Indeed

Posted by Bob on June 14, 2003

In Reply to: Indeed posted by Word Camel on June 14, 2003

: : Is there a special phrase/term to describe habits that people have developed because of their jobs, e.g. an English teacher always wants/likes to point out the English errors of others, a social worker always wants to give people advice, a lawyer who only uses legal standards to judge if behaviours are right or wrong, etc.?

: One expression is "it's an occupational hazard" and the other I've heard is "it comes with the territory". Both explain why someone does this.

The Japanese proverb is "to the man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail." And there's a memorable passage from Robert Frost's "Two Tramps in Mud Time" that goes
Men of the woods and lumberjacks,
They judged me by their appropriate tool.
Except as a fellow handled an ax
They had no way of knowing a fool.

• Indeed Lewis 06/16/03