blank check

noun
1.
a bank check bearing a signature but no stated amount.
2.
unrestricted authority; a free hand: He was given a blank check in the choice of personnel for the new department.

Origin:
1885–90

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To blank check
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

blank check

Unrestricted authority, a free hand, as in I'll support most of the chairman's agenda, but I'm not ready to give him a blank check for the company's future. Literally this term signifies a bank check that is signed by the drawer but does not indicate the amount of money, which is filled in by the person to whom it is given. [Late 1800s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
00:10
Blank check is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
Example sentences
Your tax dollars should not be used as a blank check.
Instead, because they're a blank check, they get financed by general government
  revenues including income tax.
We can no longer expect public support in the form of a blank check and an
  loosely defined agenda.
The blank check stock must be stored in a fireproof container, at a minimum,
  and safeguarded until needed.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT