Liliputin - 3085

Soldier, do not wipe my slate clean ... "
Archimedes


Liliputins. What, the heck, is this ?
http://stihi.ru/2021/11/24/7101



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The last words attributed to Archimedes (c.;287 – c.;212 BC) are "Do not disturb my circles" (Latin, "Noli turbare circulos meos" a reference to the mathematical drawing that he was supposedly studying when disturbed by the Roman soldier. There is no reliable evidence that Archimedes uttered these words and they do not appear in Plutarch's account. A similar quotation is found in the work of Valerius Maximus (fl. 30 AD), who wrote in Memorable Doings and Sayings, "... sed protecto manibus puluere 'noli' inquit, 'obsecro, istum disturbare'" ("... but protecting the dust with his hands, said 'I beg of you, do not disturb this'").

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wipe (one's) slate clean (redirected from wipe your slate clean)
wipe (one's) slate clean
To erase the record of one's wrong-doings, likened to wiping the contents off of a piece of slate, formerly used as a reusable writing surface.
I had been late a bunch of times, but after he heard that I'd been struggling so much at home, my boss said he would wipe my slate clean.
Mom said she would wipe your slate clean if you pay for the vase you broke.
See also: clean, slate, wipe
wipe the slate clean
1. To forget, forgive, or erase the record of someone's transgressions or wrong-doings, starting again as if they never occurred. Likened to wiping the contents off of a piece of slate, formerly used as a reusable writing surface.
I had been late to work several times, but after the boss heard that I'd been struggling so much at home, he offered to wipe the slate clean and give me a fresh chance.
These companies pay huge amounts of money to wipe the slate clean after they are caught doing something immoral or illegal.
I appreciate your apology. Let's just wipe the slate clean and move on with things, eh?
2. To forget, forgive, or erase the record of someone's debt.
The government announced a plan to wipe the slate clean for nearly two million people who had been burdened by excessive student loans.
I know you can't pay me back, so why don't you spend a couple weekends doing work on the farm and we'll wipe the slate clean.
3. To discard, dismantle, or dispose of some existing system, framework, organizational structure, etc., in order to begin using a new one.
The rebels have vowed to wipe the slate clean for their war-torn country, promising to establish a new government that works on behalf of its citizens.
It nearly killed me having to wipe the slate clean after two years of work, but the underlying operating system we had been developing simply wasn't working.
See also: clean, slate, wipe
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
wipe someone's slate clean and wipe the slate clean
Fig. to get rid of or erase someone's (bad) record. (As if erasing information recorded on a slate.) I'd like to wipe my slate clean and start all over again. Bob did badly in high school, but he wiped his slate clean and did a good job in college.
See also: and, clean, slate, wipe
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
wipe the slate clean
see under clean slate.
See also: clean, slate, wipe
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
wipe the slate clean
COMMON
1. If you wipe the slate clean, you get rid of an existing system so that you can replace it with a new one. Note: In the past, people used pieces of a dark grey stone called `slate' for writing on, for example in schools, shops, and pubs. Shopkeepers and pub owners would write customers' debts on their slates, and wipe them clean when the debts were paid. The chief executive said: `What we have done is wipe the slate clean and start again with this complete rethink'. There's a strong desire to wipe the slate clean and call for early elections. Note: You can also say that you are starting something with a clean slate. The new chief executive has clearly decided to start with a clean slate as he takes on one of the toughest jobs in British retailing.
2. If you wipe the slate clean, you stop owing money to someone, after paying back all your debts or agreeing with someone that they will ignore a debt. Note: In the past, people used pieces of a dark grey stone called `slate' for writing on, for example in schools, shops, and pubs. Shopkeepers and pub owners would write customers' debts on their slates, and wipe them clean when the debts were paid. When his campaign ended he owed $4 million; after 12 weeks of hard work he was able to wipe the slate clean. Note: When you begin something without owing any money, you can say that you start with a clean slate. The proposal is to pay everything you owe, so that you can start with a clean slate. Before accepting the job he tried to persuade the government to wipe out the deficit and allow him to start with a clean slate.
3. If you wipe the slate clean, you start your life again, living in a completely new and better way, after a period of being punished for something wrong that you have done. Note: In the past, people used pieces of a dark grey stone called `slate' for writing on, for example in schools, shops, and pubs. Shopkeepers and pub owners would write customers' debts on their slates, and wipe them clean when the debts were paid. Serving a prison sentence makes some people believe they have wiped the slate clean and that they can start afresh. Note: You can also say someone starts with a clean slate. I had hoped that when he came back he would stop taking drugs and start with a clean slate.
See also: clean, slate, wipe
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
wipe the slate clean forgive or forget past faults or offences; make a fresh start.
In former times, shopkeepers and pub landlords would keep a record of what was owing to them by writing the details on a tablet of slate; a clean slate was one on which no debts were recorded.
See also: clean, slate, wipe
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
wipe the slate ;clean agree to forget about past mistakes or arguments and start again with a relationship: We’re both to blame. Let’s wipe the slate clean and start again.In the past, people wrote on a slate with chalk (= a soft white stone). If you wiped it, you rubbed off the marks written on it.
See also: clean, slate, wipe
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
See also:
wipe slate clean and wipe the slate clean
wipe the slate clean
boiling point
shine through
a change of tack
(one's) (hand)writing is like chicken scratch
dip a toe in(to) (something)
broom closet
(one's) tail between (one's) legs
get (one's) rocks off on (something)