Japanese

  04:28 

T ◆ ▼

J01

Words and Their Stories -- a program in Special English.
Among man's many creations, none is more colorful than his expressions -- his way of saying things. One of these is the expression, "to have an axe to grind." Clearly it can be said that there is not a single man, woman or child that does not have an axe to grind; but it is indeed a strange expression. Where did it come from?

T ◆ ▼

J02

This is the story first published in a Pennsylvania newspaper back in 1810:
One bright winter morning, a stranger walked down a small town street, looking for a grindstone to sharpen an axe he carried in his hand. He met a small boy.
"My good boy, does your father have a grindstone?"
"Yes," answered the boy.
"You are a fine fellow," said the man. "Will you let me sharpen my axe on it?"
The boy was pleased to hear himself called a fine fellow.
"Yes, sir. Just follow me."
The man asked the boy his name, how old he was. And as they arrived at the grindstone, the man said:
"You are one of the nicest lads that I have ever seen. Now, will you just turn the stone a few times for me?"
The man's voice was warm, and his words of praise made the boy happier than ever. And he was ready to help the man to grind and sharpen his axe. It was hard work, and the boy turned the stone again and again. His hand began to hurt. He got so tired that he thought he would die, but he kept grinding and sharpening the axe while the man cheered him on with words of high praise. At last, the job was done. The axe was sharpened to a fine edge that gleamed in the sunlight. The boy proudly handed it to the man, but suddenly a change came over the man. He was no longer such a friendly soul. He did not even thank the boy. Instead, he told him to run along now, he might be late for school.

T ◆ ▼

J03

This little story was republished in the schoolbooks of the time and became widely known all over the country. It gave birth to many unpleasant stories about people with axes to grind -- people who try to get something for themselves but hide the fact under a false appearance.

T ◆ ▼

J04

The expression, "an axe to grind," is as fresh and alive as ever. It is still widely used to describe anyone who has a hidden purpose for his actions. It is often used in speaking of people who want something from the government such as tomato growers who offer to work with no pay on a government committee on tomato production. A number of these have axes to grind, hoping to use the committee not to protect the supply of tomatoes for everyone, but to keep the price of tomatoes high. Some axe grinders have been known to write official reports that claim to be factual -- but really are not and support the side of the writer. A number of such reports have been known to help selling campaigns of some industries.

T ◆ ▼

J05

When you think about it, all of us, as we said earlier, probably have axes to grind, often trying to get others to do things our way.

Voice of America

[TOP]