The phrase to Come Up To Scratch comes from the days of bare-knuckle boxing or prize-fighting bouts. Long before the Marquis of Queensberry produced any official rules, a line would be scratched in the ground halfway between the two fighters’ corners at the start of the bout. If a boxer was knocked down, he would be given 30 seconds to gather his senses and return to the scratch. If the boxer managed to “come up to the scratch” he would be allowed to continue, but if he didn’t then he was deemed the loser.