What is "to strike a ledger"

Strike \Strike\, v. t. [imp. Struck; p. p. Struck, Stricken( Stroock, Strucken, Obs.); p. pr. & vb. n. Striking. Struck is more commonly used in the p. p. than stricken.] [OE. striken to strike, proceed, flow, AS. str[=i]can to go, proceed, akin to D. strijken to rub, stroke, strike, to move, go, G. streichen, OHG. str[=i]hhan, L. stringere to touch lightly, to graze, to strip off (but perhaps not to L. stringere in sense to draw tight), striga a row, a furrow. Cf. Streak, Stroke.]

1. To touch or hit with some force, either with the hand or with an instrument; to smite; to give a blow to, either with the hand or with any instrument or missile.

   He at Philippi kept His sword e'en like a dancer; while I struck The lean and wrinkled Cassius.
   --Shak.

2. To come in collision with; to strike against; as, a bullet struck him; the wave struck the boat amidships; the ship struck a reef.

3. To give, as a blow; to impel, as with a blow; to give a force to; to dash; to cast.

   They shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two sideposts.
   --Ex. xii. 7.

   Who would be free, themselves must strike the blow.
   --Byron.

4. To stamp or impress with a stroke; to coin; as, to strike coin from metal: to strike dollars at the mint.

5. To thrust in; to cause to enter or penetrate; to set in the earth; as, a tree strikes its roots deep.

6. To punish; to afflict; to smite.

   To punish the just is not good, nor strike princes for equity.
   --Prov. xvii. 26.

7. To cause to sound by one or more beats; to indicate or notify by audible strokes; as, the clock strikes twelve; the drums strike up a march.

8. To lower; to let or take down; to remove; as, to strike sail; to strike a flag or an ensign, as in token of surrender; to strike a yard or a topmast in a gale; to strike a tent; to strike the centering of an arch.

9. To make a sudden impression upon, as by a blow; to affect sensibly with some strong emotion; as, to strike the mind, with surprise; to strike one with wonder, alarm, dread, or horror.

   Nice works of art strike and surprise us most on the first view.
   --Atterbury.

   They please as beauties, here as wonders strike.
   --Pope.

10. To affect in some particular manner by a sudden impression or impulse; as, the plan proposed strikes me favorably; to strike one dead or blind.

    How often has stricken you dumb with his irony!
    --Landor.

11. To cause or produce by a stroke, or suddenly, as by a stroke; as, to strike a light.

    Waving wide her myrtle wand, She strikes a universal peace through sea and land.
    --Milton.

12. To cause to ignite; as, to strike a match.

13. To make and ratify; as, to strike a bargain.

    Note: Probably borrowed from the L. f[oe]dus ferrire, to strike a compact, so called because an animal was struck and killed as a sacrifice on such occasions.

14. To take forcibly or fraudulently; as, to strike money.

15. To level, as a measure of grain, salt, or the like, by scraping off with a straight instrument what is above the level of the top.

16. (Masonry) To cut off, as a mortar joint, even with the face of the wall, or inward at a slight angle.

17. To hit upon, or light upon, suddenly; as, my eye struck a strange word; they soon struck the trail.

18. To borrow money of; to make a demand upon; as, he struck a friend for five dollars. [Slang]

19. To lade into a cooler, as a liquor.
    --B. Edwards.

20. To stroke or pass lightly; to wave.

    Behold, I thought, He will . . . strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
    --2 Kings v. 11.

21. To advance; to cause to go forward; -- used only in past participle. ``Well struck in years.'' --Shak. To strike an attitude, To strike a balance. See under Attitude, and Balance. To strike a jury (Law), to constitute a special jury ordered by a court, by each party striking out a certain number of names from a prepared list of jurors, so as to reduce it to the number of persons required by law. --Burrill. To strike a lead.

    1. (Mining) To find a vein of ore.

    2. Fig.: To find a way to fortune. [Colloq.] To strike a ledger or To strike an account, to balance it. To strike hands with.

       1. To shake hands with.
          --Halliwell.

       2. To make a compact or agreement with; to agree with. To strike off.

          1. To erase from an account; to deduct; as, to strike off the interest of a debt.

          2. (Print.) To impress; to print; as, to strike off a thousand copies of a book.

    3. To separate by a blow or any sudden action; as, to strike off what is superfluous or corrupt. To strike oil, to find petroleum when boring for it; figuratively, to make a lucky hit financially. [Slang, U.S.] To strike one luck, to shake hands with one and wish good luck. [Obs.] --Beau. & Fl. To strike out.

       1. To produce by collision; to force out, as, to strike out sparks with steel.

       2. To blot out; to efface; to erase. ``To methodize is as necessary as to strike out.''
          --Pope.

       3. To form by a quick effort; to devise; to invent; to contrive, as, to strike out a new plan of finance.

    4. (Baseball) To cause a player to strike out; -- said of the pitcher. See To strike out, under Strike, v. i. To strike sail. See under Sail. To strike up.

       1. To cause to sound; to begin to beat. ``Strike up the drums.''
          --Shak.

       2. To begin to sing or play; as, to strike up a tune.

       3. To raise (as sheet metal), in making diahes, pans, etc., by blows or pressure in a die.

          To strike work, to quit work; to go on a strike.