Confederacy of a Dunce - On the latch

Friday, October 24, 2008

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This morning we had a couple of workmen around to do some electrical work (also including some major rock breaking possibly more suited to a chain gang). They arrived bright and early -- early enough that they had to wait around a bit until 8am when they can make their noise. In my sleepy haze, I was not exactly prepared to untangle an unfamiliar British expression, but they threw it at me anyway:

One of them asked, "Can you put the door on the latch?"

It should have been obvious to me from the context (I blame the early hour), but I had trouble figuring out what he was talking about. After all, our front door is set up to lock from the outside. So if I left it latched, they would not be able to get in or out (the latch is disengaged with the key, not with the handle. Maybe there's a way to change this but why bother? I've only been locked out once - just after we moved in - and Mrs Dunce is too clever for that). I tried to explain that the door locks when it's closed, so putting it "on the latch" wouldn't work if they need to get in and out without my intervention. Actually my response turned out to be useful despite my confusion - the worker pulled the handle upwards, engaging the additional locks, so that the door was blocked from fully closing by the locks.

But it was definitely not "on the latch" according to my own US English interpretation ("on the latch" = "latched" in contrast to "open"). But as usual, I was wrong. Instead, "on the latch" seems to be more appropriately contrasted with "locked", as in this quote about east London from a travel guide (describing the stereotypical view of the East End)

Colourful local characters never stop arguing with each other, yet there's a sense of neighbourliness and community, where you can leave your door on the latch and everyone is a member of the pub darts league !

Or a University of Bristol warning:
Please never allow others to tail-gate you into the Units
NEVER leave unit doors on the latch
If on a Ground Floor then ensure your room windows are secured before you go out
Do not leave your room door ajar or unlocked - if found it will be shut
CONTACT HALL STAFF AT ONCE IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE FOUND AN INTRUDER.

So leaving something on the latch just means "shut but not locked". Not to be confused with "going for a slash" (see previous post) or "going on the lash" (a night out, including excessive alcohol consumption).

language

Friday, October 24, 2008 11:50:43 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)