"Hone in on" or "home in on"? Which is correct?

Forums: English, Esl, Grammar, Vocabulary, Eggcorn
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Could a Birth Control Pill for Men Be on the Horizon? Retinoic Acid Receptor Antagonist Interferes With Sperm Production
ScienceDaily (June 4, 2011) — Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center are honing in on the development of what may be the first non-steroidal, oral contraceptive for men. Tests of low doses of a compound that interferes with retinoic acid receptors (RARs), whose ligands are metabolites of dietary vitamin A, showed that it caused sterility in male mice.

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Type: Question • Score: 8 • Views: 4,696 • Replies: 29

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@oristarA,

home in on

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"hone in" is an idiom that means to specifically target, like a sharpened attack.
(It's an expression like "shoe in")
Both "home in' and "hone in" are used.

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@PUNKEY,

I agree with punkey, hone is used to mean sharpen.

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As far as I know "hone in" is an error. One hones a blade. To "home in" means to seek, find and travel to a target.

I quote with approval Merriam-Webster:

Quote:

The few commentators who have noticed hone in consider it to be a mistake for home in. It may have arisen from home in by the weakening of the \m\ sound to \n\ or may perhaps simply be due to the influence of hone. Though it seems to have established itself in American English (and mention in a British usage book suggests it is used in British English too), use of it especially in writing is likely to be called a mistake. Home in or in figurative use zero in does nicely.

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@contrex,

How many times does it have to be used before it stops being an error? Isn't this the proscriptive vs descriptive approach to grammar. When 'you' was first used to describe second person singular it was an error, but now using 'thou' is seen as anachronistic. Everywhere except Yorkshire of course.

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@izzythepush,

Quote:

How many times does it have to be used before it stops being an error?

More than a few times, and "hone in" is very uncommon. I expect you meant prescriptive. Anyhow, a few people who mishear a word and as a result make an error do not constitute a linguistic change similat to the thou - > you change. (They still use thou in Staffordshire as well.)

Some people feel that thou got dropped because of the influence of Norman French with its tu/vous forms. As in modern French, vous being respectful and tu being used for family members, small children, servants, and people the speaker does not respect. By around 1600 standard English had dropped "thou" except among Quakers, and "thou" had become offensively disrespectful if used to strangers.

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@contrex,

contrex wrote:

I expect you meant prescriptive.

Do you really have to be such a snotty git? I wasn't saying you were wrong.

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@izzythepush,

izzythepush wrote:

Do you really have to be such a snotty git?

Oh dear! Sorry, I didn't mean to be a snotty git. I suppose I just fired from the hip. I could have phrased it more tactfully. It's just that proscription is more or less the exact opposite of prescription. Something that is proscribed is forbidden or banned (you must not do it), whereas something that is prescribed is ordered or required (you must do it). Since many people including, I think, the thread starter in the present case use this site as an English learning resource I felt it was important to tidy that up. Like I said, I wrote inconsiderately for which I apologise.

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@contrex,

I was trying to figure out if I've ever used hone in - I'd have to say it's possible. I know what honing is, but I can also see it as a process to fine tune something. More likely, I'd use zone in on..

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@contrex,

I know, and you're right, but I did feel a bit like Dell boy, when he asks the two posh girls how to spell Harrods, and they say, 'Capital A.' I accept your apology, I'll try not to be so thin-skinned in future.

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@oristarA,

Here is just one example of honing being used in the manner you had ask about so to me both are correct.

http://auburnpub.com/news/opinion/mailbag/article_66d15dae-7b72-11e0-a8cc-001cc4c002e0.html

The war becomes totally impersonal. The victims are faceless, nameless, and too often completely innocent of any wrongdoing against the powers responsible for their demise. In a push button war the aggressor is spared the sight of mangled flesh, the screams of the dying, and the human suffering associated with being on the receiving end of a remote controlled explosive device a few feet too close to ground zero. After a day of selecting and honing in on suspected hostiles some 11,000 miles away, the button pusher may go home and enjoy the warmth of a family circle, and after a guilt-free sleep, report for duty the next morning. If his missiles are not 100 percent on target and take out a harmless shepherd or two, he’s allowed to dismiss it as collateral damage.

1 Reply

@BillRM,

BillRM wrote:

Here is just one example of honing being used in the manner you had ask about so to me both are correct.

So just because you found it on Auburnpub that makes it "right"? How come? How do you know it wasn't a typo? I stand by my assertion that it's wrong, Google wisdom notwithstanding.

3 Replies

@contrex,

Quote:

So just because you found it on Auburnpub that makes it "right"? How come? How do you know it wasn't a typo? I stand by my assertion that it's wrong, Google wisdom notwithstanding

.

There are other examples of it being used so it seem to be in common usage.

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@contrex,

It been around since 1965 at least even if challenge.

http://www.thornwalker.com/honein.shtml

From Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition (Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2000):

home vb homed; homing vi (1765) 1: to go or return home 2 of an animal: to return accurately to one’s home or natal area from a distance 3: to proceed to or toward a source of radiated energy used as a guide <missiles ~ in on radar> 4: to proceed or direct attention toward an objective <science is homing in on the mysterious human process —Sam Glucksberg> ~~ vt: to send in or provide with a home

hone in vi [alter. of home in] (1965): to move toward or focus attention on an objective <looking back for the ball honing in —George Plimpton> <a missile honing in on its target —Bob Greene> <hones in on the plight of the common man —Lisa Russell>

usage The few commentators who have noticed hone in consider it to be a mistake for home in. It may have arisen from home in by the weakening of the \m\ sound to \n\ or may perhaps simply be due to the influence of hone. Though it seems to have established itself in American English (a mention in a British usage book suggests it is used in British English too), your use of it esp. in writing is likely to be called a mistake. Home in or in figurative use zero in does nicely.

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@contrex,

So what is the deal about "right". Let us know, oh master. I say this as someone who often agrees with your takes..

I don't know if I have used 'hone in' myself, but I have certainly read and heard it, and can see the sense of it. As in, buzz me in.

1 Reply

@ossobuco,

To hone means to sharpen something,
like a razor.

David

1 Reply

@contrex,

contrex wrote:

As far as I know "hone in" is an error. One hones a blade. To "home in" means to seek, find and travel to a target.

I quote with approval Merriam-Webster:

Quote:
The few commentators who have noticed hone in consider it to be a mistake for home in. It may have arisen from home in by the weakening of the \m\ sound to \n\ or may perhaps simply be due to the influence of hone. Though it seems to have established itself in American English (and mention in a British usage book suggests it is used in British English too), use of it especially in writing is likely to be called a mistake. Home in or in figurative use zero in does nicely.

I must AGREE with this.

David

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@OmSigDAVID,

I said I know what hone means, David.

1 Reply

@ossobuco,

Tho I respect your comprehensive education, Osso,
I was addressing myself to the universe in general, insofar as it is represented in A2K.

David

1 Reply

"Hone in on" or "home in on"? Which is correct?

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