Homing In and Plain Honing

Homing In and Plain Honing Homing In and Plain Honing Homing In and Plain Honing By Maeve Maddox Kristi Landis writes: When one wants to get more detail on something is it called â€Å"homes in† or â€Å"hones in†? Until I researched this question, I knew of only two uses of hone as a verb: the literal meaning of â€Å"to sharpen,† as on a whetstone (also known as a â€Å"hone†), and the figurative meaning â€Å"to improve,† as in â€Å"to hone one’s skills.† Hone Your Skills: Become A Better Data Center Manager Honing Skills: This section is devoted to articles on honing and improving your writing skills, by editing, critiquing or discussion. Tomko looks to hone his skills during â€Å"lull† in WWE career Surgeons Hone Skills on Nintendo Wii The OED also gives these dialect meanings for hone as a verb: to delay, tarry, hesitate; to whine or pine for; to hanker after. I’ve heard and read the expression â€Å"to hone in† used with the sense of focus on or get closer to, but always assumed that it was a mistake for â€Å"to home in.† Ive always assumed that the expression to home in originated with â€Å"homing pigeons that return to the place they were hatched. However, in the OED examples of early use, â€Å"home† is used without the â€Å"in†: 1875 Live Stock Jrnl. 23 Apr. 57/3 Pigeons home by sight and instinct. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 12 Apr. 9/1 The first [pigeon] homed at nine oclock. The homing habits of pigeons may have caused aircraft technology to adopt the verb: 1920 Wireless World Mar. 728/2 The pilot can detect instantly from the signals, especially if ‘homing’ towards a beacon. 1956 Amer. Speech XXXI. 228 A good officer could even ‘home in on a bottle of whisky’ placed on the landing field. This use of â€Å"home in on’ is used figuratively to describe other ways in which one comes closer to an object or subject of importance: 1971 New Scientist 16 Sept. 629/1 Mexicos Professor S. F. Beltran homed in on education as a critical need. Substituting â€Å"hone† for â€Å"home† in the expression may have begun as an eggcorn, but it has become common enough for the OED to give it its own entry: intr. to hone in. To head directly for something; to turn ones attention intently towards something. Usu. with â€Å"on†. Cf. HOME Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What is the Difference Between "These" and "Those"?Driver License vs. Driver’s LicenseAffect vs. Effect