# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 28, 2022, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380 "2022-09-28T11:33:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 455
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/9084 "2024-01-04T02:12:43Z")
I do have occasional bouts of insomnia which have been getting better for the last few years; the vast majority of the time I am out in 20 minutes, but sometimes something sticks in my craw and I cogitate over it for 2-3 hours. If I am too hot I’ll twist and turn, but have devised thermostat settings to my optimal out-quick level-winter actually is better for that than summer. Diet can keep me up as well-again have learned to not eat too late, esp. sugary or caffienated foods or drinks. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/9085 "2024-01-04T02:47:50Z")
Well, that makes a lot more sense than calling it duct tape. At least in Texas, putting it on ducts is a bad idea. (According to HVAC people I’ve talked to, because the adhesive melts in attic temperatures) ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/9086 "2024-01-04T04:59:22Z")
Grey tape. Sometimes grey tape comes in different colors, but they’re all still grey tape. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/9087 "2024-01-04T05:08:10Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > Why a duck? Because that is how the Romans got their water. 😀 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/9088 "2024-01-04T12:52:30Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > Well, that makes a lot more sense than calling it duct tape. At least in Texas, putting it on ducts is a bad idea. Our current home has no ductwork, but in previous homes I’ve used Aluminum Tape, aka Aluminum Foil Tape for ductwork. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/9089 "2024-01-04T17:35:44Z")
I always thought that “home in” was correct and “hone in” was simply erroneous. But I see the OED says: > _Home (5b)_: To make something the sole object of one’s attention; to focus intently on something. (first quotation from 1955) and > _Hone in_: To head directly for something; to turn one’s attention intently towards something. (first quotation from 1965) I still think “hone” sounds wrong and was probably originally an error for “home”. This sense of “home” was apparently originally used to refer to homing pigeons flying back to their home loft (first quotation 1854). ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/9090 "2024-01-04T17:51:32Z")
Missed edit window… OED says about the etymology of “hone”: > Apparently an alteration of [home _v._](https://www.oed.com/dictionary/home_v?tab=meaning_and_use#1486655) (see [home _v._ 5a](https://www.oed.com/dictionary/home_v?tab=meaning_and_use#1486851)), probably arising by folk-etymological association with [hone _v.3_](https://www.oed.com/dictionary/hone_v3?tab=meaning_and_use#1519217) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/9091 "2024-01-04T17:53:46Z")
“Hone” originally meant “to sharpen” or “to whet”. It can also mean “to improve” or “to refine” or “to perfect.” When talking about directions, it means triangulating and improving your aim, which fits the second meaning quite well. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/9092 "2024-01-04T18:14:29Z")
Then how would you explain the construction “to hone in on X”? This is never used in the “sharpen” meaning of “hone”. To me, it seems obviously borrowed from “to home in on X”. However the semantic appropriateness of “hone” that you mention is why this borrowing happened. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/9093 "2024-01-04T18:34:28Z")
I was taught that the correct phrase is “duct tape,” but I and just about everyone I know says “duck tape” in everyday life. I say “to home in on,” but there’s certainly an argument to be made for “hone.” > [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@peccavi](#): > > > > Why a duck? > > Because that is how the Romans got their water. 😀 But what have the Romans ever done for _us?_ ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/9094 "2024-01-04T18:44:22Z")
@Elendil_s_Heir We already did the eyebrow poll, though you added a question about eyebrow v dominant hand. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/9095 "2024-01-04T18:45:45Z")
I say “hone in on,” but it’s pretty easy for one nasal sound (N) to displace another (M): hōm in on \> hōn in on, all Ns, so much more satisfying! If you learn a phrase as a kid, you don’t always hear or parse the etymology correctly. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/9096 "2024-01-04T19:55:12Z")
I am ambi-brow-dextrous. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/9097 "2024-01-04T20:28:08Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I was taught that the correct phrase is “duct tape,” but I and just about everyone I know says “duck tape” in everyday life. I say “ductape” so it’s hard for me to know exactly what’s going on there. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/9098 "2024-01-04T20:48:56Z")
Yeah, ditto. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/9099 "2024-01-04T20:54:06Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > @Elendil_s_Heir We already did the eyebrow poll… …says @Elendil_s_Heir, raising an eyebrow. mmm ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/9100 "2024-01-04T21:03:38Z")
I trained myself to do the eyebrow thing when i was a kid. And i can do it for reasons other than dramatic emphasis !! ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/9101 "2024-01-04T22:34:01Z")
But can Nicole Kidman move either of her eyebrows??? I learned on the Dope years ago that “duct” tape originated as “duck” tape. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/9102 "2024-01-04T22:44:44Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > @Elendil_s_Heir We already did the eyebrow poll, though you added a question about eyebrow v dominant hand. Ah, thanks. I’d forgotten that. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/9103 "2024-01-04T23:27:58Z")
wtf I used to be able to do either the left or the right eyebrow, but now it’s just the right! Aging, I tell you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=454) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=456)