John Hancock was an early American politician and a signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. His was the first signature on the document, the largest signature and the most readable. From this evolved the idiomatic expression "to give your John Hancock," which simply means to sign your name to something.
The document was signed by 56 U.S. dignitaries. These included Jefferson and Hancock, along with Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Edward Rutledge and Samuel Chase. John Hancock was the first man to sign, knowing that signing this declaration could mean his imprisonment or even death, John Hancock boldly wrote his name in large letters, declaring,“There, I think King George should be able to read this.”His signature appears at the top center of the bank of signatures. Not only is his signature larger, his handwriting is significantly more ornate and ostentatious than any other on the document.
Eventually, the distinction of Hancock's signature on the Declaration of Independence gave rise to the phrase "to give your John Hancock".
It is used as an informal synonym for one's signature: a person might be asked to do so when signing any document, be it a formal contract or a credit card receipt. The term "John Hancock" can be used interchangeably with "signature" or "autograph." (Autograph is when you get someone's signature for a piece of memorabelia; e.g., to get your favourite celebrity's autograph. You can't use autograph in a formal way instead of signature when talking about sign offical documents)
🤓To "put one's John Hancock" means to provide one's signature on the dotted line on a document.
🤓When someone asks you for your John Hancock, it means they want your signature.
🔸Please help us out and put your John Hancock on our petition.
🔸We need your John Hancock here, here and here.
🔸Your John Hancock goes right here and the house is yours!
🔸We're going to need your John Hancock on this contract to make the deal official.
🔸I would never have put my John Hancock on such an unfavorable contract—I think my signature was forged.
It's a curious piece of information, but don't overuse it. Though the phrase is used a lot around the US, in serious business situations, people rarely use it.
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