Up the Spout Meant Pawned
A spout is a tube for pouring liquid. A British idiom about it comes from the pawnbroker's shop.
A spout is a tube or lip through which liquid is poured. *Up the spout*, meaning ruined or beyond hope, comes from pawnbroking: pledged goods were sent up a lift shaft, nicknamed the spout, to be stored on an upper floor until redeemed. Something up the spout was out of your hands. To *spout* also means to talk at length without substance, from the image of words pouring out unchecked.
- A pouring tube. *A teapot spout.*
- To gush. *Water spouted out.*
- To talk at length. *Spouting nonsense.*
- Up the spout — ruined. *Up the spout.*
- Middle English — *spouten*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | spout | A spout. |
| Plural | spouts | Spouts. |
| Verb | spout | Spout water. |
| Past | spouted | Spouted. |
| Compound | waterspout | A waterspout. |
- The teapot spout is chipped.Object.
- Water spouted from the pipe.Verb.
- The whole plan is up the spout.Idiom.
Pawnbroking terms in English
- Up the spout — pledged, hence lost or ruined
- In hock — pawned, from Dutch *hok*, a prison or hutch
- Three balls — the pawnbroker's sign, from the Medici arms
- Uncle — Victorian slang for a pawnbroker
- Redeem — to buy a pledged item back
Middle English *spouten*, to pour out, probably from Middle Dutch *spouten*, of imitative origin.
Where does up the spout come from?
From pawnbrokers, who sent pledged goods up a lift shaft nicknamed the spout for storage until they were redeemed.
Why does spout mean to talk?
From the image of words pouring out steadily and without control, like liquid from a spout.