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Glite Dictionary
to dip one's pen in someone else's inkwell

to dip one's pen in someone else's inkwell

9.9
To use someone else's ideas without giving them credit
  • idiom
  • Archaic
translation icon : plagiar
  • She dipped her pen in someone else's inkwell by copying the design without asking for permission.

Examples

  • It's important to give credit rather than dip your pen in someone else's inkwell when presenting new ideas.

  • Many artists have dipped their pens in someone else's inkwell at some point in their careers.

  • He was accused of dip his pen in someone else's inkwell after submitting a report with nearly identical conclusions.

  • It's unfair to dip one's pen in someone else's inkwell without giving credit!

  • Don't dip your pen in someone else's inkwell during your presentation.

  • It's important to always credit others instead of dipping your pen in someone else's inkwell when sharing your research.

  • Using someone else's ideas without acknowledgment is just like dipping your pen in someone else's inkwell.

Synonyms

to borrow
vsto dip one's pen in someone else's inkwell
107 2.6

To take an idea or method from someone else and use it as your own

can be less negative implying casual use rather than deliberate stealing of ideas
to plagiarize
vsto dip one's pen in someone else's inkwell
  • US
23 6.8

To copy someone else's words or ideas and claim them as your own without saying where they came from

is broader and can mean using ideas without always claiming full ownership
to lift
vsto dip one's pen in someone else's inkwell
17 7.5

To use someone else's words or ideas without giving credit

is used more generally for borrowing ideas in any context not only writing
to co-opt
vsto dip one's pen in someone else's inkwell
7.2

Use someone else's idea as your own without permission

is about using others' ideas often without credit rather than formal adoption

How Original

to create
∞ 1.0
to adapt
150 3.0
to dip one's pen in someone else's inkwell
  • Archaic
9.9
to plagiarize
  • US
23 6.8

Surface Forms

dip one's pen in someone else's inkwell infinitive

Morphology

dip + one's + pen + in + someone + else's + inkwell

The phrase literally depicts putting one’s pen into another person’s inkwell (dip + pen + in + inkwell), so the image of using someone else’s ink can reasonably be extended to using their words or ideas. However, that metaphorical leap—and the low-frequency/archaic item 'inkwell'—means the specific sense of appropriating another’s ideas without acknowledgment is not fully predictable for a B1 learner who only knows the constituents.

Etymology

Dip one's pen in someone else's inkwell comes from the image of a writer who dips their pen into another person's inkwell to take ink, as if borrowing their words. One popular story says this image became a way to mean 'using someone else's ideas or work without giving credit'.