EARLY BIRDS, NIGHT OWLS, AND BURNING THE CANDLE AT BOTH ENDS

Are you an early bird or a night owl, or do you burn the candle at both ends?

 An early bird rises early. This originates from the proverb “the early bird catches the worm,” which means that someone who acts more promptly is more likely to be successful [1]. An early riser is also called a lark, while someone who habitually goes to bed late is known as a night owl [2] or is said to “burn the midnight oil,” recalling pre-electricity days.

People who “burn the candle at both ends” get up early and stay up late, so are generally sleep-deprived. This expression originated in France (brûler la chandelle par les deux bouts) and was translated into English in 1611. It originally referred to dissipating one’s wealth but since developed its current meaning [3]. Jack suggests that clerks and tradesmen working after dark often secured their candles horizontally in the middle and lit them at both ends. He states that although this would give them enough light to work by, they would have to work harder and faster as the candle would burn out more quickly [4].

Being unconvinced about the practicality of literally burning a candle at both ends, I tried an experiment. The candle in the following video should normally burn for around five hours. When suspended horizontally and lit at both ends, it lasted for less than six minutes. A worker using a candle in this way would have had to work extremely fast, and most of their candle would be wasted. I stopped videoing when the string caught fire. The candle was suspended over a metal surface, and appropriate fire precautions were taken.

It appears much more likely that the phrase “burn the candle at both ends” refers to burning candles at both ends of the day, rather than both ends of the candle.

Examples of use:

“The researchers also found evidence that night owls would accumulate ‘sleep debt’ during the working week and would sleep longer at weekends to compensate for this, whereas early birds had smaller differences in their sleeping patterns across the week.”

“But excessive hours are not sustainable - there are only so many times you can burn the midnight oil before your performance, decision making and wellbeing begin to suffer”

“I rediscover my teenage appetite for big nights out, but can no longer burn the candle at both ends.”


[1] “early.” In Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms, edited by Ayto, John. Oxford University Press, 2009.
[2] Cresswell, Julia. “owl.” In The Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins. Oxford University Press, 2009.
[3] “burn the candle at both ends.” In The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, by Christine Ammer. 2nd ed. Houghton Mifflin, 2013.
[4] Jack, Albert. Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep: The Origins of Even More Phrases We Use Every Day (p. 163). Penguin Books Ltd. Kindle Edition.

Photo credit: 1980supra

HOT POTATO

A hot potato is a difficult issue or problem that no one is keen to deal with or discuss.

 e.g. “A second referendum on Brexit is the hot potato of British politics.”

 This phrase apparently dates from the 1800s and originates from a longer phrase, “to drop something/someone like a hot potato.” It refers to the tendency of hot potatoes to retain heat, making them likely to burn if held for too long. [1]

 e.g. “The idea was dropped like a hot potato when the City kicked up a stink.”

[1] “hot potato.” In The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, by Christine Ammer. 2nd ed. Houghton Mifflin, 2013.

Photo credit: Martin Cathrae

SAVED BY THE BELL, BUT WHICH ONE?

If you are saved by the bell, a difficult situation ends before you have to take an undesirable action.

 e.g. “‘Rain in August meant we were saved by the bell and I expect an average German crop,’ he said, adding that along with [the] U.S. crop there would be ‘sufficient market supply’ although prices would remain high.”

There are several theories regarding the origin of this phrase.

In a boxing match, the ringing of a bell to mark the end of a round can save a floored contestant [1,2]. This appears to be the most popular explanation, and the phrase is still frequently used in reports on boxing matches.

 e.g. “He beat the count only for Lomachenko to resume the assault and was soon floored a second time, making it to his feet at nine before he was saved by the bell.”

Another claim is that the phrase originates from a Horse Guard Parade in London during the Victorian era, when a guard was accused of being asleep on duty. He denied this charge and stated that he had heard Big Ben's main bell chime 13 times at midnight, rather than the expected 12. When the clock mechanism was checked, it was found that a cog was out of line, which would indeed cause Big Ben to chime 13 times rather than 12. Based on this evidence, the guard was freed and thus saved by the bell [3].

A third theory relates to ‘safety coffins’. These were invented in response to stories of people being buried alive after being mistakenly declared dead, which understandably led to people fearing that this might happen to them. (This fear was named taphophobia.) Many safety coffins were fitted with a bell to allow the occupant to call for help [4], and it is suggested that these were the origin of the phrase “saved by the bell” [5]. However, it appears doubtful whether anyone was ever buried in a safety coffin, despite several designs being built and sold [6], and Wilton (2009) describes this explanation as a myth [7].

[1] “saved by the bell.” In The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by Knowles, Elizabeth, Oxford University Press, 2005.
[2] “saved by the bell.” In Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase and Fable, edited by Room, Adrian and Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham. 2nd ed. Cassell, 2009.
[3] Jack, Albert. Red Herrings & White Elephants: The Origins of the Phrases We Use Everyday (pp. 214–215). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
[4] Cascella, Marco. “Taphophobia and ‘Life Preserving Coffins’ in the Nineteenth Century.” History of Psychiatry 27, no. 3 (September 2016): 345–49.
[5] http://www.ancientpages.com/2016/02/09/strange-history-of-safety-coffins-from-ancient-to-modern-times/
[6] https://australianmuseum.net.au/about/history/exhibitions/death-the-last-taboo/safety-coffins/
[7] Wilton, David. Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends, Oxford University Press, 2009.

Photo credit: Brian Metcalfe