Hone In or Home In?

I was scrolling through the excellent Grammar Hell site today, when I came upon a bit of information that surprised me. It had to do with the use of "hone in" and "home in."

Let's look at the issue. Which is correct in this sentence, "home in" or "hone in"?

I wish we would hone/home in on the real issues.

According to most references including the confident, outspoken Grammar Hell, the correct expression is "home in" because "to home" means "to move or lead toward a goal." The example above can be interpreted like this:

I wish we could move toward the real issues.

In contrast, hone means "to sharpen," as in "to hone one's skills."

Using the explanations above--found in many printed and online resources--"hone in" would never be correct. We do not say "sharpen in."

But grammar and usage are not as unbending as the rules seem to suggest. What if I want to sharpen my focus on something? Couldn't I hone in on it?

Despite the advice of most books on my bookshelf and many online sources, I would say this:

I wish we would hone in on the real issues.

My meaning is "I wish we would focus on [sharpen our focus on] the real issues."

If you care about these topics, you may be wondering whether any reference books support my view. In fact, The American Heritage College Dictionary, Fourth Edition, 2004, open on my desk now, says this:

hone in. 1. To move or advance toward a target or goal. Often used with on. 2. To direct one's attention; focus.

Merriam-Webster Online says this about "hone in":

Etymology: Alteration of "home in": to move toward or focus attention on an objective.

Merriam-Webster also states that although "hone in" is considered a mistake by commentators, it has established itself in American English--and perhaps in British English as well.

Here is the moral of the story: Language is fluid. It changes and stretches. Just when we think we can home in / hone in on a rock-solid rule, we find the sands of language shifting. You take one route, I'll take another, and let's meet gladly at the end of the sentence.

Lynn

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Comments

[Jack Smith]

Lynn:

Point well-taken. Much to GrammarHell.com's dismay, there's no black-and-white answer on this issue. Thanks for the great post.

Jack

[Ray Ward]

My trick for remembering the distinction: think of homing pigeons. Indeed, according to Bryan Garner's Dictionary of Modern American Usage, the phrase "home in" originated as a metaphor to describe what homing pigeons do, metaphorically applied to what aircraft and missiles do.

[Lynn]

Ray, good suggestion. I had better try it. Since Friday, I have seen "hone" everywhere. It will take some discipline to begin "homing in."

[Kyle]

Good comments, all. However, as Lynn notes, the use of the term 'hone in' is a derivative of the meaning 'to focus, or sharpen.' As such, it is not interchangeable with the term 'home in,' which is indicative of an action of orientation.

The online The American Heritage College Dictionary, Fourth Edition, 2004 lists an etymology similar to that of M-W Online: "ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English, from Old English h n, stone; see k - in Indo-European roots. Hone in alteration of home in"

It seems to me that as communicators have become farther removed from the message receivers, the potential for mis-hearing common-sounding letters such as "M" and "N" has increased. Other examples of such possible mis-heard then repeated words include ampitheater (for amphitheater) and expresso (for espresso).

My point is not that 'hone in' is incorrect or that 'home in' is proper, but that care should be taken when using phrases that could (should?) be replaced with more precise words. If one wants to say 'hone in,' opt for 'sharpen' or 'focus' instead.

[Lynn]

Kyle, I like your point. Thanks for honing in on the topic. Oops--thanks for focusing on it!

Lynn

[Phil]

I came across "hone in" on a web page this evening, and it's use (by a published author) grated on me. I googled 'is "honed in" proper' and got right to this site. Thank you for telling me about GrammerHell, by the way -- I'll have to go check it out.

The aforementioned author I was reading did use the term "honed in" in the sharpen focus sense -- I guess I can get used to that, maybe. But if you substitute "home in", it still works for me in that context, and seems more natural.

However, check out the example in the American Heritage (or from free dictionary.com):

hone in

1. To move or advance toward a target or goal: The missiles honed in on the military installation.
2. To direct one's attention; focus: The lawyer honed in on the gist of the plaintiff's testimony.

#1 just plain seems wrong, because "homed" or "homed in" works perfectly in that instance. However, as one of the dictionarys said, "honed in" is "an alteration" -- I guess that means a mutation-by-mishearing in this case -- so that sort of henceforth authorizes the usage... ? ... ! ... ? because language is fluid. At the end of the day, I try not to argue with fluidity, but still ... honed in just grates on my ears.

[Lynn]

Phil, I'm with you about not arguing with fluidity. But when we do bow to fluidity, we risk having traditionalists think we don't know what we are doing.

I spent most of my life thinking "hone in" was the only rendering unless one was a pigeon. It seems there is always more to learn.

By the way, Grammar Hell ceased to exist, but www.irewrite.net is its incarnation. Enjoy!

Thanks for commenting.

Lynn

[Vittoria]

"Hone in" is NEVER correct. It was only ever used accidently, as "hone" sounds similar to "home," but means something entirely different. Trying to incorporate a mistake into accepted usage is just wrong.

Your example of "I wish we could hone in on the issues" is incorrect. As your meaning is "I wish we would focus on [sharpen our focus on] the real issues," the word "hone" would be used in this sentence: "I wish we could hone our views on the real issues." One never "hones (or sharpens) IN."

[Lynn]

Hi, Vittoria. I like to use references to help me decide about language. Does your dictionary of choice agree with you?

[opa]

Before modern aviation navaids Non-directonal Beacons (NDBs) were used to find your way when you could not use a map.

We "homed in" on the station.

Never heard of a "honing" pigeon.

opa

[Bill Smith]

No you cannot “hone in” at all. As soon as you use the word focus as in when you substituted ‘sharpen our focus on’ for ‘hone in’ you are incorrect since ‘focus on’ and ‘home-in’ are synonymous. You, by the way, never sharpen your focus but you can sharpen your image or adjust your focus or focus in or focus on but never sharpen your focus. Home comes from the same concept as ‘homing pigeon’ or ‘homing signal’ or ‘homing beacon.’ Airplanes navigate by tuning their radio direction finder to a ‘homing signal’ produced by a ‘homing beacon.’ Your definition:

hone in. 1. To move or advance toward a target or goal. Often used with on. 2. To direct one's attention; focus.

is completely incorrect as this is actually the meaning for “home in.” I know it is confusing but it is usually a mistake that non-technical people frequently make. If you were a military person or an airplane person or an electronics technician or an engineer you would probably never get this confused. You would have the concepts firmly entrenched in your mind from your earliest training in physics, science and engineering. As both an engineer and a journalist I run across this conflict everyday and it is one of my pet peeves. Grrrrr. Sorry to school you on this but it is an uncontrollable urge on my part. Now what about jibe vs. jive, eh?

[JP Craig]

I'd suggest using the OED to sort this out. "Home" is used in the 18th century for the capacity of animals to find their home. In the 19th century, the phrase "home in on" appears. "Hone in on" appears in the 1940s. Language is fluid, and "hone in on" is common, especially in the Midwest. But the expression "to sharpen in on" makes little sense. The meaning "to sharpen attention" is derivative from the "eggcorn" "hone in on."

[Chris]

In one way, it doesn't matter, since anyone hearing you will understand you whether you say "home in" or "hone in." In another way it does matter, since "hone in" is popularly recognized as incorrect (no matter what the reference works allow). If you want to be understood AND sound correct, go for "home in." If you want to sound a little less than fluent, stick with "hone in." While we're at it, my dictionary allows "supposably" for "supposedly," but if you use the former, you will raise suspicions about yourself.

[Nikhil Khandekar]

Everything granted. But I am guessing someone will agree with me in that to those brought up on British English, "hone in on" makes no sense whatsoever. It is a dismal picture that in the name of sands of language, it is being reduced to rubble.

I feel truly very sorry. And miserable.

[Nikhil Khandekar]

And further, sorry, but I am not going to take such things lying down. If the sands have to shift, then it has to have some consensus. Just because some laggard misspelt it and because he/she happened to be a celebrity or something, I am not going to accept such utter nonsense.
Sorry.

[Paul B]

"What if I want to sharpen my focus on something? Couldn't I hone in on it?"

You can "hone in" on something, but you must acknowledge that "hone" in this case is an alteration of "home." By bringing "sharpen" into the picture, you're confusing the issue and trying to force "hone in" to actually make sense. You can't have it both ways: Use it, but don't try to make "hone in" mean "sharpen focus on." That's not what it means; any similarity in meaning between "home in" and "hone" are entirely coincidental.

[Ed from the North Coast]

After refreshing my understanding of the classic woodworking usage of “hone”, I’ve concluded that the correct and proper usage ought to be as follows:

“The president is expected to hone his presentation of the issue, which up to now has been seen as too vague, homing in on the controvesial details of the bill before Congress.”

Ultimately, “hone in on” constitutes a mixed metaphor, a bit of a malapropism, and an abbreviation of two hierarchically separate processes. In order to hone a blade, one homes in on an edge.

Pulitzer winner Clarence Page uses the malapropism, which is what it ought to be called.

Let’s ask Safire. Merriam-Webster homes in on none other than Plympton, who passed it on to Bush forty-one, and Safire settles it for me:

http://tinyurl.com/homehone

[Jim]

Sounds like a tough rode to home....

[Jim]

Either would be properly trussed-up with that little used punctuation mark. Pet peeve needs to go out to hurry-up....

[Jim]

Baing a professional 18th-century cabinetmaker, who uses a whetstone daily, I can authoritatively say that one hones-in on nothing...he hones-out dullness.
Nevertheless, hello, it's hone-in.

[Jim]

You never hone-in. You hone-out.

[Jim]

Some things don't exist. Dark and sharpness are examples. They are negative terms which describe the absence of something.

dark : light :: sharp : dull

Chisel-use sharpens one's awareness of chisel-edge-condition. It is sharp or it is not. One looks at the edge, sees light reflecting off the bluntness, resolves to hone it out, whets, backs-off, strops, sees no light-reflection from the edge, tries it against the thumbnail, smiles and returns to 'work'.
Of course, all this is abstract platonic 'form'. But then, the perfectionist chisel-wielder has deliberately dulled his hopes to achieve that exquisite non-existent boundary where mirror-bright plane meets concave-curve called 'edge'.
Must focus, now...go milk-paint that corner cupboard....

[Lynn]

I have to say that "honing" and "homing" have inspired more literate comments than anything I have written about.

Thanks for your wisdom--and wisecracks.

[Jim]

The dilemna continues...

[Ari]

Some of us could stand to home in on sources that will hone our writing talents.

An unclear message is more difficult to defend than an error in usage.

[Geoff]

In clinical medicine, a physician reading an X-ray may ask the radiographer to "cone down" on a suspicious area, meaning that he/she would like another film that provides a more focused and detailed image of the area of concern.The term derives from the use of an inverted cone-shaped device that narrows the beam in an old-fashion X-ray machine).

Among clinicians the term is also used more colloquially to mean the same thing as "hone in", for example "we need to cone down on the over-utilization question if we want to solve the cost problem".

Is this term now used much outside of the world of doctor-speak? Is it intuitive enough to be useful in general conversation?

[Tony]

Can I offer a suggestion?

You "home in" when you move directly towards an objective. For example the missile homed in on the target.

You "hone in" when you gradually move towards an objective by improving in steps, but never quite reaching perfection, as when you sharpen a hand tool. For example after many experiments he honed in on a great recipe.