On Mon, 2003-11-03 at 01:45, Levi Ramsey wrote: > On Sun Nov 02 22:46 +0000, Adam Williamson wrote: > > On Sun, 2003-11-02 at 19:26, Juan Quintela wrote: > > > > > As the "proof is in the pudding", somebody in 2.4 era, created an http > > > > Quick colloquialism fix - actual phrase is "the proof of the pudding is > > in the eating". :) > > I've seen "the proof is in the pudding" in various locations, even > reputable British English publications (e.g. the Guardian).
So've I, but it's wrong. The root of the phrase is a now obsolete usage of the verb "to prove" as meaning "to test", so what it actually means is "the test of the pudding is in the eating", which makes perfect sense. "The test is in the pudding" doesn't make much sense at all. Since we've lost that usage of the verb "to prove", people are generally unclear as to the meaning of the phrase, and tend to misuse it. -- adamw
