To Give a Wide Berth

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Yes, you do. And I do, too.

Hi, who is this?

Apparently so.

My name is Joan Meehan. I’m originally from the South Bronx, and I live in upstate New York.

I’m 76. I’ve had a lot of experience with different phrases and sayings that is very unfamiliar to upstate people with the dialogue that I have.

I was riding along with a friend.

There was a car coming up very quickly on the right, and I said, you better give this car a wide berth.

So then she said to me afterwards, they were trying to enter the highway, but they were really coming way too close to it.

So she said, what’s that word you use, berth?

You know, wide berth.

I said, oh, that means, like, I guess it was originally from maritime, you know, the ships, you know, coming into the berth, or give it another sip of wide berth.

In New York City, we used it as a, you know, certain people you wouldn’t want to really hang out with or whatever, and you’d cross over and you’d say, you know, maybe we should give them a wide berth.

Right.

Joan, you’re exactly right.

And you’re spelling berth in this case B-E-R-T-H, right, not B-I-R-T-H.

B-E-R-T-H, a wide berth, yes.

I’m interested that you mentioned the maritime connection.

That’s exactly it.

If you go back to this dictionary I’m looking at from 1730, it defines birth originally, B-E-R-T-H, as convenient sea room or a fit distance for ships under sail to keep clear so as not to fall foul on one another.

So it’s exactly as you described.

It’s giving another vessel plenty of room.

Did you know the maritime connection already?

Yes, definitely, because I lived near the East River and the Triborough Bridge, and we swam, the docks there.

I mean, you know, that was our swimming pool.

So, you know, there were ships that would commend the barges and everything, and you heard a lot of terminology like that.

So that was my, you know, knowledge of it.

Well, that is super cool.

I appreciate the figurative usage you were talking about, about giving people a wide birth, meaning stay away from them or keep them at a safe distance.

Because giving a wide birth can be about the psychological or emotional distance as well as the physical distance.

Yes.

I mean, it’s fascinating that there’s so many terminologies.

In other words, if you’re going on a ship, you can be in the upper birth or lower birth and travel.

You know what I mean?

I know it from that.

Well, Joan, you sound like a kindred spirit, and we’re really glad you called.

Thank you so much.

It’s wonderful being on the show.

All right.

Thank you, Joan.

Be well.

Bye-bye.

I’ll follow you.

Bye-bye.

We’ll make a berth for you on our radio show so you can talk to us about language.

Give us a call, 877-929-9673.

Email words@waywordradio.org or try us on Twitter @wayword.