| Definitions | | carte blanche |
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noun (plural cartes blanches)
- Unrestricted power to act at one's own discretion; unconditional authority
- They gave the contractor to modernize the kitchen.
Translations: Etymology: meaning 'white (or blank) paper' - the military term for surrender. The term was previously 'charte blanche'. It is first recorded by Raby in 1707 (reprinted in the Hearne Collection, 1886):<br>"Who sent Chart Blanch to make a Peace."Soon after that we have a citation that gives a clearer understanding of the meaning - from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Addison Joseph Addison in The Spectator, 1712:<br>"I threw her a Charte Blanche, as our News Papers call it, desiring her to write upon it her own Terms."(copied from http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/86175.html)
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