to clear the decks
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To prepare for action by removing everything not required; play- fully used of eating everything eatable on the dinner-table, etc.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to clear the decks” mean?
To prepare for action by removing everything not required; play- fully used of eating everything eatable on the dinner-table, etc.
Is “to clear the decks” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.