reckon without one's host

English

Etymology

Originally stronger, metaphorical form of to reckon without or not 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.

Verb

reckon without one's host

  1. To reckon without or not reckon with something or somebody, misjudge, miscalculate, ignore, not take into account.
  2. To forget the most important person.
  3. To engage in wishful thinking.

Translations

References

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