English · Idiom Historical

to sweep the deck

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

To clear off all the stakes. See above. To deck is to decorate or adorn. (Dut. dekken, to cover; perhaps connected with A.S. theccan, to thatch.

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.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “to sweep the deck” mean?

To clear off all the stakes. See above. To deck is to decorate or adorn. (Dut. dekken, to cover; perhaps connected with A.S. theccan, to thatch.

Is “to sweep the deck” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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