Ralph Keyes' Retroterm of the Day: Iron curtain

“Iron curtain” was the name given fireproof metallic curtains that were first installed in theaters during the late eighteenth century. Since the early twentieth century iron curtain has been used by many a speaker or writer to refer to a country sealed off from its neighbors. Before Churchill used this term in 1946, Nazi propagandists had already warned that an iron curtain surrounded Russia.

Reposted with permission: RalphKeyes.com