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on the block

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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.

See also: block, on

on the block

for sale The radio station has been on the block for a year, but no one seems to want to buy it.

Etymology: based on the auction block (the surface from which a public sale of goods or property to the person willing to pay the most happens)

See also: block, on

on the block

  (American)

if something is on the block, it is for sale, especially at an auction (= a sale where the person who offers most money for something can buy it) The best pieces of furniture from the old mansion are going on the block next month. The Seattle radio station has been on the block for a year with no offers to buy it.

See also: block, on

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.

See also: block, on