carte blanche

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 29, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>carte blanche</strong> &#149; \KART-BLAHNCH\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p><em>Carte blanche</em> is the permission to do something however one chooses to do it.</p> <p>// The parents granted their children <em>carte blanche</em> to decorate their bedrooms as they wished.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/carte%20blanche">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"'I know you're used to having <em>carte blanche</em> to handle the mission as you see fit, 007&#46; You have your independent streak and it's served you well in the past.' A dark look. 'Most of the time.'"— Jeffery Deaver, <em>Carte Blanche</em>, 2011</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>Carte blanche is much like a blank check. In French, <em>carte</em> means "document" and <em>blanche</em> means "blank," so the phrase means "blank document." English retained that literal meaning: a carte blanche was a blank document signed in advance by one party and given to the other with permission to fill in conditions later. Much like <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blank%20check">blank check</a></em>, <em>carte blanche</em> also took on the extended meaning "complete freedom."</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>