Why do you say
take a nose dive
make a U-turn
not "make a nose dive" or "take a U-turn"?
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1 Answer
You "take" something that is already there.
When something does not exist, you make it.
So, if by "a turning" you are referring to a junction in the road, then you "take" that turn.
But a 'u-turn' is not something that is already there - it is a manouvre that you make.
answered Feb 26, 2022 at 18:04
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That's a decent enough answer, but it doesn't really explain "take a nose dive" - the nose dive is not something that is already there.– stangdonCommented Feb 26, 2022 at 18:09
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Orthography varies, but we almost always just use nose[-]dive as a verb anyway, so we don't usually have to choose between making and taking with that one. Commented Feb 26, 2022 at 18:29
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Regarding bodily motion, people can take a fall, including a pratfall, and I understand taking a dive is what boxers do when they have accepted a bribe to lose a fight. Commented Feb 26, 2022 at 20:22
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This tries to explain something that doesn't need explanation. It is just an idiom. There's no point trying to justify it. The explanation doesn't explain "take a nose-dive", so doesn't answer the question.– James KCommented Feb 27, 2022 at 14:27
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@stangdon That is an interesting one. Of course, a pilot would make a nose-dive. The context in which one might say "taken a nosedive" is if we were describing the direction something has taken, such as statistics. For example, "the share value took a nose dive" just means that the value went in a downwards direction. Its not the same as the OP's context Commented Feb 27, 2022 at 14:32