spring forward, fall back

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English

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WOTD – 10 March 2024

Etymology

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When daylight saving time (DST) begins chronometers are put forward (usually by an hour), and then turned back by the same amount of time when DST ends.

A pun on spring (“(noun) season of the year in temperate regions in which plants spring from the ground and into bloom and dormant animals spring to life; (verb) to move or burst forth”) and fall (“(noun) season of the year in temperate regions when the leaves typically fall from the trees; (verb) to move to a lower position under the effect of gravity”).

Pronunciation

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Phrase

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spring forward, fall back

  1. (US, mnemonic) Used to recall how clocks, watches, and other chronometers are adjusted for daylight saving time: local time goes forward in the spring (usually by one hour), and back in fall (autumn).
    Synonym: spring ahead, fall behind
    • 1971 October 28, Craig Hosmer, “Fiddling around with ‘God’s Time’”, in Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 92d Congress, First Session (United States House of Representatives), volume 117, part 29, Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 38086, column 3:
      [I]f we have to standardize on one time period, it would seem eminently logical to settle on daylight time for the convenience of the greatest number of people. Besides, under such a system, we would once and for all abolish the trivial "Spring forward, fall back."
    • 1976 June 9, Keith G[eorge] Sebelius, “Statement of Hon. Keith G. Sebelius, a Representative in Congress from the State of Kansas”, in Daylight Savings Time Act of 1976: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Transportation and Commerce of the [Committee] on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, Ninety-fourth Congress, Second Session on H.R. 13089, H.R. 13090 (and All Similar Bills), Bills to Amend the Uniform Time Act of 1966 to Change the Period of Observance of Daylight Savings Time: And S. 2931, a Bill to Provide for Daylight Saving Time on a Seven-month Basis, and to Require the Federal Communications Commission to Permit Certain Daytime Broadcast Stations to Operate before Local Sunrise […] (Serial No. 94-109), Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 80:
      I think it is important to remember the great push for year-round daylight saving time came as a result of the energy crisis of 1973. It was alleged this action would result in home heating, gasoline, and electricity savings and as a result the Congress got into the spring-forward, fall-back business of daylight saving time. Today, some 3 years later, we find no evidence of energy savings in the home, no effect on gasoline consumption, and that savings on electricity are not conclusive.
    • 1981 April, Philip R. Smith, “Daylight Saving? Well, It’s about … Time”, in Denise M. Gower, editor, DFSC Chronicle, Alexandria, Va.: Defense Fuel Supply Center, Defense Supply Agency, United States Department of Defense, →OCLC, page 27:
      The first Federal legislation on the matter was enacted during World War I with the passage of the Standard Time Act on March 19, 1918. […] To conserve fuel and aid the war effort, the act also provided that the standard time of each zone would be advanced one hour for seven months of the year, beginning in early spring and ending in the fall. Thus developed the slogan still used today: "Spring forward; fall back."
    • 2002, John B. Arden, “Tricking Yourself into Remembering”, in Improving Your Memory for Dummies (For Dummies), Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley Publishing, →ISBN, part III (Preserving Your Memory):
      Twice a year, in April and October, most people change their clocks by one hour. Almost everyone forgets if the time needs to move forward or move backward. If you use the simple mnemonic, "Spring forward, fall back," you won't have to find out the hard way that you forgot to change your clock. This timely mnemonic links the season with the action of the same time: In the spring, the time springs forward by an hour. In the fall, time falls back by an hour.
    • 2004, Sue Townsend, “Saturday March 29th [2003]”, in Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction, London: Michael Joseph, →ISBN, page 324:
      I asked to speak to my mother again, and said, ‘Is it tonight we have to change the clocks?’ / She said that it was. / I asked if it was forwards or backwards; I can never remember which. / She said, ‘It’s easy: spring forward, fall back.’ / I said, ‘But do the clocks go backwards or forwards?’ / She said again, ‘Spring forward, fall back.’
    • 2011, Darrell Young, “Setup Menu”, in Mastering the Nikon D7000, Santa Barbara, Calif.: Rocky Nook; NikoniansPress, →ISBN, page 244:
      Many areas of the world observe Daylight saving time. On a specified day in spring of each year, many people set their clocks forward by one hour. Then in the fall they set them back, leading to the clever saying, “spring forward, fall back.”
    • 2023, Eklas Hossain, “Energy without the Sun”, in The Sun, Energy, and Climate Change, Cham, Zug, Switzerland: Springer Nature, →DOI, →ISBN, page 215:
      This practice of taking the clock time forward during spring and backward during fall is known as daylight saving (DST). It is also implied by the popular notion Spring Forward, Fall Back, referring to the advancement of the clock during spring and the going back in time in fall. […] Since 2007, in the USA, the DST starts on the 2nd Sunday of March. On that day, the clocks are moved one hour forward at 2 a.m. local standard time. This means that 2 a.m., the clocks are manipulated to read 3 a.m. local daylight time. Again, DST ends on the 1st Sunday of November, when clocks are moved backward by one hour at 2 a.m. local daylight time. So, at 2 a.m., the clocks are changed to read 1 a.m. local standard time.

Translations

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Further reading

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