Where did the expression "made from scratch" come from?

Question

Anybody know who coined the phrase?

Answer 1

This use of scratch derives from a line or mark drawn or scratched into the ground to indicate a boundary or starting-point in sports, especially cricket and boxing. That meaning of scratch goes back to the late 18th century. From there it came to apply specifically to the starting point, in a handicap, of a competitor who received no odds: "Mr. Tom Sabin, of the Coventry Bicycle Club, has won, during last week, three races from scratch." (Bicycle Journal, August 18, 1878). It was later applied figuratively with the meaning "from nothing", and it was used thus by James Joyce in Ulysses (1922): "A poor foreign immigrant who started scratch as a stowaway and is now trying to turn an honest penny." Thereafter it was taking up in cooking once boxed mixes and prepared foods became widely available. Today it is a badge of honor to be able to say one made a culinary delight from scratch.

Answer 2

Scratch Meaning

Answer 3

This use of scratch comes from a line or mark drawn or scratched into the ground to indicate a boundary or starting-point in sports, especially cricket & boxing. That meaning of scratch goes back to the late 18th century. From there it came to apply specifically to the starting point, in a handicap, of a competitor who received no odds: "Mr. Tom Sabin, of the Coventry Bicycle Club, has won, during last week, three races from scratch." (Bicycle Journal, August 18, 1878). It was later applied figuratively with the meaning "from nothing", and it was used thus by James Joyce in Ulysses (1922): "A poor foreign immigrant who started scratch as a stowaway and is now trying to turn an honest penny." Thereafter it was taking up in cooking once boxed mixes and prepared foods became available. Today it is a badge of honor to be able to say one made a culinary dish from scratch.

Answer 4

"This use of scratch derives from a line or mark drawn or scratched into the ground to indicate a boundary or starting-point in sports, especially cricket and boxing. That meaning of scratch goes back to the late 18th century. From there it came to apply specifically to the starting point, in a handicap, of a competitor who received no odds: 'Mr. Tom Sabin, of the Coventry Bicycle Club, has won, during last week, three races from scratch.' (Bicycle Journal, August 18, 1878). It was later applied figuratively with the meaning 'from nothing', and it was used thus by James Joyce in Ulysses (1922): 'A poor foreign immigrant who started scratch as a stowaway and is now trying to turn an honest penny.' Thereafter it was taking up in cooking once boxed mixes and prepared foods became widely available. Today it is a badge of honor to be able to say one made a culinary delight from scratch."

Answer 5

according to http://www.takeourword.com/Issue058.html
"This use of scratch derives from a line or mark drawn or scratched into the ground to indicate a boundary or starting-point in sports, especially cricket and boxing. That meaning of scratch goes back to the late 18th century. From there it came to apply specifically to the starting point, in a handicap, of a competitor who received no odds: "Mr. Tom Sabin, of the Coventry Bicycle Club, has won, during last week, three races from scratch." (Bicycle Journal, August 18, 1878). It was later applied figuratively with the meaning "from nothing", and it was used thus by James Joyce in Ulysses (1922): "A poor foreign immigrant who started scratch as a stowaway and is now trying to turn an honest penny." Thereafter it was taking up in cooking once boxed mixes and prepared foods became widely available. Today it is a badge of honor to be able to say one made a culinary delight from scratch."

Answer 6

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Where did the expression "made from scratch" come from?
Anybody know who coined the phrase?

Answer 7

Making It from Scratch
I love words. That's a pretty good thing, considering that I'm a writer and an editor. However, the older I get, the more “Aha!” moments I have about words and phrases in our idiom or vernacular. Some of these have their roots in antiquity, while others came along more recently from regional, ethnic, and/or cultural beginnings.

One of the expressions that struck me last night while lying in bed was the one, “make from scratch.” Certainly the expression has a history, and I'd like to explore it a bit (although not exhaustively) in "Along Those Lines…" this week.

Answer 8

"Made from scratch" is a coined phrase. It came from old timers making things from raw materials, textiles, food ingredients. It is just an evolution of American language, such as slang. As women joined the work force in the '70's instead of being stay at home moms it was easier to fix a box of hamburger helper, than "made from Scratch" beef strogenaff, or macaroni and cheese. So the phrase become more popular in the culinary sense. Stove Top Stuffing use to have a funny advertizement of 2 or 3 old ladies quoting the made from scratch phrase to sell their product.

Answer 9

Start from scratch

Meaning

Begin (again) from the beginning, embark on something without any preparation or advantage.

Origin

'Start from scratch' is an expression which has altered slightly in meaning since it was first coined. It is now usually used to mean 'start again from the beginning' - where an initial attempt has failed and a new attempt is made with nothing of value carried forward from the first attempt (as opposed to 'made from scratch' which means 'made from basic ingredients').

In the late 1800s, when 'start from scratch' began to be used it simply meant 'start with no advantage'. 'Scratch' has been used since the 18th century as a sporting term for a boundary or starting point which was scratched on the ground. The first such scratch was the crease which is a boundary line for batsmen in cricket.

John Nyren's Young Cricketer's Tutor, 1833 records this line from a 1778 work by Cotton:

"Ye strikers... Stand firm to your scratch, let your bat be upright."

It is the world of boxing that has given us the concept of 'starting from scratch'. The scratched line there specified the positions of boxers who faced each other at the beginning of a bout. This is also the source of 'up to scratch', i.e. meet the required standard, as pugilists would have had to do when offering themselves for a match.

Scratch later came to be used as the name of any starting point for a race. The term came to be used in 'handicap' races where weaker entrants were given a head start. For example, in cycling those who were given no advantage had the handicap of 'starting from scratch', while others started ahead of the line. Other sports, notably golf, have taken up the figurative use of scratch as the term for 'with no advantage - starting from nothing'.

The Fort Wayne Gazette, April 1887, contains the earliest reference to 'starting from scratch' that I can find, in a report of a 'no-handicap' cycling race:

"It was no handicap. Every man was qualified to and did start from scratch."

Answer 10

DarkWolfman is accurate...

Another way to think about it is that "scratch" is slang for zero, or nothing, though it's not as commonly used as it was in the early part of the 20th century. Thus, "made from scratch" is a corruption of the idea that you started with nothing (in this case, actually meaning you started with no pre-made ingredients, such as a cake mix).