Daylight saving time, fall back & spring forward: What we know about origin of the phrase

Jennifer Sangalang, Treasure Coast Newspapers

Spring forward, fall back. Gain an hour, lose an hour.

Daylight saving time. Daylight savings.

No matter how you refer to it, daylight saving time is coming to an end for 2023.

The longtime practice, which has caused confusion since it was first introduced in the 19th Century, has familiar phrases to help people who live in countries that observe daylight saving time remember which way to set the clock. Here are things to know about daylight saving time, the origin of “spring forward, fall back” and when and why we change the clocks twice a year — like clockwork.

Countdown clock to the end of daylight saving time 2023

When is daylight saving time 2023?

Despite efforts to permanently end the age-old practice, daylight saving time 2023 officially ends in November — and Florida will still fall back.

At 2 a.m. ET on the first Sunday after Halloween, Nov. 5, 2023, we'll set our wall clocks back by one hour. For those wondering, when we "fall back," we gain an hour. Daylight saving time for 2024 will be at 2 a.m. EST Sunday, March 10, when we "spring forward" or lose an hour.

Candy makers' tale, sort of. Why do we fall back in Florida on the Sunday after Halloween?

What does 'spring forward, fall back' mean?

According to dictionary.com, daylight saving, commonly referred to as daylight savings, "is begun in the spring by setting clocks one hour ahead. They are then set one hour back in the fall. ... People often use the simple mnemonic spring forward, fall back to remember to set clocks forward one hour (e.g., from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m.) in the spring and backward one hour (e.g., from 2 a.m. to 1 a.m.) in the fall."

What's the origin of 'spring forward, fall back' phrase? When was daylight saving time mnemonic first used?

Historic records suggest the daylight saving time phrase "spring forward, fall back" was first used in a newspaper article. The Heppner Gazette-Times in Heppner, Oregon, reportedly printed a notice Oct. 28, 1928, that said: “Daylight Saving Time ends this Sunday, Oct. 31. Remember to set your clocks back one hour, ‘Spring Forward – Fall Back!’”

Daylight saving time was once known as 'war time'

A March 2019 Department of Defense article mentioned daylight saving time was once known as "war time."

When the Standard Time Act was signed into law March 19, 1918, daylight saving time became official. More daylight hours during the day would potentially help save energy costs during World War I. The law also established the time zones we know today.

The article states daylight saving time "was only in effect for about a year and a half, though, before it was repealed due to the war’s end, despite President Woodrow Wilson vetoing the repeal."

Then, during World War II in February 1942, "Congress implemented a law instating a national daylight saving time to help conserve fuel and 'promote national security and defense,' which is why it was nicknamed 'war time.' The time zones were even known as that: Eastern War Time, Pacific War Time, etc.," according to the Department of Defense.

What words or phrases are synonymous with daylight saving time?

  • DST

  • daylight savings

  • daylight savings time

  • "spring forward, fall back"

  • spring forward, springing forward

  • "gain an hour, lose an hour"

  • "spring ahead"

  • "spring up"

  • "march forward"

  • "push the clocks forward"

  • "turn the clocks ahead"

  • "shift the clocks forward"

Devices are ready. Are you? Why iPhone, Android, Fitbit, Alexa automatically update for daylight savings

Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Daylight savings falling back, springing forward? Will it end in 2023?

Advertisement