reckon without one's host

reckon without one's host

English

Etymology

Originally stronger, metaphorical form of reckon without or (fail to) reckon with something or somebody, not in literal sense of planning without or ignoring something or somebody that is essential or whose input or assent is essential, i.e. originally only in metaphorical, not literal reference to a person who estimates the bill in an inn instead of or before asking for it from the host (in the archaic sense of innkeeper) — despite claims to the contrary in the Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary[1] and the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Verb

reckon without one's host

1. To misjudge or miscalculate; not to take into account some critical factor.
2. To forget the most important person.
3. To engage in wishful thinking. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Translations

misjudge or miscalculate

German: die Rechnung ohne den Wirt machen (de)

References

1. Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary