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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Vocabulary

'draw a sponge across her slate' -- what does it mean?

Hi, I am reading Churchill speech of 'Never Give in, Never, Never, Never', and one of his sentences baffles me:

'Britain, other nations thought, had drawn a sponge across her slate.'

I know the basic meaning is that others thought Britain was completely wiped out, but, what exactly does 'draw a sponge across one's slate' mean?

And where does the image come from?

I would be very grateful if anyone can help me with this.

Cheers.
  

Top answer

The obvious is erasing a schoolroom blackboard. I've never used a sponge for that purpose, but natural and artificial sponges are typically used for cleaning. What am I missing?

— Avangi

  • The obvious is erasing a schoolroom blackboard.
  • I've never used a sponge for that purpose, but natural and artificial sponges are typically used for cleaning.
  • What am I missing?
  • Of course your slate (blackboard) is where you expose your thoughts for all to see.
  • The clean slate image often refers to making a fresh start.
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1 Answers
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The obvious is erasing a schoolroom blackboard. I've never used a sponge for that purpose, but natural and artificial sponges are typically used for cleaning.
What am I missing?

Of course your slate (blackboard) is where you expose your thoughts for all to see.

The clean slate image often refers to making a fresh start.

These were not Churchill's words, were the
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