This week Shauna and Dan discuss the fork in the road. Not ours, mind you. But someone's fork. Probably. Bonus: Religious parables, Yogi Berra, and Misremembering poems
Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved
Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast
Episode 269: Fork in the Road
Record Date: March 10, 2025
Air Date: March 12, 2025
Intro
Shauna:
Welcome to Bunny Trails, a whimsical adventure of idioms and other turns of phrase.
I’m Shauna Harrison
Dan:
And I’m Dan Pugh
Each week we take an idiom or other turn of phrase and try to tell the story from its entry into the English language, to how it’s used today.
Opening Hook
You know when you are just trying to get by in life and something happens and forces you to make a choice. And you know that choice will likely lead down two different paths. And you just don’t know which path will be best. Maybe you use the available information and boldly make a decision. Or maybe you sit down and cry. Both are viable options. Most of us will do something in between, maybe cry while we choose the path that seems less dreary and hope it works out. Well that choice we had to make is often represented in the saying, “a fork in the road”.
Meaning
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, fork in the road means:
Quote
a situation in which something can develop in one of two possible ways and you have to make a choice
End Quote
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/fork-in-the-road
A fork in the road has a similar meaning as the phrase, at a crossroads, which we discussed in episode 187.
The concept of a fork in the road is often portrayed as a path one is walking and that path goes in two different ways. Sometimes there are markings that might give a clue as to which way the traveler should go, and sometimes there is no guide. Many times when I’ve seen this portrayed, the viewer has a higher vantage point, like an eye in the sky, and we can see the right directly, but the traveler does not have that same clarity as they stand at the fork. And there is a reason we call such a thing a ‘fork’.
It’s an old reason.
Old English
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, in Old English a fork was:
Quote
An implement, chiefly agricultural, consisting of a long straight handle, furnished at the end with two or more prongs or tines, and used for carrying, digging, lifting, or throwing; also with word prefixed indicating its use like pitch-fork, hay-fork, or dung-fork
Quote
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/fork_n?tab=meaning_and_use#3792863
These forked instruments have parts that branched off from each other. By the late 1300s we see examples of forked items in print, like sticks with forked ends that are used in gardening. One example from the Helmingham Manuscript in 1389 refers to forked sticks being used to hold up vines.
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/fork_n?tab=meaning_and_use#3793431
In 1398, there is an example of fork being used as a verb, which leads to this definition:
Quote
A forking, bifurcation, or division into branches; the point at which anything forks.
End Quote
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/fork_n?tab=meaning_and_use#3793431
And then swiftly into:
Quote
To form a fork; to divide into branches, divaricate
End Quote
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/fork_v?tab=meaning_and_use#3794745
This is also the concept by which we get the eating utensil called a fork, because early forks had two branches. In relation to eating utensils, the OED has examples from the late 1400s and onwards.
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/fork_n?tab=meaning_and_use#3793431
This leads us to a straightforward concept of a fork in a road. Because the road divides into branches and you have to decide which way to go. It’s not easy to track down when a fork was first assigned to a road. I know General George Washington used the term in a June 9, 1780 letter issuing orders to his troops saying:
Quote
Colonel Hazen’s regiment to take Post at the fork of the road on the left of Cammell’s.
End Quote
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Writings_of_George_Washington_from_t/-w4_AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22fork+of+the+road%22&pg=PA492&printsec=frontcover
But I doubt it took until 1780 before we were using the phrase in this way. But what about the metaphorical examples?
1807
One of the first times I could find fork in the road being used as a metaphor was in the 1807 work, The Kentucky Revival or, A Short History of the late extraordinary out-pouring of the Spirit of God, in the western States of America, agreeably to Scripture promises, and Prophecies concerning the Latter Day by Richard MacNemar.
In it, the author talks about a doctor who was a very wicked man. Then, while attending to people during a time of general sickness, he was struck with a deep sense of his own sins. A good spirit showed him a vision, in which the doctor was on a road that had two paths. He could go right, towards happiness, or left towards misery.
Quote
This fork in the road, he was told, represented that stage of life in which people were convicted of sin; and those who took the right hand way quit everything that was wicked and became good. But the left hand was for such as would go on and be bad, after they were shewn the right way.
End Quote
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Kentucky_Revival_Or_a_Short_History/rPKqs_libvwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22fork+in+the+road%22&pg=PA113&printsec=frontcover
That’s a pretty common tale for the time, a missionary shows you the path of righteousness and now you have a decision to make; mend your ways or face eternal doom.
1864
A parable story in the December 1864 edition of The Sower, a monthly magazine. In it, two boys are travelling home when they come to a fork in the road.
Quote
The mare set briskly off, and was soon lost to sight among the winding of the forest road. But the gloom gathered faster than the horse trotted, and it was quite dark when they reached a fork in the road, where it might make a considerable difference which path they took home. One was the travelled road. This way there was a good bridge over Bounding Brook, a mountain stream, which was often dangerously swelled by the spring rains. It was the safest, though the longest way home. The other was a wood-path through the pines, often taken in good weather by the farmers living on the east side of the town, to shorten the distance to The Corner. In this road, Bounding Brook was crossed by fording.
End Quote
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Sower/sjMEAAAAQAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22fork+in+the+road%22&pg=RA5-PA136&printsec=frontcover
This is an interesting parable as both boys intend to take the well-traveled path. But when they arrive it is unclear which is the correct path. The oldest wants to follow his gut, while the youngest wants to go towards a cabin light and ask the residents for clarification. The oldest, full of pride, declares he is certain of the correct way. The youngest declares his honest certainty is unhelpful if he is wrong. As you might imagine, they choose wrong and narrowly avoid death. The moral was that man can be wrong and only the word of God is alone infallible. In this story, the fork in the road represents when they should look to the word of God. Though to be honest, unless God was going to appear to them in a vision I’m not sure how they would have done something other than trust someone’s judgement, either the oldest boy or the residents of the cabin. But me not understanding a parable isn’t the point. This is another fork in the road that is a literal usage with an allusionary meaning.
1905
Here’s an example of an advertisement with a spin on the “coming to a fork in the road” concept. This is an ad for the new WALK-OVER shoes, sold in Bennington by E.E. Hart. The ad is in the October 7, 1905 edition of the Bennington Evening Banner out of Vermont, USA.
Quote
If you came to a fork in the road where there was no guide board, how would you decide which was the direct way to your destination? Guess at it and probably go wrong, or ask someone who knew (who had been over the road) and go right the first time?
A man was facing a fork in the road, trying to decide what make of shoes was the direct way to comfort. He asked someone who knew (who had been over the road.) He was told “ ‘The WALK-OVER’ way is the straight way.” Now he is telling others.
End Quote
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn95066012/1905-10-07/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=1890&index=14&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=fork+road&proxdistance=5&date2=1909&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=fork+in+the+road&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1
That feels like the seller is trying a little too hard. But I applaud the effort none-the-less.
1920
This next one is from the Free Trader-Journal out of Ottawa, Illinois, dated June 1, 1920. It is a public notice from the Public Service Company of Northern Illinois listing how many places in Illinois have experienced water rate hikes of up to 150% in the last few years. It then goes on to note how the cost of almost everything has risen and how they haven’t raised their rates since 1914. They are now asking for a 30% increase.
Quote
Every community we serve is concerned in the Company’s growth and in the efficient performance of its duty, but we have reached a fork in the road not of our own making. As much as we might wish to leave our rate record undisturbed this is impossible if the essential service of the Company is to be done properly. To achieve this we must have the advance in rates we ask.
End Quote
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn92053241/1920-06-01/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=1756&index=5&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=fork+road&proxdistance=5&date2=1963&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=fork+in+the+road&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1
1943
This next one is from 1943 and sounds suspiciously like today’s statements. This is from the Brewery Gulch Gazette out of Bisbee, Arizona dated July 29, 1943. This is from a piece called “A Fork in the Road” by George Peck.
Quote
The peace will find us at the fork of the road. One sign-post will read: “This road is a rocky one. It is paved with thrift and economy. It’s up hill all the way, but it can be travelled, and it eventually will bring you to that desirable destination of balanced budgets, debt redemption, democracy and freedom.” The other sign-post reads: “This road is a smooth one. It is paved with waste and sloth. It’s downhill all the way. It is easy to travel, but it finally will bring you to the most undesirable destination of unbalanced budgets, debt repudiation, dictatorship and slavery.” Which fork will we take?
End Quote
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn89070012/1943-07-29/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=1756&index=2&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=FORK+fork+road+ROAD&proxdistance=5&date2=1963&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=fork+in+the+road&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2
We have the historical record to guide us here, showing we did not abandon social security in the post-war period, as was mentioned in one part of the article. And since this article was written, the US has been through over 80 years of non-dictatorships with only one small, relatively recent blip on the record of peaceful transitions. While we still have an unbalanced budget and we still are NOT providing enough basic support to cover all of the citizenry, we have seen record growth in our economy and American lives on the average are doing better in almost every measurable area. Although I’ll link to a good article about why it doesn’t always feel like things are going better. That will be free on our Patreon, patreon.com/bunnytrailspod
https://thecorrespondent.com/104/the-great-paradox-of-our-time-everything-is-both-better-and-worse-than-ever-before
The article mentions there are some huge, world-wide obstacles to tackle. But instead of facing those ‘head-on’ as we Americans would tout as “The American Way”, the government of the United States is battening down the hatches in favor of austerity. It looks as if in 2025 we are in fact choosing Peck’s uphill road. We’ll have to check back with you in another 80 years to see where this one leads.
1965
In 1965, the Motown group The Miracles released a song called A Fork in the Road. It was written by Smokey Robison, Pete Moore, and Ronnie White, who were all members of the group. Here are the opening lyrics:
Quote
Beware
Beware
Beware
Seems like love should be easier to bear
But it's such a heavy load (A heavy load)
Worldwide traveler, you ain't been nowhere
Till you've traveled down love's road
I know I may be just a stranger (Just a stranger)
Lover, let me warn you there's the danger
Of the fork in love's road
End Quote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOpZ2hsg16M
1915 - Misassociation
One more note before we move on, and this one is from a mistake I have apparently made in my memory. When I think of a fork in the road, I often think of Robert Frost’s 1915 narrative poem The Road Not Taken. The poem opens:
Quote
Two roads diverge in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one travel, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth
End Quote
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken
The poem speaks to how choices are inevitable. And in coming to the point at which the roads diverge, the author faces the same metaphorical decision as in coming to a fork in the road. But the poem never uses the phrase. So while the association with the concept is valid, there is no association with the actual phrase itself in this poem.
I just wanted to mention that in case any of you, like me, think of this poem when you think of the phrase.
With that, it’s time to move to our more modern uses but first we need to say thank you to our sponsors.
A Quick Thank You
This episode is sponsored by our amazing Patrons on Patreon. And the cool thing about Patreon is it is 100% free to join the community!
We have new things every weekday on the feeds. On Monday’s we have a conversation about what movies, shows, books, podcasts and whatever else everyone is enjoying, Tuesdays see early access to the weeks podcast, Wednesdays have all the links, books, songs, and other content mentioned in the weeks episode, Thursday has patron’s only polls, and Friday’s are our lightly-edited behind the scenes video featuring all the cut content, goofs, and bonus facts you could imagine.
We’ve got some other pretty cool stuff, too, like Original Digital Artwork once a month, made by Shauna, and direct access to talk with us. No algorithm’s getting in the way of what we see or don’t see. Plus, you can get awesome name recognition like Pat Rowe does every episode. And our top spot is currently occupied by the amazing Mary Halsig Lopez
You can join the Bunny Trails community for free at bunny trails pod on Patreon.
That’s patreon.com/bunnytrailspod
Modern Uses
2001
I’ll start with Yogi Berra who was a well known American baseball player. But he was also a successful author. In 2001, he released a book he co-wrote with Dave Kaplan. The title captures so much of who Yogi Berra was: When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It! Inspiration and Wisdom from One of Baseball's Greatest Heroes
Here is the synopsis from the publisher, Grand Central Publishing:
Quote
An exciting new collection of sublimely simple wisdom from a bestselling author, celebrated athlete, and a true American hero.
Three-time MVP and Hall of Famer Yogi Berra hit home runs twice in a row with his two previous books, The Yogi Book and It Ain't Over. Now, his winning streak will continue with this latest work -- a collection of appealing, funny, and surprisingly moving essays on life, happiness, and getting through the slumps. Filled with another delightful helping of Yogi's inimitable and unwittingly wise aphorisms, these reflections focus on the valuable lessons he's learned on and off the field. From his early years as an immigrant's son who dropped out of the eighth grade through his triumphant career as a player and manager who played in a record seventy-five World Series games, Yogi illustrates his homespun philosophies with apt analogies to his trove of baseball stories. He expounds on such topics as Patience (Waiting for your pitch); Sacrifice (Laying down a bunt); Trusting Others (Taking direction); and Staying Focused (Keeping your eye on the ball), to show how the rules of life and baseball are uncannily similar. And, in the tradition of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and All I Really Need to I Know I Learned in Kindergarten, he explains his recipe for fulfillment and happiness with life lessons that are profoundly simple, simply profound--and classic Yogi to the core.
End Quote
https://www.google.com/books/edition/When_You_Come_to_a_Fork_in_the_Road_Take/NfaYAAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
In the behind the scenes video this week, we are going to explore some of the memorable sayings of Yogi Berra. Here are a few to get you thinking:
"A nickel ain't worth a dime any more."
"It ain't over til it's over."
"You can't think and hit at the same time."
"The future ain't what it used to be."
Although we do have to be careful, because Berra noted that not everything that is attributed to him was something he said. But he said it just like Yogi, noting:
"I didn't really say everything I said."
The behinds the scenes video is available to Patrons every Friday on our patreon, that’s patreon.com/bunnytrailspod
2009
Fork in the Road is a 2009 song by Neil Young off the album of the same name. It’s almost a spoken word kind of song, much like George Thorogood’s Bad to the Bone or One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer. Like many of Neil Young’s songs there is an anti-establishment theme. The song was written in 2008, which was when the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, also known as the wall street bailouts or bank bailouts, was passed into law, giving money to multi-billion dollar corporations deemed too big to fail. The widespread sentiment was these corporations were making record profits by doing high-risk things, but then the American taxpayers had to foot the bill to bail them out when their high-risk actions began to cause them financial harm. And because the American way of life is so heavily leveraged in these corporations, Congress felt it was better to bail them out than to let the economy of the United States tank. Early in Young’s song he sings of a fork in the road ahead and not knowing what he is going to do.
But he makes his thoughts clear in the closing line of the song:
Quote
There's a bailout coming but it's not for you
It's for all those creeps hiding what they do
End Quote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W61oBjCe3vI
2010
A Fork in the Road is a 2010 film directed by Jim Kouf. It’s billed as a comedy/suspense movie. Here is the synopsis from TV Guide.
Quote
Will, an escaped convict, inadvertently takes refuge in a barn the same night the owners, April and Martin, get into a terrible fight. A gun shot goes off inside the house. April drags Martin's body outside and discovers Will. He convinces her that he is not there to harm her but has witnessed the murder so they must cooperate or both go to prison. The two take out to dispose of the body only to find out he is not dead. The task of disposal turns into a kidnapping nightmare and, as the two try to navigate the turn of events, they find they must make some hard choices to keep from losing it all.
End Quote
https://www.tvguide.com/movies/a-fork-in-the-road/cast/2000351154/
2021
Fork in the Road: A Hopeful Guide to Food Freedom is a 2021 book by Dr. Jen Unwin. I’ll let the synopsis do the talking.
Quote
Dr Jen Unwin is a Clinical Psychologist. And a lifelong carbohydrate addict. Fork in the Road guides you in a clear way through identifying if you have carbohydrate addiction, finding the motivation to change your life, understanding how to build the right daily eating plan, the strategies for long-term success, and where to go for more information and support. In this beautifully illustrated book, Jen teams up with top clinicians in the field and with creative low-carbers who share what they have learned about freeing yourself from the emotional and physical dangers of overeating sugars, flours and processed foods. Make today your ‘Fork in the Road’ to health and food freedom.
End Quote
https://forkintheroad.co.uk/
But Dr. Unwin has more than just a book. Her website hosts an entire ecosystem on the topic. It also includes The Fork in the Road podcast, and here is their description from the forkintheroad.co.uk website:
Quote
Nothing is more inspiring than hearing the real-life stories of other people tackling the same problems as us. The Fork in the Road podcast is interviews with other sugar addicts who are in recovery. What was their ‘fork in the road’ moment and how did they beat the sugar strangle hold on their lives?
End Quote
https://forkintheroad.co.uk/recovery-podcast/
Unlike the author we are not doctors or experts. You should take your dieting advice from a bonafide expert on the subject, not two nerdy researchers with a love of words and a penchant for getting off topic.
2025
Fork in the Road was a late January 2025 deferred resignation program offered by the United States government shortly after the inauguration of Donald Trump in his second term. It was meant as a way to reduce the size of the federal workforce by allowing employees to resign and still get paid through the end of the fiscal year, which ran October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025.
https://www.opm.gov/fork/original-email-to-employees/
The process was touted by Elon Musk, who had some role in Trump’s presidency but it was unclear what that role was. Musk has long been a fan of the phrase, Fork in the Road, using a similar email subject line when he bought Twitter and then told staff they should commit to an “extremely hardcore” work life or leave. He then fired many of its staff. In 2025, some of those staff were awarded severance by the US court system after Musk initially refused to pay what was, according to the courts, legally owed to them. That history certainly caused some concern among federal workers considering the deferred resignation program.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/tech/2025/02/26/musks-ex-twitter-workers-win-severance-over-layoff-after-fork-in-the-road-email/80531042007/
His overuse of the phrase doesn’t stop there. Musk installed a giant 30 foot fork near Tesla’s Autopilot office in Palo Alto, California in 2022.
Musk had this to say about it:
Quote
I love the inverse poetry of making metaphors literal.
End Quote
https://whatsuptesla.com/2022/10/09/xox/
I think Musk may not understand the history of this phrase, which was literal for hundreds of years before it took on a metaphorical meaning. But I’m not sure Musk has shown much of an understanding of history, so I suppose his comments are to be expected.
Wrap Up
I’ve long enjoyed this phrase, but the association with Musk has really soured it for me. Hopefully I’ll be able to go back to enjoying this phrase, because I do think it is a beautiful metaphor for making difficult choices in life. I just sometimes think too many people are paying for the privilege to force you into the decision they want, whether we realize it or not.
Dan:
That’s about all we have for today. If you have any thoughts on the show, or pop culture references we should have included,
reach out to us on Patreon, patreon.com/bunnytrailspod or comment on our website bunnytrailspod.com
Shauna:
It’s poll time!
Recently we asked our Patrons about the application based payment methods they use.
Paypal was the most common answer, followed by Venmo. Others that were used included Apple Pay, CashApp, Google Pay, and Zelle. And we had a few patrons note that they don’t use any app-based payments.
Mary says,
Quote
I use only PayPal, Zelle, and Apple Pay now. Apple pay for app purchases. Zelle to receive money. PayPal for general transactions. I fired google and cash app after people I know lost a bunch of money or time dealing with being hacked. I love the ease of the apps, but not the vulnerability.
End Quote
Dan:
JGP said:
Quote
I am so out of the loop when it comes to these sorts of things. While I've used paypal to pay for online things, I've never used it, or any of the others as a payment app.
End Quote
I’m right there with you, JGP. Some of these I hadn’t even heard of.
Emily added:
Quote
I use money transfer apps to split the check with friends. Or to pay vendors at Arts and Crafts Fairs.
End Quote
That’s how I used one of these apps, if we split the bill when I'm traveling, if I buy a fundraising item from one of my nieces, or if I’m paying a small vendor for something like at the Farmers Market. I've never actually used them to pay for something at a store.
Shauna:
I've used paypal but only online to buy things on Etsy or whatnot. The only one I've used in this sense is Venmo. And it's great for sending money back and forth with office folks when someone buys coffee or pays for lunch, etc.
As a reminder, our silly polls mean absolutely nothing and are not scientifically valid. And patrons of all levels, including our free tiers, can take part. Head over to patreon.com/bunnytrailspod to take this week’s poll!
Outro
Shauna:
Thanks for joining us. We’ll talk to you again next week. Until then remember,
Together:
Words belong to their users.
Episode 269: Fork in the Road
Record Date: March 10, 2025
Air Date: March 12, 2025
Intro
Shauna:
Welcome to Bunny Trails, a whimsical adventure of idioms and other turns of phrase.
I’m Shauna Harrison
Dan:
And I’m Dan Pugh
Each week we take an idiom or other turn of phrase and try to tell the story from its entry into the English language, to how it’s used today.
Opening Hook
You know when you are just trying to get by in life and something happens and forces you to make a choice. And you know that choice will likely lead down two different paths. And you just don’t know which path will be best. Maybe you use the available information and boldly make a decision. Or maybe you sit down and cry. Both are viable options. Most of us will do something in between, maybe cry while we choose the path that seems less dreary and hope it works out. Well that choice we had to make is often represented in the saying, “a fork in the road”.
Meaning
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, fork in the road means:
Quote
a situation in which something can develop in one of two possible ways and you have to make a choice
End Quote
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/fork-in-the-road
A fork in the road has a similar meaning as the phrase, at a crossroads, which we discussed in episode 187.
The concept of a fork in the road is often portrayed as a path one is walking and that path goes in two different ways. Sometimes there are markings that might give a clue as to which way the traveler should go, and sometimes there is no guide. Many times when I’ve seen this portrayed, the viewer has a higher vantage point, like an eye in the sky, and we can see the right directly, but the traveler does not have that same clarity as they stand at the fork. And there is a reason we call such a thing a ‘fork’.
It’s an old reason.
Old English
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, in Old English a fork was:
Quote
An implement, chiefly agricultural, consisting of a long straight handle, furnished at the end with two or more prongs or tines, and used for carrying, digging, lifting, or throwing; also with word prefixed indicating its use like pitch-fork, hay-fork, or dung-fork
Quote
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/fork_n?tab=meaning_and_use#3792863
These forked instruments have parts that branched off from each other. By the late 1300s we see examples of forked items in print, like sticks with forked ends that are used in gardening. One example from the Helmingham Manuscript in 1389 refers to forked sticks being used to hold up vines.
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/fork_n?tab=meaning_and_use#3793431
In 1398, there is an example of fork being used as a verb, which leads to this definition:
Quote
A forking, bifurcation, or division into branches; the point at which anything forks.
End Quote
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/fork_n?tab=meaning_and_use#3793431
And then swiftly into:
Quote
To form a fork; to divide into branches, divaricate
End Quote
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/fork_v?tab=meaning_and_use#3794745
This is also the concept by which we get the eating utensil called a fork, because early forks had two branches. In relation to eating utensils, the OED has examples from the late 1400s and onwards.
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/fork_n?tab=meaning_and_use#3793431
This leads us to a straightforward concept of a fork in a road. Because the road divides into branches and you have to decide which way to go. It’s not easy to track down when a fork was first assigned to a road. I know General George Washington used the term in a June 9, 1780 letter issuing orders to his troops saying:
Quote
Colonel Hazen’s regiment to take Post at the fork of the road on the left of Cammell’s.
End Quote
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Writings_of_George_Washington_from_t/-w4_AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22fork+of+the+road%22&pg=PA492&printsec=frontcover
But I doubt it took until 1780 before we were using the phrase in this way. But what about the metaphorical examples?
1807
One of the first times I could find fork in the road being used as a metaphor was in the 1807 work, The Kentucky Revival or, A Short History of the late extraordinary out-pouring of the Spirit of God, in the western States of America, agreeably to Scripture promises, and Prophecies concerning the Latter Day by Richard MacNemar.
In it, the author talks about a doctor who was a very wicked man. Then, while attending to people during a time of general sickness, he was struck with a deep sense of his own sins. A good spirit showed him a vision, in which the doctor was on a road that had two paths. He could go right, towards happiness, or left towards misery.
Quote
This fork in the road, he was told, represented that stage of life in which people were convicted of sin; and those who took the right hand way quit everything that was wicked and became good. But the left hand was for such as would go on and be bad, after they were shewn the right way.
End Quote
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Kentucky_Revival_Or_a_Short_History/rPKqs_libvwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22fork+in+the+road%22&pg=PA113&printsec=frontcover
That’s a pretty common tale for the time, a missionary shows you the path of righteousness and now you have a decision to make; mend your ways or face eternal doom.
1864
A parable story in the December 1864 edition of The Sower, a monthly magazine. In it, two boys are travelling home when they come to a fork in the road.
Quote
The mare set briskly off, and was soon lost to sight among the winding of the forest road. But the gloom gathered faster than the horse trotted, and it was quite dark when they reached a fork in the road, where it might make a considerable difference which path they took home. One was the travelled road. This way there was a good bridge over Bounding Brook, a mountain stream, which was often dangerously swelled by the spring rains. It was the safest, though the longest way home. The other was a wood-path through the pines, often taken in good weather by the farmers living on the east side of the town, to shorten the distance to The Corner. In this road, Bounding Brook was crossed by fording.
End Quote
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Sower/sjMEAAAAQAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22fork+in+the+road%22&pg=RA5-PA136&printsec=frontcover
This is an interesting parable as both boys intend to take the well-traveled path. But when they arrive it is unclear which is the correct path. The oldest wants to follow his gut, while the youngest wants to go towards a cabin light and ask the residents for clarification. The oldest, full of pride, declares he is certain of the correct way. The youngest declares his honest certainty is unhelpful if he is wrong. As you might imagine, they choose wrong and narrowly avoid death. The moral was that man can be wrong and only the word of God is alone infallible. In this story, the fork in the road represents when they should look to the word of God. Though to be honest, unless God was going to appear to them in a vision I’m not sure how they would have done something other than trust someone’s judgement, either the oldest boy or the residents of the cabin. But me not understanding a parable isn’t the point. This is another fork in the road that is a literal usage with an allusionary meaning.
1905
Here’s an example of an advertisement with a spin on the “coming to a fork in the road” concept. This is an ad for the new WALK-OVER shoes, sold in Bennington by E.E. Hart. The ad is in the October 7, 1905 edition of the Bennington Evening Banner out of Vermont, USA.
Quote
If you came to a fork in the road where there was no guide board, how would you decide which was the direct way to your destination? Guess at it and probably go wrong, or ask someone who knew (who had been over the road) and go right the first time?
A man was facing a fork in the road, trying to decide what make of shoes was the direct way to comfort. He asked someone who knew (who had been over the road.) He was told “ ‘The WALK-OVER’ way is the straight way.” Now he is telling others.
End Quote
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn95066012/1905-10-07/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=1890&index=14&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=fork+road&proxdistance=5&date2=1909&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=fork+in+the+road&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1
That feels like the seller is trying a little too hard. But I applaud the effort none-the-less.
1920
This next one is from the Free Trader-Journal out of Ottawa, Illinois, dated June 1, 1920. It is a public notice from the Public Service Company of Northern Illinois listing how many places in Illinois have experienced water rate hikes of up to 150% in the last few years. It then goes on to note how the cost of almost everything has risen and how they haven’t raised their rates since 1914. They are now asking for a 30% increase.
Quote
Every community we serve is concerned in the Company’s growth and in the efficient performance of its duty, but we have reached a fork in the road not of our own making. As much as we might wish to leave our rate record undisturbed this is impossible if the essential service of the Company is to be done properly. To achieve this we must have the advance in rates we ask.
End Quote
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn92053241/1920-06-01/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=1756&index=5&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=fork+road&proxdistance=5&date2=1963&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=fork+in+the+road&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1
1943
This next one is from 1943 and sounds suspiciously like today’s statements. This is from the Brewery Gulch Gazette out of Bisbee, Arizona dated July 29, 1943. This is from a piece called “A Fork in the Road” by George Peck.
Quote
The peace will find us at the fork of the road. One sign-post will read: “This road is a rocky one. It is paved with thrift and economy. It’s up hill all the way, but it can be travelled, and it eventually will bring you to that desirable destination of balanced budgets, debt redemption, democracy and freedom.” The other sign-post reads: “This road is a smooth one. It is paved with waste and sloth. It’s downhill all the way. It is easy to travel, but it finally will bring you to the most undesirable destination of unbalanced budgets, debt repudiation, dictatorship and slavery.” Which fork will we take?
End Quote
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn89070012/1943-07-29/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=1756&index=2&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=FORK+fork+road+ROAD&proxdistance=5&date2=1963&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=fork+in+the+road&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2
We have the historical record to guide us here, showing we did not abandon social security in the post-war period, as was mentioned in one part of the article. And since this article was written, the US has been through over 80 years of non-dictatorships with only one small, relatively recent blip on the record of peaceful transitions. While we still have an unbalanced budget and we still are NOT providing enough basic support to cover all of the citizenry, we have seen record growth in our economy and American lives on the average are doing better in almost every measurable area. Although I’ll link to a good article about why it doesn’t always feel like things are going better. That will be free on our Patreon, patreon.com/bunnytrailspod
https://thecorrespondent.com/104/the-great-paradox-of-our-time-everything-is-both-better-and-worse-than-ever-before
The article mentions there are some huge, world-wide obstacles to tackle. But instead of facing those ‘head-on’ as we Americans would tout as “The American Way”, the government of the United States is battening down the hatches in favor of austerity. It looks as if in 2025 we are in fact choosing Peck’s uphill road. We’ll have to check back with you in another 80 years to see where this one leads.
1965
In 1965, the Motown group The Miracles released a song called A Fork in the Road. It was written by Smokey Robison, Pete Moore, and Ronnie White, who were all members of the group. Here are the opening lyrics:
Quote
Beware
Beware
Beware
Seems like love should be easier to bear
But it's such a heavy load (A heavy load)
Worldwide traveler, you ain't been nowhere
Till you've traveled down love's road
I know I may be just a stranger (Just a stranger)
Lover, let me warn you there's the danger
Of the fork in love's road
End Quote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOpZ2hsg16M
1915 - Misassociation
One more note before we move on, and this one is from a mistake I have apparently made in my memory. When I think of a fork in the road, I often think of Robert Frost’s 1915 narrative poem The Road Not Taken. The poem opens:
Quote
Two roads diverge in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one travel, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth
End Quote
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken
The poem speaks to how choices are inevitable. And in coming to the point at which the roads diverge, the author faces the same metaphorical decision as in coming to a fork in the road. But the poem never uses the phrase. So while the association with the concept is valid, there is no association with the actual phrase itself in this poem.
I just wanted to mention that in case any of you, like me, think of this poem when you think of the phrase.
With that, it’s time to move to our more modern uses but first we need to say thank you to our sponsors.
A Quick Thank You
This episode is sponsored by our amazing Patrons on Patreon. And the cool thing about Patreon is it is 100% free to join the community!
We have new things every weekday on the feeds. On Monday’s we have a conversation about what movies, shows, books, podcasts and whatever else everyone is enjoying, Tuesdays see early access to the weeks podcast, Wednesdays have all the links, books, songs, and other content mentioned in the weeks episode, Thursday has patron’s only polls, and Friday’s are our lightly-edited behind the scenes video featuring all the cut content, goofs, and bonus facts you could imagine.
We’ve got some other pretty cool stuff, too, like Original Digital Artwork once a month, made by Shauna, and direct access to talk with us. No algorithm’s getting in the way of what we see or don’t see. Plus, you can get awesome name recognition like Pat Rowe does every episode. And our top spot is currently occupied by the amazing Mary Halsig Lopez
You can join the Bunny Trails community for free at bunny trails pod on Patreon.
That’s patreon.com/bunnytrailspod
Modern Uses
2001
I’ll start with Yogi Berra who was a well known American baseball player. But he was also a successful author. In 2001, he released a book he co-wrote with Dave Kaplan. The title captures so much of who Yogi Berra was: When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It! Inspiration and Wisdom from One of Baseball's Greatest Heroes
Here is the synopsis from the publisher, Grand Central Publishing:
Quote
An exciting new collection of sublimely simple wisdom from a bestselling author, celebrated athlete, and a true American hero.
Three-time MVP and Hall of Famer Yogi Berra hit home runs twice in a row with his two previous books, The Yogi Book and It Ain't Over. Now, his winning streak will continue with this latest work -- a collection of appealing, funny, and surprisingly moving essays on life, happiness, and getting through the slumps. Filled with another delightful helping of Yogi's inimitable and unwittingly wise aphorisms, these reflections focus on the valuable lessons he's learned on and off the field. From his early years as an immigrant's son who dropped out of the eighth grade through his triumphant career as a player and manager who played in a record seventy-five World Series games, Yogi illustrates his homespun philosophies with apt analogies to his trove of baseball stories. He expounds on such topics as Patience (Waiting for your pitch); Sacrifice (Laying down a bunt); Trusting Others (Taking direction); and Staying Focused (Keeping your eye on the ball), to show how the rules of life and baseball are uncannily similar. And, in the tradition of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and All I Really Need to I Know I Learned in Kindergarten, he explains his recipe for fulfillment and happiness with life lessons that are profoundly simple, simply profound--and classic Yogi to the core.
End Quote
https://www.google.com/books/edition/When_You_Come_to_a_Fork_in_the_Road_Take/NfaYAAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
In the behind the scenes video this week, we are going to explore some of the memorable sayings of Yogi Berra. Here are a few to get you thinking:
"A nickel ain't worth a dime any more."
"It ain't over til it's over."
"You can't think and hit at the same time."
"The future ain't what it used to be."
Although we do have to be careful, because Berra noted that not everything that is attributed to him was something he said. But he said it just like Yogi, noting:
"I didn't really say everything I said."
The behinds the scenes video is available to Patrons every Friday on our patreon, that’s patreon.com/bunnytrailspod
2009
Fork in the Road is a 2009 song by Neil Young off the album of the same name. It’s almost a spoken word kind of song, much like George Thorogood’s Bad to the Bone or One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer. Like many of Neil Young’s songs there is an anti-establishment theme. The song was written in 2008, which was when the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, also known as the wall street bailouts or bank bailouts, was passed into law, giving money to multi-billion dollar corporations deemed too big to fail. The widespread sentiment was these corporations were making record profits by doing high-risk things, but then the American taxpayers had to foot the bill to bail them out when their high-risk actions began to cause them financial harm. And because the American way of life is so heavily leveraged in these corporations, Congress felt it was better to bail them out than to let the economy of the United States tank. Early in Young’s song he sings of a fork in the road ahead and not knowing what he is going to do.
But he makes his thoughts clear in the closing line of the song:
Quote
There's a bailout coming but it's not for you
It's for all those creeps hiding what they do
End Quote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W61oBjCe3vI
2010
A Fork in the Road is a 2010 film directed by Jim Kouf. It’s billed as a comedy/suspense movie. Here is the synopsis from TV Guide.
Quote
Will, an escaped convict, inadvertently takes refuge in a barn the same night the owners, April and Martin, get into a terrible fight. A gun shot goes off inside the house. April drags Martin's body outside and discovers Will. He convinces her that he is not there to harm her but has witnessed the murder so they must cooperate or both go to prison. The two take out to dispose of the body only to find out he is not dead. The task of disposal turns into a kidnapping nightmare and, as the two try to navigate the turn of events, they find they must make some hard choices to keep from losing it all.
End Quote
https://www.tvguide.com/movies/a-fork-in-the-road/cast/2000351154/
2021
Fork in the Road: A Hopeful Guide to Food Freedom is a 2021 book by Dr. Jen Unwin. I’ll let the synopsis do the talking.
Quote
Dr Jen Unwin is a Clinical Psychologist. And a lifelong carbohydrate addict. Fork in the Road guides you in a clear way through identifying if you have carbohydrate addiction, finding the motivation to change your life, understanding how to build the right daily eating plan, the strategies for long-term success, and where to go for more information and support. In this beautifully illustrated book, Jen teams up with top clinicians in the field and with creative low-carbers who share what they have learned about freeing yourself from the emotional and physical dangers of overeating sugars, flours and processed foods. Make today your ‘Fork in the Road’ to health and food freedom.
End Quote
https://forkintheroad.co.uk/
But Dr. Unwin has more than just a book. Her website hosts an entire ecosystem on the topic. It also includes The Fork in the Road podcast, and here is their description from the forkintheroad.co.uk website:
Quote
Nothing is more inspiring than hearing the real-life stories of other people tackling the same problems as us. The Fork in the Road podcast is interviews with other sugar addicts who are in recovery. What was their ‘fork in the road’ moment and how did they beat the sugar strangle hold on their lives?
End Quote
https://forkintheroad.co.uk/recovery-podcast/
Unlike the author we are not doctors or experts. You should take your dieting advice from a bonafide expert on the subject, not two nerdy researchers with a love of words and a penchant for getting off topic.
2025
Fork in the Road was a late January 2025 deferred resignation program offered by the United States government shortly after the inauguration of Donald Trump in his second term. It was meant as a way to reduce the size of the federal workforce by allowing employees to resign and still get paid through the end of the fiscal year, which ran October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025.
https://www.opm.gov/fork/original-email-to-employees/
The process was touted by Elon Musk, who had some role in Trump’s presidency but it was unclear what that role was. Musk has long been a fan of the phrase, Fork in the Road, using a similar email subject line when he bought Twitter and then told staff they should commit to an “extremely hardcore” work life or leave. He then fired many of its staff. In 2025, some of those staff were awarded severance by the US court system after Musk initially refused to pay what was, according to the courts, legally owed to them. That history certainly caused some concern among federal workers considering the deferred resignation program.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/tech/2025/02/26/musks-ex-twitter-workers-win-severance-over-layoff-after-fork-in-the-road-email/80531042007/
His overuse of the phrase doesn’t stop there. Musk installed a giant 30 foot fork near Tesla’s Autopilot office in Palo Alto, California in 2022.
Musk had this to say about it:
Quote
I love the inverse poetry of making metaphors literal.
End Quote
https://whatsuptesla.com/2022/10/09/xox/
I think Musk may not understand the history of this phrase, which was literal for hundreds of years before it took on a metaphorical meaning. But I’m not sure Musk has shown much of an understanding of history, so I suppose his comments are to be expected.
Wrap Up
I’ve long enjoyed this phrase, but the association with Musk has really soured it for me. Hopefully I’ll be able to go back to enjoying this phrase, because I do think it is a beautiful metaphor for making difficult choices in life. I just sometimes think too many people are paying for the privilege to force you into the decision they want, whether we realize it or not.
Dan:
That’s about all we have for today. If you have any thoughts on the show, or pop culture references we should have included,
reach out to us on Patreon, patreon.com/bunnytrailspod or comment on our website bunnytrailspod.com
Shauna:
It’s poll time!
Recently we asked our Patrons about the application based payment methods they use.
Paypal was the most common answer, followed by Venmo. Others that were used included Apple Pay, CashApp, Google Pay, and Zelle. And we had a few patrons note that they don’t use any app-based payments.
Mary says,
Quote
I use only PayPal, Zelle, and Apple Pay now. Apple pay for app purchases. Zelle to receive money. PayPal for general transactions. I fired google and cash app after people I know lost a bunch of money or time dealing with being hacked. I love the ease of the apps, but not the vulnerability.
End Quote
Dan:
JGP said:
Quote
I am so out of the loop when it comes to these sorts of things. While I've used paypal to pay for online things, I've never used it, or any of the others as a payment app.
End Quote
I’m right there with you, JGP. Some of these I hadn’t even heard of.
Emily added:
Quote
I use money transfer apps to split the check with friends. Or to pay vendors at Arts and Crafts Fairs.
End Quote
That’s how I used one of these apps, if we split the bill when I'm traveling, if I buy a fundraising item from one of my nieces, or if I’m paying a small vendor for something like at the Farmers Market. I've never actually used them to pay for something at a store.
Shauna:
I've used paypal but only online to buy things on Etsy or whatnot. The only one I've used in this sense is Venmo. And it's great for sending money back and forth with office folks when someone buys coffee or pays for lunch, etc.
As a reminder, our silly polls mean absolutely nothing and are not scientifically valid. And patrons of all levels, including our free tiers, can take part. Head over to patreon.com/bunnytrailspod to take this week’s poll!
Outro
Shauna:
Thanks for joining us. We’ll talk to you again next week. Until then remember,
Together:
Words belong to their users.
No comments:
Post a Comment