Aphorisms and Idioms: A Clean Slate
S
tarting with “a clean slate” is thought to be the oldest known idiom. It means a fresh beginning, one free of past mistakes or failures.
These days, you might use this idiom to say something like, “my divorce really hit me hard, so I’m relocating to start over with a clean slate.” Or perhaps, “Bobby ran into some issues at his previous school, so his folks have enrolled him elsewhere, allowing him to start with a clean slate.” Or even, “everyone makes mistakes, but give yourself permission to start again with a clean slate.”
It All Started With
The Code of Hammurabi
The idiom “starting with a clean slate” originates from the treatment of debt in the Code of Hammurabi (one of the earliest written legal codes), from about 1800 BC. If you were unable to repay a debt due to circumstances beyond your control, a hailstorm flattened your fields of grain for example, your debt could be cancelled. An early form of bankruptcy, if you will.
What does that have to do with a clean slate? Well… back in the Babylonian days, debts were recorded on clay tablets. And in the event of a debt-cancelling scenario like the one mentioned above, the clay tablet recording your debt would be “washed.” That is, dissolved in water. As a result, you would start the next growing season with a fresh, new, “clean slate,” one with no indication of your previous debt.[1]
During the Greco-Roman period, wax tablets were commonly utilized. The blunt end of a stylus was used to erase mistakes. And a slate could be “cleaned” by holding it close to a flame until the wax was soft enough to smooth out to its original state. [2]
Around the 11th century, personal writing tablets made of slate began to appear. And as anyone familiar with the Little House on the Prairie series can tell you, they became a universal tool in the one-room school-houses prevalent during the pioneer-era. Written on with chalk, they were easily wiped clean with a cloth or sleeve.[3]
These days, we hit delete on our computers. But regardless of how we return to a “clean slate,” everyone deserves a fresh start at one time or another.
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Aphorisms And Idioms Here.
Endnotes:
[1] Drum, Kevin. “What is the oldest known idiom?” Mother Jones Daily. December 9, 2012.
[2] “The History and Use of Wax Tablets in Antiquity.” Donnagawell. October 10, 2024.
[3] “Pioneer Schools: One-Room Schoolhouses and Slates on the Frontier.” Laura Ingalls Wilder and Little House Books.
Images:
A Clean Slate: Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
The Code of Hammurabi: Code of Hammurabi. History.com Nov. 9,2009
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