phrases, sayings, idioms and expressions at

Can it

Posted by Deb Tompkins on March 25, 2005

can anybody shed some light?
another phrase I grew up with (can it)and still use
that means to stop what you are doing,
be finished,
cease and desist,
Generally used to halt annoying, useless,or bad behavior.
I believe it originated in hollywood
when a film was finished it went into the can (film canister)
ie, when they were done editing they 'caned it'
it also has seen use as a term
to throw something away
as in the 'garbage can'
(cast off the bad behavior/action and adopt new)
which reminds me...
how did the garbage can get to be called 'file thirteen' ?