Stop pacing and light somewhere!
I confused the boy with my unusual use of the English language last night, again. I was doing some straightening of the house while we were talking on the phone. I looked down at my cell phone and noticed that the battery was almost dead, so I said I needed to stop moving around and light somewhere so I could plug in my phone. He was all, huh? I explained that to light somewhere means to settle, to alight, to stay in one spot. My mother used to say that all the time to us kids: "Stop pacing and light somewhere!"
rfunk said he'd never heard the word used like that. I worried that I was wrong, and I really should have been using the word "alight" instead. But Merriam-Webster backs me up.
Main Entry: 6 light
Function: intransitive verb
Inflected Form(s): lit /'lit /; or light•ed; light•ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English lIhtan; akin to Old
English lEoht light in weight
1 : DISMOUNT
2 : SETTLE, ALIGHT (emphasis mine)
3 : to fall unexpectedly -- usually used with on or upon
4 : to arrive by chance : HAPPEN -- usually used with on or upon
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/light
I wonder if it's a more Southern US usage, or if my family just has eccentric speech habits.
rfunk said he'd never heard the word used like that. I worried that I was wrong, and I really should have been using the word "alight" instead. But Merriam-Webster backs me up.
Main Entry: 6 light
Function: intransitive verb
Inflected Form(s): lit /'lit /; or light•ed; light•ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English lIhtan; akin to Old
English lEoht light in weight
1 : DISMOUNT
2 : SETTLE, ALIGHT (emphasis mine)
3 : to fall unexpectedly -- usually used with on or upon
4 : to arrive by chance : HAPPEN -- usually used with on or upon
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/light
I wonder if it's a more Southern US usage, or if my family just has eccentric speech habits.