Please define axe-grinding

October 29, 2005 10:19 PM

What, exactly, do you mean when you say "axe-grinding". The term gets thrown around here a lot, maybe more then "strawman" these days.
posted by delmoi to MetaFilter-Related at 10:19 PM (29 comments total)

Do you want a literal or a figurative answer?
posted by Rothko at 10:21 PM on October 29, 2005

I've been taking it to mean "showing up to a thread to promote some personal agenda/message, and not to participate with an open mind. "
posted by scarabic at 10:32 PM on October 29, 2005

Yes. "Having an axe to grind" means "having an agenda to advance or promote."
posted by danb at 10:40 PM on October 29, 2005

A sharp axe is much safer than a dull one, and axes just don't grind themselves, you know.
posted by Balisong at 10:43 PM on October 29, 2005

Lots of us have axes to grind: for some of us it's complaining about all those people who grind their axes here. Their agenda is to point out other people's agendas. It's like yelling very loudly about how noisy it is. Of course if what you're hearing is what you want to hear it's not "ax-grinding" but music to your ears.

Then there's always people whose agenda is to say "Look at me! I'm so cool I participate without the kind of agenda that we disapprove of here! I'm in with the Open-Mind In-Crowd!"

There are two kinds of Mefites: those who admit they have agendas and those who don't.
posted by davy at 11:14 PM on October 29, 2005

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
posted by puke & cry at 11:21 PM on October 29, 2005

Sounds like you started this thread with an axe to grind, delmoi :)

My impression of the metaphor is that "having an axe to grind" is more than merely having an agenda. It's such a determined agenda and obsessive mindset that you can find an excuse to espouse and promote it in any circumstance. For instance, if I've got an axe to grind about, say, contemporary pop music, not only will I kvetch and moan when the radio's on but I'll find a way to make every subsequent conversation about my opinions and positions on popular music. Despite the fact that we've now moved on to talking about the (completely unrelated topics of) evolution of passenger safety features in automobiles and about the shortcomings of the Hubble telescope, if I had an axe to grind, I'd be able to find something in those topics to tie back into my crusade against contemporary pop music.

So, having an axe to grind is a tunnel-vision agenda, really. At least that's how I understand it.
posted by Jon-o at 11:43 PM on October 29, 2005

I order custom-made axes with Metafilter usernames engraved on the blade. Whenever I have negative feelings about that user, I grind the blade a little. When the blade reaches perfect sharpness, it goes to use.
posted by Krrrlson at 12:05 AM on October 30, 2005

Did this really need a new thread? There're only a limited number available, you know, and when we hit the limit, that's it!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 12:21 AM on October 30, 2005

There are two kinds of Mefites: those who admit they have agendas and those who don't.

No, two kinds: those that have and have not stopped beating their wives.
posted by dreamsign at 12:26 AM on October 30, 2005

There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't.

I guess my axe to grind would have to be mocking religion. So just assume everthing I say has that subtext. mmmkay... saves me a lot of time
posted by jeblis at 1:30 AM on October 30, 2005

What Jon-o said. It's a common expression and it doesn't mean merely having a bias. Everyone has biases. Axe-grinders, though are more than that.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 1:43 AM on October 30, 2005

mine is only a wee hatchet
posted by TwelveTwo at 2:58 AM on October 30, 2005

Does this thread have an axe to grind, or is it really and truly just asking what that phrase means? If the latter, er, you only just encountered this? And you speak English as a first language? That's as odd as me asking this many questions in a single comment, isn't it?
posted by jack_mo at 3:57 AM on October 30, 2005

The OED says:
to have axes to grind (orig. U.S. politics): to have private ends to serve [in reference to a story told by Franklin]; now more commonly to have an axe to grind.

Googling, we find:

Benjamin Franklin wrote that a visitor asked him how his grindstone worked. Franklin sharpened the visitor's axe for him when demonstrating, which is apparently what was intended all along.

I get Best Answer, woo hoo! Wait, you mean this isn't AskMe?
posted by languagehat at 6:22 AM on October 30, 2005

An axe-grinding straw man is about to have a major problem.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 6:29 AM on October 30, 2005

So, is it one level up from having a bone to pick?
How about having a bee in your bonnet?
I would say, in order of intensity:
1. Axe
2. Bone
3. Bonnet
posted by chococat at 7:09 AM on October 30, 2005

Good on Rothko for laughing at himself. Funny!
posted by terrapin at 7:18 AM on October 30, 2005

languagehat's description is not what people here are saying. there's a difference between being a bore and meeting a hidden agenda (although i guess some people here do seem to think they're the same).
posted by andrew cooke at 7:38 AM on October 30, 2005

Better axe somebody!
posted by uncanny hengeman at 8:33 AM on October 30, 2005

Being a bore? Who said that?
posted by scarabic at 9:15 AM on October 30, 2005

So what does this mean when people refer to "AxeMe" around here? ;)
posted by mystyk at 9:54 AM on October 30, 2005

There are two kinds of Mefites: those who admit they have agendas and those who don't.

No, two kinds: those that have and have not stopped beating their wives.
posted by dreamsign at 12:26 AM PST on October 30 [!]


Moooooooooooo!
posted by Mr T at 10:03 AM on October 30, 2005

I don't think I'm interesting enough to be boring.
posted by davy at 10:04 AM on October 30, 2005

Well, I'm a MeFite without an agenda. At least one related to MeFi. (peers nervously out window)
posted by dreamsign at 12:45 PM on October 30, 2005

Does this thread have an axe to grind, or is it really and truly just asking what that phrase means?

Yup, this is an honest thread wondering what specifically the term meant. I had an impression but I wasn't sure. And actually my impression was wrong.
posted by delmoi at 3:18 PM on October 30, 2005

not to participate with an open mind.
...
Being a bore? Who said that?

you?
posted by andrew cooke at 5:05 PM on October 30, 2005

This is probably bad news for strawmen with an axe to grind.
posted by joe lisboa at 9:38 PM on October 31, 2005

I personally don't think there's anything wrong with being passionate about a topic. It's possible to take it too far, of course. It's just very easy for people to get wound up in a flame war about a topic to which they are attached.
That's the net. It's what we do here.
posted by nightchrome at 11:20 PM on November 9, 2005