Origin of the phrase "writer's block"

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i'm wondering whether anyone in the group could provide insight on the origins of the phrase "writer's block"thanks

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]i'm wondering whether anyone in the group could provide insight on the origins of the phrase "writer's block"[/nq]
It was probably once said by a writer, stuck for what to write next. Wild guess, that.

Skitt (in Hayward, California)
www.geocities.com/opus731/

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]i'm wondering whether anyone in the group could provide insight on the origins of the phrase "writer's block"[/nq]
[nq:1]It was probably once said by a writer, stuck for what to write next. Wild guess, that.[/nq]
Don't forget all the writers who went before who wanted to express that idea but couldn't think how to do it.
First cited 1950 by OED.
But 'block' alone, in this sense, is from 1931:

Which in turn goes back to 'blocking' and 1890:

John Dean
Oxford

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]i'm wondering whether anyone in the group could provide insight on the origins of the phrase "writer's block"[/nq]
[nq:1]It was probably once said by a writer, stuck for what to write next. Wild guess, that.[/nq]
I was speculating that "block" as an obstacle came from the use of a wooden block to ensure that carriage wheels would not move when the carriage was on a slope, but it seems that's not the case. The Century Dictionary says of the noun "block2" that it comes from the verb meaning to act as an obstacle ("block1" being the sense of a block of wood or other material).

The word "blockhouse," it turns out, has an interesting etymology, because it originally came from the obstacle sense!
From the Century at
www.m-w.com
(quote)
blockhouse , n. (orig. a house that blocks a passage, though
later taken as a house made of logs (+ house. ).) Originally, a detached fort block-
ing the access to a landing, a mountain
pass, narrow channel, etc.; in later use, an edi- fice of one or more stories, constructed chiefly
of hewn timber, and supplied with loopholes
for musketry
and sometimes
with embra-
sures for can-
non.
(end quote)
A friend whose hobby is learning French said that she could spend two hours just going through a French-English dictionary. I said I could do the same thing, and for that matter, I could do the same thing with an English dictionary!

Raymond S. Wise
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]i'm wondering whether anyone in the group could provide insight on the origins of the phrase "writer's block" thanks[/nq]
Sorry. Just don't seem to be able to find the words.

Cheers, Sage

Origin of the phrase "writer's block"

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