A timely thought

[sid]

As the days of analog timepieces fade into history, will the directions "Turn clockwise to tighten" soon lose all meaning?

Will the expression persist, complete with scholarly footnotes and diagrams?

What could possibly replace it?

Any youngsters out there who can give a current status report?

And, just for fun, what other words or phrases can you think of that belong to the past but live on in the present? (It's late, and all I can think of right now is "Hold your horses!")

Comments

[chalcopyrite]

I have only rarely seen it correctly. Still bugs me. *wry g*

sid, another one for you: having a "nest egg." :)

[sid]

Yes, 'free reign' bugs me, too. It makes sense! But it's wrong, wrong, wrong! LOL

Nest egg - I never knew the origin of that! And it actually doesn't make sense. There's a leap you have to make to reach the current usage. But I wonder if that old ploy is still being pulled on today's unsuspecting hens. :-)

[chalcopyrite]

I was pondering the nest egg phrase -- I'm pretty sure the metaphorical phrase came into use while nest eggs were still being used in the literal sense -- and I think it does make sense if you look at it sideways. It's something left over when everything is gone, something kept back that gives you a place to start over. Odd little phrase, though.

As for pulling a fast one on the poultry: commercially, no, and I doubt it's necessary if they're restricted in range/limited in suitable places to lay. But given their liberty, they *will* hide their clutches if you take all the eggs -- hens cannot distinguish between "one" and "more," but they can tell the difference between "some" and "none," and reach the absolutely correct conclusion that someone's nicking the eggs! So I know I have used a nest egg to keep them laying in a nest I have found. Saves hours of searching. :)

(You know how far you've sunk when you're engaging in a war of wits with a chicken.)

[sid]

I remember a chicken coop in my grandparents yard when I was young. The chickens were long gone, but the smell lingered on....

(as long as you're winning that war, it's okay!)