Showing posts with label Draw a Blank. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Draw a Blank. Show all posts

Jul 11, 2020

Wordology, Draw a Blank

According to 'English Language Centres', “draw a blank” originated in Tudor England when Queen Elizabeth I set up the first national lottery in 1567.

For this lottery, there were two pots. One pot contained slips of paper with the names of all of the participants. The other pot contained the same number of slips, only some bits of paper had prizes written on them while others were blank. One slip of paper was pulled from each pot at the exact same time and if the person matched with a prize, then they would win the prize. However, if the person’s name was drawn with a piece of paper with no writing, then they would not win anything. They were unsuccessful and “drew a blank.”