Meanings
- idiomaticIndicating an abrupt termination of a project, or of one’s hopes or plans.
[…] Goodbye — that’s all she wrote.
1963, Johnny Cash, “Jackson”5 more examples
If you see a long yellow streak of all fine smoke / That’s my rocket pulling out, that’s all she wrote / […]
1951, Jackie Brenston, “My Real Gone Rocket”There was a note upon my door... I won’t be back no more / That’s all she wrote, "Dear John".
1951, Hank Williams, “Dear John”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
1980, Bruce Springsteen, “The River”Inside information taken down note by note / A silent footstep that's all she wrote
1987, Deep Purple, “Black And White”Bye bye, baby, bye-bye, she said in a letter / And that was all she wrote
1990, Firehouse, “All She Wrote”
Origin
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).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Polish i to by było na tyle
- i to by było na tyleTranslations
Spanish pau pau
- pau pauTranslations
Cite this entry
that's all she wrote. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/that's%20all%20she%20wrote
“that's all she wrote.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/that's%20all%20she%20wrote. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “that's all she wrote,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/that's%20all%20she%20wrote.
Source: that's all she wrote on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.