Put (Out) To Pasture

Question

"The horses were put out to pasture.""The horses were put to pasture."The first one is right according to dictionaries.  Could the second one be right as well?

JoshStafford · Accepted Answer

The first usually means retirement. The latter, albeit unusual, would mean they have been put in the pasture to graze.

PamQueue · Answer

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/13/technology/13iht-ptgadgets13.1hk.7490237.html

"Laptops do not age well. Their screens dim and their hard drives sputter and eventually they are put to pasture. With its new ThinkPad Reserve, Lenovo is trying for something a little more timeless."

It seems that here "put to pasture" is used (possibily incorrectly) in the retirement sense.

So "put to pasture" primarily means letting cows dine on grass, but secondarily means forcing somebody/thing into retirement. And "put out to pasture" primarily means forcing somebody/thing into retirement , but secondarily means letting cows dine on grass?

PamQueue · Answer

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PamQueue · Answer

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/13/technology/13iht-ptgadgets13.1hk.7490237.html

"Laptops do not age well. Their screens dim and their hard drives sputter and eventually they are put to pasture. With its new ThinkPad Reserve, Lenovo is trying for something a little more timeless."

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It seems that here "put to pasture" is used (possibily incorrectly) in the retirement sense.

So "put to pasture" primarily means letting cows dine on grass, but secondarily means forcing somebody/thing into retirement. And "put out to pasture" primarily means forcing somebody/thing into retirement , but secondarily means letting cows dine on grass?

PamQueue · Answer

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Put (Out) To Pasture

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