Metaphoric Meaning
The metaphor of the "blank cheque" is thus often used in politics. For example, in the United States, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution has been called a blank cheque as it gave the President, Lyndon B. Johnson, the power to "take all necessary measures" to prevent "aggression" in Southeast Asia. These powers were then used to escalate the Vietnam War. Many in the United States Congress protested, but were helpless to effect change, for the Tonkin resolution's terms were too subjective to enforce.
This term was also used to describe how the Kaiser of Germany (Kaiser Wilhelm II) told Austria-Hungary officials that they could deal with Serbia however they wanted after Serbian Nationalists assassinated the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. This immediately preceded World War I.
An example of the second metaphorical usage can be seen in a BBC News article, in which Gordon Brown, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, offered a 'blank cheque', and would thus '"spend what it takes" to tackle Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.'
It may also be used in service fields. Customers may tell a company to treat the project as their own, which, in essence, is a carte blanche. (To the extent the service meets normal expectations.)
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Famous quotes containing the word meaning:
“Do you know what Agelisas said, when he was asked why the great city of Lacedomonie was not girded with walls? Because, pointing out the inhabitants and citizens of the city, so expert in military discipline and so strong and well armed: “Here,” he said, “are the walls of the city,” meaning that there is no wall but of bones, and that towns and cities can have no more secure nor stronger wall than the virtue of their citizens and inhabitants.”
—François Rabelais (1494–1553)