Hello, folks! The other day I talked about the term “wheelhouse” and traced its journey from ships, to baseball, to business. Today I have another bit of jargon that you might know from one of your latest meetings: across the board. Synonyms for today’s use of the term are: completely, broadly, and universally.
But where did the term come from originally? My resource today is The Grammarist.
Sometimes idiomatic expressions bring together different walks of life. Across the board is an idiom with roots in horse racing, but it’s not exclusive to equestrian enthusiasts. This phrase has trotted its way into business and politics and is now commonly used. So, sit tight as I break down the meaning behind across the board.
Across the Board Meaning Explained
Simply put, across the board means applying to everyone or everything within a certain group or system. If a decision or change is across the board, it affects every individual or aspect without exception.
It’s like when a big chain of stores makes a change to their store policies. It doesn’t just apply to one store. It would be all of them, so the changes are across the board.
What Does Across the Board Mean in Horse Racing?
In the world of horse racing, an across-the-board bet is one where equal amounts of money are wagered on the same horse to win, place, and show in a race. If the horse succeeds, the bettor gets a payout for each result…
This term was later extended metaphorically to describe a situation that affects all sectors equally.
Across the Board Examples in a Sentence
· The tech CEO announced across-the-board bonuses for all his employees next year.
· Our government promised across-the-board carbon cuts with all major oil companies.
· We need to make across-the-board healthy decisions for our family.
· The system updates are across the board.
If you want more examples and more details about this idiom, you can see The Grammarist link (mentioned earlier). The Grammarist encourages you to sprinkle your writing with idioms, but we are at work and I have to disagree. You might feel like “sprinkling” in more personal writing, but you probably want to keep phrases from the race track out of your business reports!
Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Knowledge Enablement
Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com
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