Would you like to say that important responsibilities or roles have moved from one person to another, or that these things are about to changes roles in the future? The phrase 'passing the torch' is a common expression that can be used to say this. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this saying.
Meaning
The saying 'passing the torch' is a common figurative expression that can be used to imply that roles and responsibilities have moved from one person to the next (or that they are about to).
Use of the phrase allows for alterations, including that someone can 'pass the torch' or that a 'torch has been passed on' as valid uses of the saying.
The phrase is common with someone's retirement from something, with the implication that the role is being taken over by someone else.
The phrase 'passing the torch' is used to imply that someone is accepting a responsibility or role from someone else.
'Passing the torch' can be used when speaking to someone, but is common when speaking about other people too.
The phrase 'passing the torches' is gramatically valid, but unusual and not the common way in which the phrase is used, as saying 'torches' would be unnecessary.
The saying is a common pop culture reference, and it often appears as a phrase in movies, series and news articles or headlines.
Example Usage
“When my father died, he passed the torch to his sons and now we have to be the CEO of a big company that sells airbags. We sure didn't see that coming.”
“When you leave your company, make sure that you pass the torch to someone else who knows what they're doing. If you don't, you're going to regret what they do to the company you raised as a start-up.”
“The older actors of our generation are passing the torch to the younger crowd. It seems like the Oscar winners are getting a little younger every year, or is it just me?”
“It was important to pass the torch to someone else, so I hired an apprentice to learn how to raise the seven hundred Koi fish I leave behind when I die.”
Origin
The origin of the phrase 'passing the torch' and its derivatives is sometimes given as Biblical, where it is refernced as a verse from the King James Version (KJV) Holy Bible.
While 'passing the torch' occurs as a religious reference in 2 Timothy Chapter 4, the phrase is actually a reference to an earlier practice which Biblical scholars were simply incorporating into the scriptures.
By the time of its Biblical reference and translation into English, the idea of 'passing the torch' was a common phrase already that traced back to the Greek Olympic Games.
One competitor would pass the Olympic torch to the next one, which is the literal action from which the figurative saying actually comes from.
The phrase was fast adapted into the English language as a common saying, and it even appears as a direct phrase in some languages.
Urban Dictionary lists the phrase from 2009, even though much earlier use of the saying is common.
Phrases Similar to Passing the Torch
- Passing the baton
Phrases Opposite to Passing the Torch
- N/a
What is the Correct Saying?
- [to] pass the torch
- passing the torch
- [has] passed the torch
Ways People May Say Passing the Torch Incorrectly
There are several ways in which someone can use the phrase 'passing the torch' in the wrong way, or misunderstand the use of the saying.
One wrong use of the phrase would be 'passing the torches' as single or multiple issues are generally represented by the single word 'torch'.
Acceptable Ways to Phrase Passing the Torch
The correct way to use the phrase 'passing the torch' is to imply that one person is passing on responsibilities or roles to another person.