A Close Shave Was Once a Real One
To shave is to remove hair with a blade. The idiom for a narrow escape comes from the barber's blade passing close to the skin.
To shave is to remove hair by cutting it close to the skin with a blade. *A close shave*, meaning a narrow escape, takes the image literally: an open razor passing within a hair's breadth of the throat was a genuine risk, and barbers who also performed surgery made the association sharper still. The red and white barber's pole recalls blood and bandages. To *shave* also means to reduce slightly, as in shaving a few seconds off a record.
- To remove hair. *Shave every morning.*
- A close shave — a narrow escape. *A close shave.*
- To reduce slightly. *Shave costs.*
- Clean-shaven — without a beard. *Clean-shaven.*
- Old English — *sceafan*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | shave | Shave it. |
| Past | shaved | Shaved. |
| Participle | shaven | Clean-shaven. |
| Noun | shave | A close shave. |
| Agent | shaver | An electric shaver. |
- He shaved before the interview.Grooming.
- That was a close shave.Idiom.
- They shaved a second off the record.Reduction.
Why barbers had poles
- Barber-surgeons performed bloodletting as well as haircuts
- The red stripe represents blood
- The white stripe represents the bandage
- The pole itself was gripped by the patient to raise the veins
- The trades separated in Britain by act of Parliament in 1745
Old English *sceafan*, to scrape or shave, of Germanic origin, related to *shape* only distantly.
Where does a close shave come from?
From the literal risk of an open razor passing very near the skin, especially when barbers also performed surgery.
Why are barber poles red and white?
The red represents blood and the white the bandage, from the days when barbers also carried out bloodletting.