I spent a little bit of time recently doing some research on a very common English phrase. The only reason being that I thought it was correct one way while nearly everyone else says it differently. I don’t like discrepancies like that, and the thought that I might have been saying it wrong for years horrifies me just a bit.
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| Photo courtesy of Greeblie via Flickr |
Like chasm. It’s honestly not my fault that I had never heard anyone say the word till I was 11. I had however seen it in writing countless times and had no reason to think that it was pronounced any way other than CH-asm. Oh the embarrassment.
Childhood nightmares aside, the phrase in question is the one I knew as ‘tide me over’ and the version I seem to hear most is ‘tie me over’.
Some people will vehemently argue that the second is correct for the simple reason that the first one makes no sense. Sadly, they are incorrect.
Let me explain it as I have learnt – the reference is definitely to the tide, as in the flow of water in the ocean. The rising tide, the ebbing tide, the amazing moon controlled ‘thing’ that can carry a ship effortlessly in to land. “Drifting with the tide.” To ‘tide over’ means that you will be ‘carried over’.
ie. An inheritance will tide you over financially for many years.
A snack will tide you over until dinner!
If you doubt me, take a look in your nearest Oxford Dictionary under the word ‘tide’. Or, because we’re in the wonderful age of technology go to dictionary.com or merriam-webster.com and search tide or tide over!
If anyone argues with you – buy them a dictionary
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! And so ends another episode of The Mysteries of the English Language.