What does carte blanche mean?
By: Richard A. Baril
I was dining with a client at his resort one night. I believe the event was to commemorate his 4th or 5th divorce. He was good natured about it. He told me he had a new marriage system, which is similar to the system used by fishermen. I didn’t understand. So, he said, “It’s called ‘catch and release”.
I say he was good natured because not only could he make light of his penchant for winning and then losing women but; two of his former spouses (I believe it was #2 and #3) were having dinner at nearby tables, likely on his tab. He sent them both a bottle of champagne. A former Italian client once told me that men have the marvelous capacity to love “more than one woman”. I think he was attempting to justify his proclivity for “more than one woman”. But, perhaps it was true for this one client. Perhaps he had the capacity to love many women.
It was the usual outstanding dinner and too many drinks. After dinner discussion was centered on the new golf course which was in the early stages of construction. At some point, our client said, “The golf course must be good. You have carte blanche! Do you know what this means?”
By: Richard A. Baril
I was dining with a client at his resort one night. I believe the event was to commemorate his 4th or 5th divorce. He was good natured about it. He told me he had a new marriage system, which is similar to the system used by fishermen. I didn’t understand. So, he said, “It’s called ‘catch and release”.
I say he was good natured because not only could he make light of his penchant for winning and then losing women but; two of his former spouses (I believe it was #2 and #3) were having dinner at nearby tables, likely on his tab. He sent them both a bottle of champagne. A former Italian client once told me that men have the marvelous capacity to love “more than one woman”. I think he was attempting to justify his proclivity for “more than one woman”. But, perhaps it was true for this one client. Perhaps he had the capacity to love many women.
It was the usual outstanding dinner and too many drinks. After dinner discussion was centered on the new golf course which was in the early stages of construction. At some point, our client said, “The golf course must be good. You have carte blanche! Do you know what this means?”
Well, my French is limited. But, even if I was unable to comprehend the first word in French, architects are trained to understand “blank check” in 586 languages. As I was contemplating the meaning of this, my client was explaining that he had made enough money and this project was to be his “swan song”. Money was not the issue. This project was about leaving a legacy. I remember it was late when we finished our evening. But, I remember going to bed thinking the future was particularly bright.
This project went on for years. It is our longest running, successfully completed project to date, requiring more than 10 years to complete. And, during those years, whenever our client would ask me why the project was costing so much, I would remind him that we had “carte blanche”. Usually, this would prompt a blank stare.
This project went on for years. It is our longest running, successfully completed project to date, requiring more than 10 years to complete. And, during those years, whenever our client would ask me why the project was costing so much, I would remind him that we had “carte blanche”. Usually, this would prompt a blank stare.
I’m not sure who was drunkest that night long ago. Either our client had amnesia or carte blanche means something else. Maybe it means "blank stare".
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