on the block
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on the block
For sale, especially at an auction. After years of collecting, she had to put all her records on the block to cover the cost of her husband's debt.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
on the block
1. Lit. on a city or suburban block. John is the biggest kid on the block. We had a party on the block last weekend.
2. on sale at auction; on the auction block. We couldn't afford to keep up the house, so it was put on the block to pay the taxes. That's the finest painting I've ever seen on the block.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
on the block
1. put or go on the block . Offer for sale, as in These paintings will all be put on the block. This usage alludes to the auction block, the platform from which the auctioneer sells, so called since the mid-1800s.
2. put one's head on the block. Take a great risk, make oneself vulnerable, as in I'm not going to put my head on the block just to save her reputation. This usage alludes to the executioner's block, on which victims are beheaded, so called since the mid-1500s.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
on the block
AMERICANCOMMON If something is on the block, it is offered for sale, sometimes at an auction. Two Basquiat paintings were on the block on Tuesday, May 5. Note: You can also put something on the block. Last week, after months of rumors, the company officially put itself on the block. The team's money worries had forced them to put the club on the block. Note: The usual British expression is under the hammer.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
on the block
for sale at auction. chiefly North AmericanThe block in this phrase was the platform on which, in former times, a slave stood to be auctioned.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017