Surprising Origin of 'To Keep at Bay'

Surprising Origin of 'To Keep at Bay'

Now, it's time for Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English.

On this program, we explore everyday expressions that we use in conversation. Americans often use the first saying we will talk about today. But many people likely do not know where it comes from.

To keep something at bay means being unable to move closer while attacking or moving toward someone or something. If you keep something at bay, you appear to be in control of the situation. English speakers say either "keep at bay" or "hold at bay."

For example, when protecting their village, the villagers kept the armed attackers at bay through the night. The villagers did not let them come closer.

However, bad people can also hold something at bay. The armed robber held police at bay for about 9 hours before they caught him. So, the robber did not let police get anywhere near him. They didn't catch him until 9 hours later.

In these examples, the things being kept at bay -- the attackers and the police -- are real. You can physically² touch them. But you can also use this expression about more intangible things -- ones you can't see or touch.

For example, if you move to a new city you can keep loneliness at bay by joining a club, playing a group sport or taking a class. You can also invite your old friends to come and explore your new city with you. All these things will keep loneliness away from you, or at bay.

You can keep illness at bay by eating healthy food and getting enough sleep and exercise. And I can hold my desire for chocolate at bay by not buying it and keeping it in my house!

English learners and native speakers alike may think the term “at bay” has to do with water, perhaps involving a ship unable to reach the shore. After all, one of the many definitions of "bay" is a large area of water that is partly surrounded by land.

But language experts will stop them right there. To find out the origin of this expression, let's talk about another definition of "bay." It also means to bark with long, drawn-out sounds, as when a dog cries out at the moon.

Those hounds⁴ are baying.

In the 14th century, barking hounds were said to be "at bay." When dogs are kept at bay, they are kept from attacking. The Phrase Finder website says the first recorded usage⁵ of "at bay" is in an English story from the year 1330.

Back to modern times, “at bay” is a common expression. You can use it with friends and strangers.

Now, let's hear this expression used at work. Let's say you are the head of a small company that makes toys. Part of your job is to keep open lines of communication between the owner and company employees. Well, when the owner suddenly makes changes to work rules, the employees get angry. And you hear about it. The owner's solution is to throw a party for the employees. You tell her that a party will not keep their anger at bay. They only thing that will improve the situation is fair treatment.

Now, there are other ways to keep something from getting worse. You can also ward¹ off something or stave off something.

To ward off a danger or illness means to prevent it from affecting you or harming you. We often use "ward off" when talking about mental health, disease or, strangely enough, evil spirits.

For example, she knew that, for her, the best way to ward off a bad mood was to see a happy movie. You eat chicken soup to ward off the common cold. And some people say that you can use garlic to ward off vampires⁷ and keep them from sucking your blood.

Staving off something sounds much more official. We use "stave off" in fairly serious situations, such as ship-wrecked survivors⁸ who staved off starvation by eating coconuts¹⁰ for eight months. Here's another example, “The single mother staved off poverty by working three jobs.”

Now, what if you simply want to keep your distance from a person. You don't want to be near them. In this case, you wouldn’t use “ward off” or “stave off” or even “at bay.” What can you use? Well, we have a great expression for keeping distance.

To keep someone at arm's length means you don’t want to be close to that person. Imagine that you are holding your arm straight out in front of you. A person can’t get close. And that’s the point.

Let's say, you meet someone. You don't know her very well, but she seems nice -- seems is the important word here. Slowly over time, you learn more about the woman. And you don't like what you see. She is strange and not in a good way. You catch her in some lies. And she appears to be a trouble-maker. So, you decide to keep her at arm's length. When you don't answer her calls and ignore her emails, she will know you are keeping her at arm’s length.

In this case, you could say you kept her friendship at bay. But you were never friends in the first place. So it sounds more natural to say that you kept her at arm's length.

We here at Learning English have no desire to keep you at bay or at arm’s length. And we certainly don’t want to ward or stave you off! You’re our audience Without you, well, we wouldn’t be here!

I'm Bryan Lynn.

And I'm Anna Matteo.

Words in This Story

intangible – adj. not made of physical substance : not able to be touched : not tangible³

origin – n. the point or place where something begins or is created : the source or cause of something

boredom¹¹ – n. the state of being bored

mood – n. an emotional state of mind or feeling

vampire⁶ – n. a dead person who leaves the grave at night to bite and suck the blood of living people

coconut⁹ – n. a large fruit that has a thick shell with white flesh and liquid inside it and that grows on a palm tree

1 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

2 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

3 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

4 hounds   

猎狗，猎犬( hound的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The huntsman was whipping in his pack of hounds. 猎人正在用鞭子把他那群猎犬赶到一处。
• The hunter has twenty more hounds. 那猎人有二十几条猎狗。

5 usage   

n.惯用法，使用，用法

参考例句：

• I am clear about the usage of this word at last.这个词的用法我算是弄明白了。
• The usage is now firmly established.这种用法现已得到确认。

6 vampire   

n.吸血鬼

参考例句：

• It wasn't a wife waiting there for him but a blood sucking vampire!家里的不是个老婆，而是个吸人血的妖精！
• Children were afraid to go to sleep at night because of the many legends of vampire.由于听过许多有关吸血鬼的传说，孩子们晚上不敢去睡觉。

7 vampires   

n.吸血鬼( vampire的名词复数 )；吸血蝠；高利贷者；（舞台上的）活板门

参考例句：

• The most effective weapon against the vampires is avampire itself. 对付吸血鬼最有效的武器就是吸血鬼自己。 来自电影对白
• If vampires existed, don`t you think we would`ve found them by now? 如果真有吸血鬼，那我们怎么还没有找到他们呢？ 来自电影对白

8 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

9 coconut   

n.椰子

参考例句：

• The husk of this coconut is particularly strong.椰子的外壳很明显非常坚固。
• The falling coconut gave him a terrific bang on the head.那只掉下的椰子砰地击中他的脑袋。

10 coconuts   

n.椰子( coconut的名词复数 )；椰肉，椰果

参考例句：

• We found a bountiful supply of coconuts on the island. 我们发现岛上有充足的椰子供应。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Coconuts provide "meat", drink, oil, soap and fiber for fishing line. 椰子提供“肉类”，饮料、油脂、肥皂和做钓（鱼）丝的纤维。 来自百科语句

11 boredom   

n.厌烦，厌倦，乏味，无聊

参考例句：

• Unemployment can drive you mad with boredom.失业会让你无聊得发疯。
• A walkman can relieve the boredom of running.跑步时带着随身听就不那么乏味了。