Keith from Acme was
curious about an admonition that his grandmother used to make: keep your nose to the grindstone. With
that, she encouraged Keith to stick to a task or a course of study even if it
became tedious and boring. He asked if the original reference was to a mill
where grain was ground into flour.
In fact, no. Rather, it
referred to the thick stone disk that revolved on an axis and was used by a
blacksmith to grind, sharpen, and polish tools and blades. The first instance
that the Oxford English Dictionary
gives is from 1533. It appeared in J. Frith’s Mirroure: “This Text holdeth their noses
so hard to the grynde stone that it clean disfigureth their faces.”
At one point in history, it
referred to someone maintaining a tyrannical hold on a helpless victim, but as
Keith’s grandmother correctly implied, it now encourages individual self-control
and discipline.
Listen
to Mike’s program in real time every Tuesday morning, 9:10 - 10:00 a.m. EST, by
going to wtcmradio.com and clicking on Listen
Now. You’ll also find about a month’s worth of podcasts there under The Ron Jolly Show.
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