• quarkquasar@lemmy.world
    66·
    15 days ago

    Oh man, you’ve solved a problem I’ve had since childhood, trying to figure out what Stephen King meant when he was writing about “idiot lights”.

    I always figure he meant the dome light or something.

    • BCsven@lemmy.ca
      15·
      14 days ago

      😀 yeah it made sense to me because I grew up in the changeover.

      But here’s the Wiki entry.

      The “idiot light” terminology arises from popular frustration with automakers’ use of lights for crucial functions which could previously be monitored by gauges, so a troublesome condition could be detected and corrected early. Such early detection of problems with, for example, engine temperature or oil pressure or charging system operation is not possible via an idiot light, which lights only when a fault has already occurred – thus providing no advance warnings or details of the malfunction’s extent.

      • quarkquasar@lemmy.world
        6·
        14 days ago

        It makes sense, and I think he also (or maybe only) used the term “dope light” which I figured had something to do with drugs.

        Linguistics are so interesting.