New idea to use this journal more than just once a month-ish as I add book reviews for the monthly entry. I like to look into the etymology of words and turns of phrase. Sometimes I make some pretty accurate guesses, and sometimes I'm way off, but either way, it's fun to learn.
Today's first etymology lesson is: to clock someone, as in, to hit them. Not to time them.
Educated guess: clocks have faces. Perhaps this is specifically to hit someone in the face, though I'm not sure, now that I'm thinking about it, that this phrase is specific to one part of anatomy, or if it can be used generally. Let's find out!
Well, according to this website:
https://writingexplained.org/idiom-dictionary/clean-your-clock#:~:text=This%20expression%20originated%20during%20the%201900s.%20It%20is,clock%20often%20implies%20punching%20someone%20in%20the%20face. , which uses a similar phrase of to "clean someone's clock," they made roughly the same guess. "This expression originated during the 1900s. It is possibly related to the idea that a clock has a face, and cleaning someone’s clock often implies punching someone in the face."
On a similar vein, but in more detail and several possible developments of the phrase, you can find the phrase discussed here:
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/181017/why-the-use-of-clock-in-the-following-sentenceIt does seem that it has, at least partially, something to do with the face of a clock, and subsequently, being punched in the face.
Now you know.
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