Knock down a cheque
Suggest a CorrectionMeaning
Spend an entire pay cheque lavishly, traditionally in a prolonged drinking spree. Dated colonial slang. It commonly implies heavy drinking and financial self-destruction; use sensitively when discussing addiction or exploitation by publicans. Regional use: Historical Australian and New Zealand English.
Origin
The expression grew from 19th-century Australian bush labour, where shearers, drovers or miners might receive a large cheque after a long isolated season and hand it to a publican to fund drinks until it was exhausted. Austral English records examples from 1869 and gives a detailed 1885 explanation. It describes a historical social practice, not ordinary modern cheque processing.
Research Sources
Variants
- Knock one's cheque down
- Knock down one's cheque
- Knock down a pile
Usage Examples
- The shearer knocked down his cheque in three roaring nights at the hotel.
- She banked half her wages before anyone could persuade her to knock the cheque down.
- Old hands warned that knocking down a pile left a man walking back to the station penniless.