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You're on the threshold

Posted by Lexi on September 21, 2004

In Reply to: Er posted by Lewis on September 21, 2004

: : : : : : : I was wondering if anybody knew the meaning and origin of the phrase, 'your on the threshold'

Sorry to be pedantic, but the discussion should be about the meaning of "you're on the threshold".
It means that you are about to beging a new phase or a new set of experiences. You are about to pass a line that will be a different set of circumstances than before.

: : : : : : OED online says:
: : : : : : /threshold, threshhold/

: : : : : : . noun 1 a strip of wood or stone forming the bottom of a doorway and crossed on entering a house or room. 2 a level or point at which something would start or cease to happen or come into effect.

: : : : : : - ORIGIN Old English, related to THRESH (in the sense 'tread').

: : : : : Some past discussion at www.phrases.org.uk bulletin_board 14 messages 663.html

: : : :
: : : : I read this in an architectural history book:

: : : : the straw on olde worlde floors was called 'the thresh' from threshing - the separation of the grain from the stalks. it was the stalks that were used on the floor of houses to reduce the wetness of floors which were either flagged or compacted earth.
: : : : across the doorway - which was usually a poor fit - a strip of wood or, if wealthier, stone was used to keep the thresh (or 'reeds') inside the building. thus it was called the 'thresh-hold'.

: : : : do I get any house-points?

: : : You may actually lose points, if you read the material in the archive referenced in the response before yours.

: : No house points at all, I am afraid.

: : DFG

: I didn't copy, Sir, honest!

: Since when can I be arsed to type in references to find old material - old postings are just so passe, don'tya think?

: Nope, my recall was from a piece on (I think) 16th Century English commonplace habitation - which I found when I was researching a script on Tudor England. It may even have been in (gasp) a book, not on the net. I was struck by the generally poor build-quality and materials available to the poor or rather the not-rich. It is why bricks were 'liberated' from an unoccupied former Royal palace and used by the locals. there are walls in the village that can still be seen to be constructed of stolen bricks. locals stealing from the run down palace was a theme in the drama, as it explained why the standing ruins are so small. so, clearly not cribbed from here and I have the script to prove earlier knowledge. I doubt that the newspaper crits mentioned 'threshold' though...

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