{"id":3753,"date":"2022-05-18T16:13:12","date_gmt":"2022-05-18T16:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=3753"},"modified":"2022-05-18T16:14:50","modified_gmt":"2022-05-18T16:14:50","slug":"stick-a-fork-in-it-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/stick-a-fork-in-it-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Stick a Fork in It \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you looking for a way to tell someone to knock off their behavior? Maybe you want to tell them that they are through with their service to your company? Or maybe you just want to take some food off the grill? If so, you could use \u201c<em>stick a fork in it<\/em>\u201d in any of these situations. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The expression \u201c<em>stick a fork in it<\/em>\u201d can refer to get someone to stop what they\u2019re doing or it can mean that you\u2019re finished with a task.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a common saying meaning that something or someone is finished. It can also refer to people that are exhausted or injured and unable to continue with what they were doing.<\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cJeepers, Larry, stick a fork in it already. We\u2019re done with hearing your old war stories. Let\u2019s just sit here and talk about something else, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay, kids, stick a fork in it. That\u2019s enough playtime for one evening. Get upstairs and brush your teeth. It\u2019s almost bedtime.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay, stick a fork in it. That\u2019s enough. There\u2019s no need to have band practice at 10pm at night. The neighbors are calling asking why they live next to a music club.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s stick a fork in it. I think we\u2019ve come as far as we can with the project for now. Let\u2019s get the approval of this stage and then move onto the next section.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s time to stick a fork in it. Those sausages look done, and they\u2019re about to burst at the seams. Let\u2019s get them off the grill and eat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-3754\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Stick-a-Fork-in-It.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"178\" height=\"178\" srcset=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Stick-a-Fork-in-It.jpg 277w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Stick-a-Fork-in-It-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Stick-a-Fork-in-It-120x120.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 178px) 100vw, 178px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-3755\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Stick-a-Fork-in-It2-300x180.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"180\" srcset=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Stick-a-Fork-in-It2-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Stick-a-Fork-in-It2.jpg 361w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The expression \u201cstick a fork in it\u201d comes from the practice of cooking. People have been sticking forks in meat to check if it's ready for eating for centuries. By sticking a fork in it, you\u2019re removing the food from the grill and preparing it for service.<\/p>\n<p>However, the phrase actually originates from the world of professional baseball commentary. It\u2019s a way of saying that a player spent all his energy or got injured and needs replacement.<\/p>\n<p>The earliest use of the expression comes from the American baseball player and legendary commentator, Dizzy Dean. Dizzy coined the phrase in the 1940s during a game where the pitcher was clearly not on a good run and in need of replacement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can stick a fork in him, folks\u2014he\u2019s done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What does stick a fork mean?\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/InXPNPCixF0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to Stick a Fork in It<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Down and out.<\/li>\n<li>Down for the count.<\/li>\n<li>Out of commission.<\/li>\n<li>Worn out.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say Stick a Fork in It Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>The phrase has nothing to do with sticking forks in anything. The \u201cfork,\u201d in this case, is the approval of completion. The \u201cit\u201d in the phrase is the project or task you\u2019re working on. It\u2019s more common for it to appear in conversations unrelated to food than those about food preparation or cooking.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase Stick a Fork in It<\/h2>\n<p>You can use the phrase \u201cstick a fork in it\u201d when you\u2019re telling someone to stop talking or cease and desist with their actions or behavior. The term suits social and professional use. You can use it at the office when you\u2019re telling people to knock off their childish behavior in the workplace.<\/p>\n<p>You can use the saying at home when telling your kids to be quiet or stop running around the house. It also suits use when you want to say you\u2019ve reached the end or final outcome of a project.<\/p>\n<p>You could use it to say the sausages on the grill are ready to eat. Or you could use it to tell people that the architecture project you\u2019re working on is ready for presentation to the client.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Are you looking for a way to tell someone to knock off their behavior? Maybe you want to tell them that they are through with their service to your company? Or maybe you just want to take some food off the grill? If so, you could use \u201cstick a fork in it\u201d in any of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3753"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3753"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3835,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3753\/revisions\/3835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}