(See also CESSATION, CULMINATION, TERMINATION.)

go through-stitch To go through with; to finish or conclude; to follow through. This expression alluding to the work of a tailor was popular in the 17th century but is no longer heard today.

in for a penny, in for a pound Once involved in a matter, however slightly, one must carry it through whatever the consequences. The metaphor comes from the monetary units of Great Britain: formerly, the penny was 1/12 of a shilling and the pound 20 shillings or 240 pence; since decimalization, the pound is 100 new pence.

sign off To complete or end a performance, project, or other matter; to terminate; to withdraw. In the 9th century and for several hundred years thereafter, a person could change his religious affiliation simply by “signing off,” i.e., by signing a legal paper that ended his membership in one religious organization and, if he so desired, enrolled him in another.

Beginning in the late Middle Ages, sign off usually referred to a creditor’s releasing a debtor from financial obligation by “signing off,” i.e., by affixing his signature to a document to that effect. A contemporary variation that refers to this practice of canceling a debt or amortizing an asset is write off.

Since the 1930s, sign-off (as a noun) most commonly applies to a radio or television station’s ending its broadcast day.

tie up the loose ends To conclude or settle matters; to answer all questions and account for any seemingly superfluous details. Loose ends in this expression refers to the last bit of unfinished business, the apparently irrelevant or contradictory details of a plan, arrangement, project, etc. This figurative use may derive from the practice of tying the ends of thread that hang loose after a cloth is woven or a garment is knitted.