1
general::
Phrase(s): on the block
1. Lit. on a city or suburban block. • John is the biggest kid on the block. • We had a party on the block last weekend. 2. on sale at auction; on the auction block. • We couldn’t afford to keep up the house, so it was put on the block to pay the taxes. • That’s the finest painting I’ve ever seen on the block.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
1. put or go on the block. Offer for sale, as in These paintings will all be put on the block. This usage alludes to the auction block, the platform from which the auctioneer sells, so called since the mid1800s. 2. put one's head on the block. Take a great risk, make oneself vulnerable, as in I'm not going to put my head on the block just to save her reputation. This usage alludes to the executioner's block, on which victims are beheaded, so called since the mid-1500s.
American Heritage Idioms