trash heap of history en · NOUN
Etymology
In a similar form (“that great dust heap called ‘history’”) used by English essayist Augustine Birrell in 1887 (but in use before), popularized by Leon Trotsky in reference to the Mensheviks (1917).
Meanings
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(figuratively) A notional place where events, people or objects which have been forgotten or have become irrelevant from a historical perspective are placed or recorded.
As I talked with Billy, it suddenly hit me that I needed to do something—no matter how minor—to save these stories from the trash heap of history.
2012, Michael Bellesiles, A People's History of the U.S. Military, The New Press, →ISBN:My ONLY hero is Muhammad Mustafa SAW and whatever he gave us will prevail and every thing else that stands against it is doomed to be decimated and end up in the trash heap of history, as you put it.
2016, Kaare Sørensen, quoting David Headley, The Mind of a Terrorist, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| the trash heap of history | canonical | lexicographic |
Synonyms
ash heap of history · trash bin of history · dustbin of history · dust heap of history · garbage heap of history · landfill of history · ashcan of history
Translations (9)
sv historiens skräphög (historical irrelevance) · fr oubliettes de l'histoire (historical irrelevance) · pl śmietnik historii (historical irrelevance) · ru свалка истории (historical irrelevance) · de Müllhaufen der Geschichte (historical irrelevance) · fa زبالهدان تاریخ (historical irrelevance) · ar مَزْبَلَة التَّارِيخ (historical irrelevance) · fr poubelles de l’Histoire (historical irrelevance) · fi historian romukoppa (historical irrelevance)