What’s the meaning of the phrase diamond in the rough? Does it refer to a rose among thorns, to unrealized potential? The phrase derives from the diamond industry, where a diamond in the rough is one taken from the ground but still unpolished. The word diamond is an etymological relative of adamant, meaning “unbreakable,” as well as adamantine, which means the same thing. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Diamond in the Rough”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hi, Martha. This is Molly calling from Allen, Texas.
Well, hello, Molly. Welcome to the show.
What’s up?
What can we do for you?
How can we help?
I have a question about a phrase, the diamond in the rough.
I was in a conversation online about a month ago, and there seemed to be a disagreement about what it means.
And I always thought it was fairly clear, but there was a lot of people involved, and it was split almost down the middle.
I had always understood that the phrase meant something that has a lot of potential but isn’t quite there yet.
So an uncut diamond has a little bit of work that needs to be done before it can really shine.
And the other interpretation seemed to be it was like a rose among thorns, so a bright spot among a bunch of not-so-bright spots.
So I’m wondering if that’s a regional thing or a generational thing or if you’ve ever heard of it.
I think I’ve seen the same thing, the same split and understandings.
It may help to go back to the origin of this.
It is a diamond term from the diamond industry.
A rough diamond is a diamond that’s unshaped.
Basically, the way that it came out of the ground with the dirt and other stone taken off of it.
So a diamond is a rough where you look at this uncut diamond and say, I can see the beautiful gem that we can make out of this.
I can see the piece of jewelry in my mind that this will be a part of.
So that particular meaning of a diamond in the rough as a person who is unpolished, literally, and we’re talking about two different meanings of unpolished working nicely here, that’s the one that is far more common in my experience.
The other one I could see it working, but it’s not a term I would use for that.
I wouldn’t say she’s a diamond in the rough if she was, you know, the bright spot surrounded by a bunch of dopes, you know?
Yeah, keeping lesser company.
Would you do that, Martha?
No, no, no, no.
It seems very clear to me it’s the rough versus the smooth planes of a diamond.
With a little bit of work, we can polish this person up into something nice.
Exactly.
Yeah, that’s what I thought, but it just seems strange.
Like maybe its meaning has changed or is starting to change in some context.
I don’t know.
I thought it was odd, and that’s why I wanted to call you the expert.
And there’s no harm in the meaning varying a little bit, and certainly the context matters as much as the phrase itself.
And I could easily see someone using this in the second way and it working perfectly well and being utterly ordinary to everyone around.
So it’s not a really big deal that there’s a meaning split on this.
Okay.
Well, thank you so much.
Yeah, sure.
Thanks for calling.
Thanks for your call.
Appreciate it.
All right.
Have a good day.
Take care.
Bye-bye.
You know, it’s interesting to me that the word diamond is etymologically related to another familiar English adjective, adamant.
Adamant.
Yeah.
Adamant as very firm in your opinions or your actions.
Yes, just completely unbreakable.
You know, as hard as a diamond.
They both go back to the same Latin word.
I did not know that.
Adamantine is what Wolverine has instead of bones in his body.
Great description.
Yes, yes.
I guess, are they unbreakable?
I don’t know.
They are, actually, yes.
See?
Yes.
There you go.
Comic books, paying off again.
There you go.
Latin in your comic books.
