IdiomDaily Life
English
Englishclean slate
Meaning: A new beginning, with past mistakes or debts forgiven.
Example: “The new school gave him a clean slate after his troubles at the old one.”
Equivalents in other languages
French: Faire table rase Literally: To make a scraped table
Origin: Schoolchildren and shopkeepers once wrote on slates that could be wiped clean; tavern keepers chalked customers' debts on them and erased them when paid. A clean slate therefore meant a fresh start with nothing recorded against one, from the 19th century.
More English idioms
- clown around To act silly.
- come off it! Stop pretending or exaggerating; I don't believe you.
- come out of one's shell To stop being shy.
- come out smelling like a rose To avoid blame that one deserves; to seem innocent.
- cool one's heels To wait.
- cream of the crop The best.
Explore another collection: Compliments & Insults
Compliments and insults from around the world, from the sweet to the savage.
- Avoir un poil dans la main To be incurably lazy.
- Tête de linotte A scatterbrain who can't hold a thought.
- Courir sur le haricot To get badly on someone's nerves.
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