scorched earth
nounEtymology
Calque from Chinese 焦土 (jiāotǔ, “scorched earth; ravages of war”), originally in reference to the strategy adopted by the Chinese government in the Second Sino-Japanese War. First attested in 1937 as an idiom.
- derived from government in the Second Sino-Japanese War
Definitions
Land that has been abandoned, in the face of an advancing enemy, after the destruction of…
Land that has been abandoned, in the face of an advancing enemy, after the destruction of all resources on it.
The strategy of destroying all resources in an area of land in order to deny their use to…
The strategy of destroying all resources in an area of land in order to deny their use to an advancing enemy.
Alternative spelling of scorched-earth.
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for scorched earth. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA