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across-the-board
[ uh-kraws-thuh-bawrd, -bohrd, uh-kros- ]
adjective
- applying to all employees, members, groups, or categories; general:
The across-the-board pay increase means a raise for all employees.
- (of a bet) covering all possibilities of winning on a given result, especially by placing a combination bet on one horse in a race for win, place, and show.
across-the-board
adjective
- (of salary increases, taxation cuts, etc) affecting all levels or classes equally
- horse racing the US term for each way
Word History and Origins
Origin of across-the-board1
Idioms and Phrases
Applying to all the individuals in a group, as in They promised us an across-the-board tax cut , that is, one applying to all taxpayers, regardless of income. This expression comes from horse racing, where it refers to a bet that covers all possible ways of winning money on a race: win (first), place (second), or show (third). The board here is the notice-board on which the races and betting odds are listed. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1900s.Example Sentences
And in this era of impact-blind, across-the-board budget cuts, we see an opportunity.
Some of them, like an across-the-board tariff on Chinese goods, might actually work.
There needs to be an across-the-board, consistent defense of the constitutional separation of powers.
Right now, the biggest races are still toss-ups, with polls showing see-sawing leads across-the-board.
An aura of impotence has consumed the government, as deep, across-the-board cuts everyone says they oppose set in.
Together, we passed the first across-the-board tax reduction for everyone since the Kennedy tax cuts.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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