Pass the torch

Pass the torch

“Pass the torch”

This is an idiom. First of all, a torch: a torch is like a huge candle. Better yet, it’s like a huge butane lighter. When the Olympic flame is lit, and when athletes carry the flame to the host nation, they carry it on a torch.

So to pass the torch is like what Olympic promoters do. They carry the torch all around the host country. Promoters, former athletes: they carry the torch in stages. And when one person is done carrying it, that person passes the torch to the next person, who carries it for a while, and passes the torch to another person, and so on .

That is the basis for this expression, to pass the torch. It means to transfer responsibility, power or leadership to the next person. When we use the expression like this, as a metaphor, it often means an older generation is transferring something to a younger generation.

And “pass the torch” is a peaceful, planned, deliberate process of giving responsibility and leadership to the next person in line, or the next generation. It’s not sudden, unexpected, or turbulent.

When Joe Biden won the American presidency in 2020 , many people thought he would serve only one four-year term. He was already 78, after all, the oldest person ever to assume office. Many voters thought he would get the executive branch back to some semblance of normalcy after a chaotic Trump presidency. And then he would pass the torch to a new generation of Democrats.

Who could he pass the torch to? There are options. Kamala Harris, the vice-president, is 59. J.B. Pritzker, governor of the state of Illinois, is 59. Gretchen Witmer, the governor of Michigan, is 52. Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, 56.

So many people thought, assumed, that one of these younger Democrats, one of the four I mentioned or someone else, people thought one of them would win a primary election, and there would be a peaceful, deliberate, controlled transfer of responsibility, transfer of leadership, from Biden to one of them. They thought Biden would pass the torch after one term. And then the Democratic Party would have someone younger than 80 leading it.

That was what some people thought. But Biden himself had other thoughts. At no point during his term in office did Biden show any sign of wanting to pass the torch to anyone else. He didn’t want that to be his legacy: beating Trump and then passing the torch. So he filed the paperwork for re-election in 2023, and now the 2024 race is a rematch of the 2020 race .

Remember I said: peaceful, controlled, planned transfer of responsibility. Here’s one time you would never say “pass the torch”: when one political party takes control from another. It’s not planned, controlled, peaceful, deliberate. It’s a shock to the losing party. There are hard feelings. Maybe it’s not exactly cooperative. Et cetera. So that is not a time to use the expression “pass the torch.”

So that’s politics. Here’s one from business. Steve Jobs was the CEO of Apple. He drove innovations like the iPod and the iPhone—even the original Macintosh computer. He died young, at age 56. He worked at Apple until just a few months before his death.

But he knew the end was coming and he passed the torch to Tim Cook, who has been the CEO ever since. There was no fierce competition. This was planned well in advance. It was also executed very well. Tim Cook took over; he learned from Steve Jobs; Steve Jobs gave control of the company to the next leader in line. He passed the torch.

This happens in sports. In American football, the quarterback is the most important player on the team—he’s the leader of the offense; usually, the leader of the whole team. And because of the way the sport works, quarterbacks don’t change teams a lot. They sometimes do. But often a good quarterback will be with the same team for a long time.

So when a team has a really good quarterback, and when that quarterback is getting older, the team will draft a young, promising quarterback to take his place. But that young player won’t really play in the games in his first year—he’ll be a backup. He’ll just practice. Maybe he’ll play a few snaps at the end of a blowout win or loss.

But the idea is that the older, veteran, really good quarterback will pass the torch to the younger one. This isn’t like, the old one leaves and the new one shows up.

There is a transition. Brett Favre is one of the famous ones, with the Green Bay Packers. He had a legendary career. He passed the torch to Aaron Rodgers—he had a legendary career. And he passed the torch to the current quarterback, Jordan Love, who’s off to a good start. Each time, there was an overlap of a couple of years. They took advantage of those years; they learned how to pass the torch.

See you next time!

And that is all for us here at Plain English. Hey, if you liked learning this expression, and if you want to explore the other great expressions we’ve talked about in Plain English history, then there’s a new place you can do that.

And that place is PlainEnglish.com/expressions . I’ll link to it in the transcript. If you’re a member—free or otherwise—you can find this page by going to the “Learn” menu at the top of PlainEnglish.com and then choose “Expressions.”

And on that page, you’ll see a list from A to Z, of all the expressions we’ve talked about in previous lessons. They’re in alphabetical order, one right after another, all on a single page.

PlainEnglish.com/expressions. And remember, the best way to get there is to be a member, and you’ll always have that link. There’s a free membership, too, so there’s no excuse not to sign up.

Coming up on Thursday: something very special, something I know you use, has just turned 20 years old. I know you use it. But you have to come back on Thursday to learn what it is. See you then.