{"id":1293,"date":"2022-02-27T19:10:27","date_gmt":"2022-02-27T19:10:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=1293"},"modified":"2022-02-27T19:10:27","modified_gmt":"2022-02-27T19:10:27","slug":"peter-out-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/peter-out-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Peter Out - Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you just hear someone say that their energy is starting to \"peter out<\/em>?\" what are they saying? Do they know someone named Peter or something? This post unpacks everything you need to know about the origin and meaning of this idiomatic expression.<\/p>\n

Peter Out Meaning<\/h2>\n

If something is starting to \"peter out<\/em>,\" it means that it is losing energy or momentum. The phrase can apply to people or things. For example, if you're completing a task and find yourself running out of energy, your performance is starting to \"peter out<\/em>.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you drive past a car with its alarm blaring, the noise would \"peter out<\/em>\" the further you go from the vehicle. Essentially, the phrase means \"to dwindle to nothing<\/em>,\" and it can apply to many different situations in life.<\/p>\n

The phrase can also mean dwindling performance at a task or from a natural occurrence, such as sunlight fading or a comet burning up in the atmosphere. It's a common expression, and you probably hear it all the time from family, friends, and colleagues.<\/p>\n

Peter Out Example Usage<\/h2>\n

\"The politician ran his campaign at full tilt but started to peter out<\/em> as funding dried up.\"<\/p>\n

\"The boat started with a roar, but the engine began to peter out<\/em> as the carburetor clogged the fuel line.\"<\/p>\n

\"The light in the sky was as bright as the sun but started to peter out<\/em> after a few minutes.\"<\/p>\n

\"The fires around northern California started to peter out<\/em> as the rains arrived.\"<\/p>\n

\"Your enthusiasm starts to peter out<\/em> as you realize the effort involved with the task.\"<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

Peter Out Origin<\/h2>\n

The earliest use of \"Peter<\/em>\" as a verb occurred in the mining community in the United States in the mid-19th century at the start of the gold rush. The newspaper, \"the Milwaukee Daily Gazette<\/em>,\" was the first to publish the phrase in its written format in 1845, in the Georgia Gold Rush, predating the beginning of the California Gold Rush in 1829.<\/p>\n

The newspaper article talks about a prospector complaining about his dwindling circumstances in life.<\/p>\n

\"When my mineral petered why they all Petered me<\/em>. Now it is dig, dig, dig, drill, drill for nothing. My luck is clean gone - tapered down to nothing.\"<\/p>\n

Other references from the 1840s used the term \"petering<\/em>\" concerning the depletion of mining reserves across the United States in the 1840s. However, none of these references use the specific term \"peter out<\/em>.\"<\/p>\n

The phrase would appear in its complete format in Hiram Riley's articles \u2013 \"Puddleford and its People<\/em>,\" written in 1854, where it appears as follows.<\/p>\n

\"He hoped this 'spectable meeting warn't going to Peter-out.\"<\/p>\n