Scott,
I'm interested by your comments on "hone in on," particularly your tracing it to your father's sermons from the early 40s to mid-50s. That places the phrase earlier than either the Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage (not American, as I mistakenly added earlier) or the OED has it. Here's the OED entry, labeled "DRAFT ENTRY Sept. 2004":
[App. an alteration of HOME v. (see sense 5 s.v.), orig. by confusion with HONE v.3]
intr. to hone in. To head directly for something; to turn one's attention intently towards something. Usu. with on. Cf. HOME v. 5.
1965 G. PLIMPTON Paper Lion (1967) 51 Then he'd fly on past or off at an angle, his hands splayed out wide, looking back for the ball honing in to intercept his line of flight. 1967 N.Y. Times 5 Nov. III. 10/1 A few who know the wearer well recognize that something is different without honing in on the hairpiece. 1983 E. FIGES Light vii. 53 A wasp had begun to circle round the bowl.., gradually honing in on the ripe glistening fruit. 1995 For Him Mag. Sept. 78/3 He hasn't spotted me. I hone in, but he slips out of range just in time. We cat and mouse for what seems like an eternity. 2002 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 19 Dec. 35/3 Balanchine's classes were famous for honing in on the basics.
The OED confirms in a way your sense that the usage derives from a meaning of "hone," noting that it arises by confusion of "home" with "hone." Here's the relevant part of the OED entry for "home," marked as SECOND EDITION 1989.
5. intr. Of a vessel, aircraft, missile, etc.: to be set, or guided, to its target or destination, by use of a landmark or by means of a radio beam, etc. Also fig. Freq. const. on or in on.
1920 Wireless World Mar. 728/2 The pilot can detect instantly from the signals, especially if 'homing' towards a beacon. 1940 Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XLIV. 569 The tanker must be equipped with D.F. gear, so that the two aircraft may 'home' on each other if visibility is poor. 1947 CROWTHER & WHIDDINGTON Science at War 119 Torpedoes and bombs that follow or 'home' on to their targets. 1948 [see A.D.F. s.v. A III]. 1948 Ann. Reg. 1947 458 The equipment [for automatic take-off and control of an aircraft], which can be fitted to a standard aircraft, homes on a beam sent out by a radio beacon. 1955 C. M. KORNBLUTH Mindworm 53 That was near. He crossed the street and it was nearer. He homed on the thought. 1956 Amer. Speech XXXI. 228 A good officer could even 'home in on a bottle of whisky' placed on the landing field. 1958 'P. BRYANT' Two Hours to Doom 58 Infra-red missiles which homed on the radiations given off from jet engines. 1962 F. I. ORDWAY et al. Basic Astronautics ix. 386 The guided vehicle then homes on the reflected signals as in the active case. 1971 Daily Tel. 23 Aug. 1/5 The other helicopter located the dinghy by homing in on the bleeping of the emergency distress [call]. 1971 New Scientist 16 Sept. 629/1 Mexico's Professor S. F. Beltran homed in on education as a critical need. 1972 Daily Tel. 7 June 2/8 A killer satellite is one which can home in on other objects in earth orbit and destroy them.
As you can see, the usage "home (in) on" predates "hone in on" by about two decades.
There's been some discussion of "hone in (on)" on the American Dialect Society list ADS-L, but nothing there takes it back earlier than the sixties either. If you will grant permission, I'll post your first three paragraphs below to ADS-L, citing your post here as the source. If you have any copies of your father's sermons containing this usage, they would be particularly valuable in documenting it and could also provide a citation source for the OED.
By the way, my father was also a minister at about the same time, but I don't remember his using "hone in on," but then I don't remember him using "home in on" either.
Herb
-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Scott
Sent: 2009-04-19 09:24
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: " Hone in on" & Pulliiam's credentials; was ATEG Digest - 17 Apr 2009 to 18 Apr 2009 (#2009-90)
I picked up this phrase from my father's sermons in the early 40's to
mid-50's. Father was quite the wordsmith; therefore, I picked up his
phrasing without question. Inasmuch as his sermons were borrowed by
several noted evangelists of that period and went into print under their
names, it sounds as if the reference book cited might have been limited
in its sources. I also heard my mother's father use the phrase in the
same time period as my father. Unlike my father, he spoke very little.
Never having heard a speech by Bush or read an excerpt of one in a
newspaper, I can aver that I could not have gotten the phrase from him.
I do believe that "hone in on" is taken from the verb 'hone' rather than
an error for 'home.' I always took the expression to mean 'get to the
point.' The phrase could very likely have been influenced by the
parallel construction 'home in on'--an expression with which, I confess,
I was unfamiliar.
Thanks for the comment and the compliment. I must admit, however, that
my postings on line contain more errors than my written work--I not only
make more errors but also catch fewer. At work, I always printed out my
postings and read them before I sent them. Being on disability retirement,
I have neither the funds nor the inclination. If I make an error--so what.
I say so and get on with it. My statements no longer serve as documentation
for personnel actions but merely contribute to discussion.
I will state that the credentials cited for Mr. Pulliam in no way indicate
that he knows anything whatsoever about errors made by student writers.
His comments prove his ignorance on the subject. The least experienced
writing teacher on this list is quire probably more knowledgeable than
Mr. Pulliam ever will be because he so obviously lacks the experience and,
in his rarified position, is too ignorant to know that he is ignorant.
I do not like to talk behind a person's back: I certainly hope that someone
is referring our discussion to Mr. Pulliam.
Scott Catledge
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