Here’s another often confused idiom. Is it coming “down the pike” or “down the pipe”?
Both have their logical arguments. Something could travel through a pipe toward you (e.g., water through pipes, emerging via a spigot), or something could travel along a pike—that is once you realize what a pike is. It’s this latter word that is one major source of confusion for this phrase.
Remember, the correct phrase is “down the pike.”
If something is coming “down the pike,” it is going to happen or going to appear soon. A “pike” in this sense is an abbreviated form of “turnpike.” Here’s some trivia for you: did you know that this term originally meant tollbooth? I did not. Now, of course, “turnpike” usually refers to the road itself.
And while the first piece of confusion with “down the pike” vs. “down the pipe” is the meaning of the word “pike,” the second is the separate idiom, “in the pipeline.”
If something is “in the pipeline,” this means that it is in the works or being developed.
Down the pike. In the pipeline. I completely understand where the chaos sets in. Let’s look at them in action for one last reminder:
Q: So what’s coming down the pike with this blog?
A: I have many more writing tips in the pipeline for you.
Yes, these idioms are so close that they’re just asking for confusion, but I have faith you can get them right.
Happy writing!