Is a 'show stopper' bad... and other things

[EinsteinaGogo]

A thread about a thread (eeek!).

On a current thread, the OP is selling her house, and mentions there are one or two show stoppers about the property that are very clearly described in the details.

Therefore - any viewers who book an appointment, look around the house, then feedback that the show stopper is the reason they don't like it, are unreasonable.

The OPs home showstopper isn't stated, but it's clear that 'show stopper' is a negative .
Something like no parking, leasehold of 1 year, built on a train platform, about to be bulldozed by Christmas, etc.

To the OP - and me, and a handful of other posters - a show stopper is something negative - an obstacle hard to overcome. To the majority, it's a positive - something brilliant to make everyone gasp in awe.

What is a show stopper to you?

AND

Do you have any similar tales of using a phrase (any phrase) in a different way to its general meaning?

I’ve heard of it in both ways.

Most commonly and what I would pressure in default is in the positive form - ie A stunningly beautiful actress in an unbelievably beautiful dress on the red carpet who has absolutely stolen the show!

However I have known it used in a negative capacity also, at work mainly ie : an event which is causing a real problem with a project - a certain piece of software is not working as it was designed and will stop the whole project from going live - a show stopping issue.

[quote EinsteinaGogo]@DollyDoneMore

As we all know, language evolves.

'Go Live' is very much used as a noun in my business (tech / change / project management) and everyone understands its meaning and the variants depending on context.

"It could impact the go-live" for example. Been used for years.

"Google it". Verb. Not this way a decade ago.

NB: glad it checked this post because I mistyped and had "language revolves"![/quote]
Yes, language evolves, dictionaries are descriptive not prescriptive and no-one gets to be the English police.

But...

It still was dumb and ignorant of the first tech person to use this phrase in a negative context when it had an established 90-100 year history in a positive context.

It’s like a bowl in a china shop. Or a doggie dog world:

Showstopper is something positive.
It 'stops the show' as everyone stops to applause in awe and appreciation.

That's what I'd always thought if it as.

And yes, I agree with others - what the op is taking about is call a deal breaker. Which is negative.