Originally Posted By: SakkaOnna
Hello! Just saw today's word ("betide, from Old English tidan (happen), from tid (time)") and wondered whether "Time and tide wait for no man" was originally redundant. Any ideas?


the Word Detective tidily agrees: "In fact, however, the "tide" of the proverb has nothing to do with the ocean or sailing ships. "Tide" in this case simply means "time" (making the proverb, which has been around in various forms since at least the 14th century, amount to the redundant and borderline nonsensical "Time and time wait for no man")."