Obsolete phrases
from Language Log http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=29730
From a reader:
I just noticed this headline in our local news (which I read on line…):
"Seahawks QB Russell Wilson pens letter on behalf of Sonics arena project."
Does anyone pen a letter these days, or dial a phone number? I am sure this raises issues that have come up in your blog. Maybe though there is still room to explore how obsolete expressions continue to be used.
The pattern is certainly a common one. An expression for a concrete object is used to refer to a activity in which that object is central (metonymy); the usage may be extended to similar activities where the original object is not involved (metaphor); and the extended usage continues long after the use of the original object passes out of everyday life.
Thus pen for "write", dial for "enter a sequence of phone numbers", bridle for "restrain", spur for "encourage", sail for "begin a journey by water", shift gears for "change one's way of proceeding", telegraph for "give a premature indication", etc.
The same thing can happen for nominal extensions: reins for "controls", brass for "officers".
Well, some people still do write letters by hand, especially at this time of year, though they may be a dying breed. I still call the array of numbers on a phone a 'dial' whether it is virtual or not. I still call the distinctive noise you hear when you first pick up the phone a 'dial tone.' Even more obsolete is the word 'dial' used for the channel selector of a TV. I don't call the buttons on the remote a dial. However gears still shift in cars. More than a few ordinary folks still want to do it manually, though except in race cars there is very little advantage anymore. Every driver still shifts into reverse, so it's not actually close to obsolete. Back in the 1980s when I wrote my sci-fi novel I had all kinds of problems with the word "sail." I refused to use it for traveling through deep space, but never came up with a good substitute either.
From a reader:
I just noticed this headline in our local news (which I read on line…):
"Seahawks QB Russell Wilson pens letter on behalf of Sonics arena project."
Does anyone pen a letter these days, or dial a phone number? I am sure this raises issues that have come up in your blog. Maybe though there is still room to explore how obsolete expressions continue to be used.
The pattern is certainly a common one. An expression for a concrete object is used to refer to a activity in which that object is central (metonymy); the usage may be extended to similar activities where the original object is not involved (metaphor); and the extended usage continues long after the use of the original object passes out of everyday life.
Thus pen for "write", dial for "enter a sequence of phone numbers", bridle for "restrain", spur for "encourage", sail for "begin a journey by water", shift gears for "change one's way of proceeding", telegraph for "give a premature indication", etc.
The same thing can happen for nominal extensions: reins for "controls", brass for "officers".
Well, some people still do write letters by hand, especially at this time of year, though they may be a dying breed. I still call the array of numbers on a phone a 'dial' whether it is virtual or not. I still call the distinctive noise you hear when you first pick up the phone a 'dial tone.' Even more obsolete is the word 'dial' used for the channel selector of a TV. I don't call the buttons on the remote a dial. However gears still shift in cars. More than a few ordinary folks still want to do it manually, though except in race cars there is very little advantage anymore. Every driver still shifts into reverse, so it's not actually close to obsolete. Back in the 1980s when I wrote my sci-fi novel I had all kinds of problems with the word "sail." I refused to use it for traveling through deep space, but never came up with a good substitute either.