1. mbinks89

    mbinks89 Active Member

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    Chalk it up or Chock it up

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by mbinks89, May 13, 2013.

    Example:

    Chock it up to Karma, . . .

    chalk it up to Karma, . . .
     
  2. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    it's 'chalk'... as in writing it on a chalk board...

    'chock' has an entirely different meaning, as you could have learned, had you simply looked them both up in a dictionary... which is much faster than waiting for someone here to come along and tell you... ;)

    and 'karma' doesn't need to be capitalized...
     
  3. madhoca

    madhoca Contributor Contributor

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    I have only ever heard the expression "chalk it up to experience", since experience is something you can learn from and you may have learned skills/tactics which you can repeat in the future; karma, on the other hand, is not something you can learn from, being simply "fate" and outside our control...so I don't think the "chalk it up" makes sense or reads well here.
     
  4. jeepea

    jeepea Member

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    I think 'chalk it up to karma' works here. The beginning of the phrase, 'chalk it up to', is an idiom expressing a belief in causation as in "He's a chicken farmer who got food poisoning from eating fried chicken. Chalk it up to karma."
     
  5. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    i agree with jeepea... it simply means one can 'assign credit or blame' to whatever is named after that...
     
  6. madhoca

    madhoca Contributor Contributor

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    It's interesting that in British English it tends to be used to describe successes, or to learn something useful from an experience--the negative or simple cause/effect aspect is not really meant. I still don't see how you can learn something from karma = fate; it just is.
     
  7. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    This. And the fact that you had to ask is a clue that it's a metaphor on the way out. Chalkboards are becoming a rarity, so it's just a quaint, dimly understood expression to most people.

    On the other hand, beware of substituting too topical a metaphor. You might get away with saying, "Hashtag karma," but two years from now it might be laughable (to me it is anyway).
     
  8. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    it's laughable to me now! :rolleyes:
     

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