pregnant and man that was all she wrote / And for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat

   • 1987, Deep Purple, “Black And White”:

     Inside information taken down note by note / A silent footstep that's all she wrote

   • 1990, Firehouse, “All She Wrote”:

     Bye bye, baby, bye-bye, she said in a letter / And that was all she wrote

   • 2004, Gaither Vocal Band, “I Catch 'Em, God Cleans 'Em”:

     He said a prayer, and that was all she wrote

   • 2004, Michael Graves, A+ Guide to PC Hardware Maintenance & Repair, page 525:

     I get five short beeps when the machine starts to boot, and then that's all she wrote […]

   • 2016 February 5, Wesley Schultz and Jeremy Fraites, “Ophelia”, in Cleopatra‎^[1], performed by The Lumineers:

     I, I, got a little paycheck / You got big plans and you gotta move / And I don't feel nothing at all / And you can't feel nothing small / "Honey, I love you", that's all she wrote