Comments on: Home in / Hone in

By: Cixi

Cixi — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 13:05:40 +0000

In the past year I’ve been working with some Australians who often use the phrase “hone in on”. I had never heard it before during more than 50 years in the US and the UK. I’d like to know whether everyone in Australia uses that phrase, but have so far refrained from asking them because I haven’t had the heart to tell them I think they’ve got it wrong.

I googled “hone in” to try to find out what the experts say about it, and was delighted to find this site. I love it and will definitely visit again!

By: Sally

Sally — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 19:54:57 +0000

Thanks Jason. Enjoy your microwave dinner this evening!

By: Danny Baker

Danny Baker — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 19:11:24 +0000

If it were just the question of which verb to use (home vs. hone), there would be no controversy. The long-established meanings of both of those verbs are applicable in their respective ways to the usage in question. The problem lies in the addition of “in” or “in on”, as Karen nicely explained way back on June 8, 2010. Taken as a complete phrase (not just the verb), only “home in” or “home in on” makes any real sense. It’s OK for language to evolve, but this is a clear example of degradation, since those who favor “hone in” do so in ignorance of how the meaning of the phrase differs from the meaning of the verb…

By: Al Friedman

Al Friedman — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:01:08 +0000

I have always used the term to hone I on and only recently read the term home in on. I’m not a spring chicken, sadly, but from this discussion, I am inclined to think there must be a regional difference. I have been on the west coast for over 60 years…

By: Robert Smith

Robert Smith — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 23:11:27 +0000

HOME in was used for HOMING missiles homing in on their targets. HONE means to sharpen and could be used to mean finely adjusting something. The guy that says honing in is the same as homing in is flat wrong as are everybody else I hear confusing the terms.

By: MCFox

MCFox — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:12:42 +0000

I’m not quite as old as you, Colleen, but all I can say is: “What she said!”
-MCFox

By: AnWulf

AnWulf — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:17:25 +0000

Harriet, from the OED on my computer and online:

verb [ no obj. ]
1 (of an animal) return by instinct to its territory after leaving it: a dozen geese homing to their summer nesting grounds.
• (of a pigeon bred for long-distance racing) fly back to or arrive at its loft after being released at a distant point.
2 (home in on) move or be aimed toward (a target or destination) with great accuracy: more than 100 missiles were launched, homing in on radar emissions.
• focus attention on: a teaching style that homes in on what is of central importance for each student.

From etymology online: home (v.) 1765, “to go home”, from home (n.). Meaning “be guided to a destination by radio signals, etc. (of missiles, aircraft, etc.) is from 1920; it had been used earlier in reference to pigeons (1862). Related: Homed; homing. O.E. had hamian “to establish in a home”.

By: Jason Doucette

Jason Doucette — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 06:32:57 +0000

> Oh, correct, shmorrect. Whatever floats your boat, I say. It’s a lovely day and I have cats to herd. If you’re really worried about being “correct,” …

Um… yeah. That’s why were here.

Thanks for the information, but I almost didn’t read it, since I wasn’t sure how long you were going to avoid answering the question. I’d suggest throw a quick answer out fast, and then explain. That way everyone is happy, and people who want to know why will keep reading. I wish everyone did, but some people are busy / lazy.

Cheers,
Jason

By: misha

misha — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 11:09:41 +0000

Harriett, I will try to home in on my point. Eh, what was I saying? I need to sharpen my focus, or should I say hone my focus? Hone my point? I lost my homing beacon and I can’t find my way…Use the one you think works best, or like William Shakespeare, invent a word where one does not yet exist. I have to admit to being as much of a curmudgeon about proper grammar as the next grammar guru; however, this seems a lot like Camelot in Quest for the Holy Grail, “‘Tis a silly thing.”

By: Harriett

Harriett — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 10:40:09 +0000

I cannot find a verb “to home ” / “home in on” in any dictionary that I have consulted but there is a verb “HONE”. I know it means “Sharpen” but could it mean Sharpen your focus ??’

By: gurujake

gurujake — Thu, 05 May 2011 18:08:09 +0000

What bothers me is probably the same as that which bothers Karen about the use of “hone in,” rather than “home in.” There’s no logic to it, and to use the former indicates a lack of awareness of this. What bothers me even more is observing people make the same mistakes that I made have made a few decades ago when I would use unexamined turns of phrase incorrectly. The idea that my own self-correction is lost on the masses makes my very existence seem futile! Perhaps I should lighten up . . .

By: kidvermicious

kidvermicious — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 15:18:44 +0000

I don’t know why other people being dumb makes me mad. But they do. They should stop it.