Grammar Moses: Toe that line, tote that barge
I dabbled recently in idioms in which a homophone could be dropped in and the phrase still would make some sense.
“Say your peace,” for instance, instead of “say your piece.”
Reader John Buckman points to another one: “Toe the line.”
He noticed while reading a syndicated column that the writer mistakenly used “tow the line.”
“Toe the line” has a couple of meanings, the most prevalent being to show obedience. If you toe the line, you know your place and you stay there.
John points to lines on a military field. I've seen references to planks on a wooden ship.
Another meaning is to prepare for a foot race. “Toe the line” is interchangeable with “on your marks.”
Popular expressions include “toe the company line” and “toe the party line.”
In both cases, the “do what you're told” message is clear.
John also suggests there is validity to “tow the line” in a nautical setting, and this is where he and I part ways.
Describing the practice of tying one's vessel to another with a tow line and dragging it as “towing the line” is a solecism.
One tows a boat, not a line.
I think that's a bit of a stretch, and I haven't been able to find any evidence on the interwebs or in my little grammar and usage library that would indicate it's been used in that way.
John is certainly right about one thing: In the column, the wroter got it wrong.
Everything old is new again
Bob Kopp wrote to say he has been listening to Chicago-based WSCR 670-AM radio, which has been undergoing a number of personnel changes.
“They promote the ‘New Bernstein and McKnight' show along with the ‘New McNeil and Parkins' show,” he wrote. “Is the word ‘new' appropriate if there wasn't an ‘Old Bernstein and McKnight' show? I believe it's just a new midday show (or midday hosts) as it replaces the old one.”
Is it necessary, Bob? No. Is it cancer-causing? Probably not.
If there had never been a Bernstein and McKnight combo, I'd probably call it new.
Whenever Taco Bell comes up with a new combination of its few ingredients (because the available ingredients rarely seem to change) the chain calls it “new.”
If you read my diatribe about advertising the other week, then you'll appreciate how “new” must make it into every advertisement, no matter how old the product: Try Borax in its NEW size!
Never say never
In honor of baseball season, Jan Gollberg asked about word usage in “Take Me Out To the Ball Game.”
“‘I don't care if I never get back' has always grated on my ears,” she wrote. “Isn't that a double negative? I think it should be ‘ever.' What say you?”
I say it's hard enough to write a good song lyric without worrying about being grammatically correct.
That being said, I'm torn.
“I don't care if I ever get back” is better, I agree, but I don't view “I don't care if I never get back” as a double negative. Perhaps I'm wrong, but “don't” modifies caring and “never” modifies getting back. So I think this is an example of two negatives in one sentence rather than a single double negative.
Jan, I don't not care about your position on this (now THAT'S a double negative!)
Call the Calvary!
Finally, in honor of Easter, remember the hill near Jerusalem upon which Jesus was crucified is not “cavalry,” it's “Calvary.”
For those of you who didn't know that, you've been watching too many Westerns when you should be in church.
Write carefully!
• Jim Baumann is vice president/managing editor of the Daily Herald. Write him at jbaumann@dailyherald.com. Put Grammar Moses in the subject line. You also can friend or follow Jim at facebook.com/baumannjim.