VOA词汇掌故2022--'Set in Stone'

And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.

On this program, we explore words and expressions in the English language. We give examples and notes on usage.

Some things in life change easily and often. They are fluid. They change and move as fluids do -- easily. When we are planning events or establishing rules and policies, sometimes it is good to keep things fluid or changeable.

But some things are not easily moved or changed. They are fixed¹ or inflexible².

To describe these inflexible things, we can say they are set in stone. Things that are set in stone are very difficult or impossible to change.

We can say that permanent rules, laws, and policies are set in stone. It often takes several difficult actions to change them.

The dates of some events are also set in stone.

For example, weddings take a lot of planning. Some people even start planning for their wedding a year or more ahead of time.

You simply cannot tell friends and family that your wedding will happen sometime in June. You must find a space for the ceremony. You need to invite people and find out how many are coming. You need to decide on food, music, and flowers. And you must have money to pay workers to do different things.

So, setting a wedding date in stone is the best way to make sure the wedding happens smoothly³. Setting the date in stone means it cannot change. Or at least, changes would cause problems for people and possibly cost you a lot of money.

We also use this expression with two other verbs: carve and write. So, you can say something is carved in stone or something is written in stone. The meaning stays the same.

On the other hand, if a rule, date, or event could be changed easily, we can say it is penciled in.

If you pencil something in, you are admitting that it is not set in stone. It may change and may be erased⁵. When using this expression, however, you do not need to really use a pencil.

So, when we say something is not carved, set, or written in stone, we mean it can be changed.

For example, many workers were upset by some new office rules. So, the supervisor⁶ said, "If they don't work, we can always change them." In other words, the rules are not carved in stone.

Before we end the program, here is one more example for set in stone. The editor used it when he sent back my edited story. He gave some changes but added, "These are just suggestions. They are not set in stone."

It's good to have an editor with a sense of humor!

Words in This Story

inflexible – adj. incapable⁷ of change

wedding – n. a wedding anniversary or its celebration

carve – v. to cut with care or exactness

erase⁴ – v. to rub or scrape out (something, such as written, painted, or engraved letters) : to remove written or drawn marks from

sense of humor – noun phrase : a personality that gives someone the ability to say funny things and see the funny side of things

1 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

2 inflexible   

adj.不可改变的，不受影响的，不屈服的

参考例句：

• Charles was a man of settled habits and inflexible routine.查尔斯是一个恪守习惯、生活规律不容打乱的人。
• The new plastic is completely inflexible.这种新塑料是完全不可弯曲的。

3 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

4 erase   

v.擦掉；消除某事物的痕迹

参考例句：

• He tried to erase the idea from his mind.他试图从头脑中抹掉这个想法。
• Please erase my name from the list.请把我的名字从名单上擦去。

5 erased   

v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；清除

参考例句：

• He erased the wrong answer and wrote in the right one. 他擦去了错误答案，写上了正确答案。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He removed the dogmatism from politics; he erased the party line. 他根除了政治中的教条主义，消除了政党界限。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

7 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。