Blot Your Copybook: A Schoolroom Idiom
A blot is a stain of ink. The word also means to dry ink, which is nearly the opposite.
A blot is a spot of ink or a stain. The verb pulls two ways: to *blot* a page is to stain it, but to *blot* wet ink with paper is to dry it and prevent a stain. The second sense gave us *blotting paper* and the *blotter* on a desk. *Blot your copybook* comes from school exercise books, where a spilled drop ruined an otherwise perfect page, and now means to spoil a good record.
- An ink stain. *A blot of ink.*
- To dry with paper. *Blot it dry.*
- Blot out — obscure entirely. *Clouds blotted out the sun.*
- Blot your copybook — spoil a record. *He blotted his copybook.*
- Old French — *blotte*. *A likely source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | blot | A blot. |
| Plural | blots | Blots. |
| Verb | blot | Blotted. |
| Agent | blotter | A blotter. |
| Compound | blotting paper | Blotting paper. |
- An ink blot spread across the page.Stain.
- Blot the spill with a cloth.Drying.
- He blotted his copybook badly.Idiom.
Words that mean their own opposite
- Blot — to stain, and to remove wet ink
- Dust — to sprinkle dust on, and to remove dust
- Sanction — to approve, and to penalise
- Cleave — to split, and to cling to
- Oversight — supervision, and a failure to notice
Probably from Old French *blotte*, a clod or lump, or of Scandinavian origin. Recorded from the 1300s.
How can blot mean both stain and dry?
Blotting paper removes wet ink so it cannot stain. The verb took the name of the problem it solves.
What does blot your copybook mean?
To spoil an otherwise good record, from school exercise books ruined by a single drop of ink.