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Preserved but no longer current.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.
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.