"Ax(e) to grind" redux

[Wilson Gray]

On Jul 25, 2005, at 7:01 PM, Benjamin Zimmer wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at RCI.RUTGERS.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: "Ax(e) to grind" redux
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
>
> On Mon, 25 Jul 2005 17:51:48 -0400, Wilson Gray <wilson.gray at RCN.COM>
> wrote:
>
>> On Jul 25, 2005, at 4:24 PM, Benjamin Zimmer wrote:
>>
>>> There's still the question of when Miner's story was originally
>>> published. Both of the above sources say 1811, but Sam found the
>>> story
>>> appearing (unattributed) in the Nov. 28, 1810 issue of _The Centinel_
>>> of Gettysburg, Pa., reprinted from _The Luzerne Federalist_.
>>
>> The "Luzerne" referred to is also a town in northeast Pennsylvania.
>
> Indeed, and as the blog entry I cited explains, Miner and his brother
> published the _Luzerne Federalist_ after moving to the region:
>
> -----
> http://vernondent.blogspot.com/2004/10/blogging-in-1820.html
> In 1802, Charles and his brother Asher had begun publishing the
> "Luzerne
> Federalist and Susquehanna Intelligencer" in Wilkes-Barre.
> -----
> http://www.famousamericans.net/charlesminer/
> In 1799 he removed to

> the Wyoming valley

The state of Wyoming is named after the Wyoming Valley of northeast
Pennsylvania.

[Okay, that's enough of that. This burst of trivia was brought on by
the fact that my wife is a native of the Wyoming Valley and is a
daughter of the Orange King of Northeast Pennsylvania. Serious comment
is below.]

> , where with his brother he
> established the "Luzerne Federalist." This was superseded by the
> "Gleaner," for which he wrote a series of humorous sketches, which were
> widely read.
> -----
>
> So Miner still gets the credit for the story-- we just have to pinpoint
> when it first appeared in the _Luzerne Federalist_ between 1802 and
> 1810.
> Miner must have reprinted it in the _Gleaner_ in 1811, and then again
> in
> 1815 in his "Poor Robert" collection.
>
>> But, seriously, folks, how does this story relate to the meaning of
>> have "an ax(e) to grind"? I've always considered this phrase to be
>> another way of saying "a bone to pick" or "a personal interest in."
>> Have I simply been mistaken in this belief?
>
> I think the idiom must have shifted its sense somewhere along the line,
> probably under the influence of "a bone to pick".
>
>
> --Ben Zimmer
>

That certainly sounds reasonable. Remember when "uptight" was "up
tight" and also had a positive meaning that was once more widespread
than the negative one?

-Wilson