avevale_intelligencer: (Default)
[personal profile] avevale_intelligencer
I notice that the phrase "to home in," common when I was a youngster, is now being misreplaced with increasing frequency by the meaningless phrase "to hone in," presumably from some idea about locating a place or a person being akin to sharpening. I expect that, as with most of these changes, nobody has any idea that it hasn't always been like that, and certainly nobody cares.

I look forward with a certain glum fascination to the first reference to "honing pigeons."

Date: 2011-10-26 09:19 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] catsittingstill.livejournal.com
Honing pigeons are pigeons that elbow their way into someone else's good thing.

Date: 2011-10-26 11:01 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] pbristow.livejournal.com
No, those are *horning* pigeons. If you'll, ah, pardon the expression. [BLUSH]

Date: 2011-10-27 11:49 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] catsittingstill.livejournal.com
Yes. Exactly.

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