ENGLISH
REFERENCE

chalk up to

idiom
Meaning

To attribute or account for something; to ascribe.


Examples
SIMPLE

I chalk up my success to hard work and luck.

CONTEXTUAL

The team chalked up their loss to poor planning and bad weather.

COMPLEX

Critics chalked up the novel's enduring appeal to its unflinching honesty about grief and human connection.

Anchors to
Related idioms4entries
  1. 01

    chalk and cheese

    Said of things that are very different, though possibly superficially alike.

  2. 02

    chalk off

    To record a score or event, as if on a chalkboard.

  3. 03

    chalk something up to experience

    To take a lesson from a bad outcome instead of grieving it.

  4. 04

    walk the chalk

    To keep a correct course in manners or morals.

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