Alight and come in is an old-fashioned, hospitable phrase recalling a time when a visitor who’s ridden a long way might be invited to hop off his horse and step inside for a meal. Variations include alight and look at your saddle and alight and look at your beast. All of which reminds Martha, a preacher’s kid, of the riddle “When were cigarettes mentioned in the Bible?” Answer: Genesis 24:64.This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Alight And Come In”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Yes, sir. This is Jim Liner.
Hi, Jim. How are you doing? Where are you calling from?
Fort Worth, Texas.
Welcome to the show, Jim. How can we help you?
When I was a youngster growing up in the country in North Carolina, the backside of our farm would join the people that lived up the dirt road, kind of isolated, and we’d go by there when we were working in that part of the farm to get some fresh water.
And when we would stop there, the little lady in the house would come to the front door, and she’d say, alight, and come in. And she was pumping some fresh water, and she was very pleasant.
Anyhow, so I asked my dad one day, I said, what does she mean? She said, alight, and come in. He said, well, if you notice, that tree out in the front yard, it was a rock about 18 inches high with a flat top on it, and people used to tie their horses up there, and they would step down from their saddle onto that rock. And so that’s really, and she said, alight and come in.
So I know that’s a long out-of-use term, but it was in use when my dad was a boy because he recognized it.
Well, Jim, I think it’s a really beautiful term, and I’ve seen lots of different versions of this kind of expression, and it’s exactly what you’re talking about, get off your horse and come in?
Right.
I’ve seen it as a light and look at your saddle or a light and look to your beast.
How about that?
Yeah, which you would say to somebody if they’ve been riding on the road all day long to get to where you are and you want to invite them in, so you tell them to get off the horse and loosen the saddle, you know, look to your beast, make sure that the horse is okay, and then come on in and have a cup of water or coffee or something.
Exactly.
Iced tea.
Yeah, iced tea, sweet tea, right?
In that part of the country, for sure.
Mm—
I’ve also seen light and cool your saddle.
I like that one.
Yeah, which I think is just such a beautifully evocative expression. You know, you can just picture, you can almost smell it, can’t you?
Mm—
Yeah.
It’s been a dry, dusty day. You’re a little sweaty. The horse is sweaty.
Yeah.
Long road ahead of you, long road behind.
Mm—
Somebody pleasant pops up and offers you a break, you’ll take it.
Yeah.
But the light here in the word is doing something else. This isn’t the same light like the light that is on the ceiling, right, or the light from the sun.
No, no, no.
A light, a light means like you land.
Right, like a butterfly might light on a flower.
Exactly.
Different kind of.
Exactly, exactly.
Yeah, so it’s not the same word even though it’s spelled the same. English is loaded with all these similarities.
You’re right.
Yeah.
A light in this case means to step down and come forward.
That’s right, to step down and come forward is a great way of putting it.
Well, James, I’ve got to tell you, thanks for bringing this expression to mind. It sounds like something maybe we could bring back because you do get out of a car, right?
Yeah.
But you get out. That sounds like blah. I’m going to alight from my automobile and step into the house for a cool one.
Yeah.
It’s such a hospitable phrase, I think.
Yeah.
It’s beautiful.
I agree.
Jim, where in North Carolina were you? I just have to ask because you sound just like my dad.
Well, near Chapel Hills, Route 2 Hillsboro.
Okay.
My dad was from Alexander County.
Up in the mountains, huh?
Yes, sir. Born at the foot of Sugarloaf Mountain.
There you go.
Well, Jim, we appreciate your calling. Very good.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Take care now.
Thanks, Jim.
You know, Grant, speaking of that word light and a light, I have to say that as a Southern Baptist preacher’s kid growing up, my brother and I used to like to be naughty, and our way of being naughty was to tell Bible jokes.
Oh.
Okay.
Old category of humor that I missed out on, apparently.
That’s right.
Right.
Well, let me share some of it with you. One of our Bible jokes was, when were cigarettes mentioned in the Bible? And people would say, I don’t know. And then we would say Genesis 24, 64. And Rebecca lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.
Yep.
Preacher’s kids.
Preacher’s kids.
They know where it’s at.
We were bad.
