Knock your block off

Posted by James Briggs on May 02, 2002

In Reply to: Knock your block off posted by Valerie on May 02, 2002

: :Thank you. Do you know how "block' came to mean our head?

A block is a name for a solid piece of wood, as well as other material. From the 14th century it was also the name of a mould for a hat. Thus, by analogy, 'block' became another name for 'head'.
I certainly heard the term 'knock his block off' fairly frequently, and figuratively, in the East End of London in the 1930s and 40s.

• Block = head R. Berg 05/02/02