"murder one's darlings" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "Possibly first used by Arthur Quiller-Couch (1863–1944) during a series of lectures at the University of Cambridge, later published in book form.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "murders one's darlings",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "murdering one's darlings",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "murdered one's darlings",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "murdered one's darlings",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "head": "murder one's darlings"
      },
      "expansion": "murder one's darlings (third-person singular simple present murders one's darlings, present participle murdering one's darlings, simple past and past participle murdered one's darlings)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "kill one's darlings"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1916, Arthur Quiller-Couch, “On Style”, in On The Art of Writing",
          "text": "Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it — whole-heartedly — and delete it before sending your manuscript to press. Murder your darlings.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of kill one's darlings."
      ],
      "id": "en-murder_one's_darlings-en-verb-u6miu7Aq",
      "links": [
        [
          "kill one's darlings",
          "kill one's darlings#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Arthur Quiller-Couch"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "murder one's darlings"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "Possibly first used by Arthur Quiller-Couch (1863–1944) during a series of lectures at the University of Cambridge, later published in book form.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "murders one's darlings",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "murdering one's darlings",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "murdered one's darlings",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "murdered one's darlings",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "head": "murder one's darlings"
      },
      "expansion": "murder one's darlings (third-person singular simple present murders one's darlings, present participle murdering one's darlings, simple past and past participle murdered one's darlings)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "kill one's darlings"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1916, Arthur Quiller-Couch, “On Style”, in On The Art of Writing",
          "text": "Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it — whole-heartedly — and delete it before sending your manuscript to press. Murder your darlings.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of kill one's darlings."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "kill one's darlings",
          "kill one's darlings#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Arthur Quiller-Couch"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "murder one's darlings"
}