A “blank check” can literally leave an amount unspecified or figuratively give someone very broad authority or freedom to act. The guide stays with current documented meaning and does not add unsupported origin chronology.
ReviewedEvidence1 sourceSectionPhrases & Idioms
Quick answer
A “blank check” can literally leave an amount unspecified or figuratively give someone very broad authority or freedom to act.
Key details
Canonical FormBlank Check
Core Meaningunrestricted authority, freedom, or resources to act without specific limits
Further guidance
History Boundary
This guide explains the current documented meaning and does not claim a single inventor, exact coinage date, or absolute first use without direct historical evidence.
Meaning
unrestricted authority, freedom, or resources to act without specific limits
Usage Boundary
In figurative use, the focus is broad permission or discretion; the literal sense is a signed check with the amount left open.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
False economy describes a cost-cutting choice whose short-term saving is outweighed by later costs or disadvantages. The phrase is useful when the apparent economy is misleading rather than when something is merely expensive.
“Golden handcuffs” are valuable payments or benefits intended to make an employee stay rather than leave for another job. This guide stays with the current documented meaning and does not assert unsupported origin chronology.
A “golden handshake” is a substantial payment made to an employee when they leave a job, commonly as a reward for long or good service. This guide stays with the current documented meaning and does not assert unsupported origin chronology.
To “have skin in the game” is to have a direct personal stake in what happens, often a financial one. The guide keeps current meaning separate from unsupported origin claims.
A “sunk cost” is a cost already incurred that cannot be recovered; it describes the past cost itself, not automatically the mistake of continuing because of it. Do not confuse “sunk cost” with the “sunk-cost fallacy,” which is the separate decision-making error of letting irrecoverable past costs distort a current choice.
Use “white elephant” for a costly possession, project, or facility whose usefulness does not justify its expense or burden. The guide stays with current documented meaning and does not assert unsupported origin chronology.
A “change of heart” means changing your opinion or feelings about something. The guide establishes the present-day idiom and does not invent an exact coinage or first-use account.
