Would an elderly American put out the light?

Or would he/she turn it off? Or something else?

(btw, after going over various synonyms of the above, I'm musing that a person pressed to put out might be both put out and turned off).

It depends: Is the elderly American Joe Cocker? (Yes, I know...he's actually English, though a long-time US resident.)

More seriously, I'd say either is fine, though "turn off" would be higher frequency.

Thank you.
Joe Cocker? Reflex reaction: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xJWxPE8G2c]

Well actually, elderly Americans of all ages, especially the expat community here in France, never turn off lights.

Edited by: textibule
Oh, maybe at bedtime.

Wouldn't like to see their electricity Guillaume.

This elderly American agrees with zashibis.

Does it make a difference whether the elderly American talks about a candle or electric light?

Ordinarily I would say "blow out" a candle. I don't know what I would say if I were using one of those hoods with handles that are used to extinguish candles. Probably "put out". Not "turn off".

That's what I thought: "put out" for candles but "turn off" when operating the light switch.

That hooded thing, I just discovered is variously called a douter+ or +snuffer. I hadn't heard "douter" before. I do know that snuffing a candle did not originally mean to put it out, but rather to use a wierd-looking kind of scissors (called candle snuffers) to cut off the charred wick. Keeping the wick trimmed prevented soot and kept the candle burning longer. "Snuff" originally meant that charred portion of the wick. Origin unknown.

If I used the hood thing, I'd probably say I "snuffed the candle." For electric things with switches, I'd "turn it off." However, as I sit here chanting phrases, I see that I'd use "put out" for emphasis.
For Pete's sake, put out the light & go to bed!

Quick! Put out the light so they don't see us!

To further illuminate the subject--

I'd forgotten about "douse the light." I've certainly heard that one used. Is it well-known?

It appears to have come from nautical slang "douse the glim." I'd run into that phrase before, but just now looked up the origin. "Douse" was sailor slang "To strike or lower in haste; to slacken suddenly; as, douse the topsail." By extension it meant to extinguish. "Glim" was a lantern or candle.

I like this from an 1828 schoolbook.
> On emerging from the bush every man was ordered to douse his glim on pain of being run through, Here the phrase "douse his glim" implies extinguish his torch, a figure familiar to sailors, but obscure to the generality of readers

"Douse his glim" could also mean give him a black eye or even [ut his eye out.

I would douse a fire but not douse a candle - I would never douse the (electric) light. I think douse includes a liquid to put out the flame/fire, not something I would do with candles and certainly not recommended with electricity either.

(Carry on, this is so enlightening. No, seriously though.)

In Texas we would often turn out the lights.

"Dout", mentioned by nutrax above, is from "do out". Comparable to "don" and "doff".

It's an anglicism.

Remember the line from Elvis Costello's song ALISON, "I think someone had better put out the big light..."?

I climbed up the door, and opened the stairs;
I said my pajamas and put on my pray'rs,
I turned off the bed and crawled into the light
And all because you kissed me (kiss) goodnight.

excerpt from 1940s pop song

Edited by: psw

What are you saying is an anglicism, plan b? "Put out the light" is perfectly good American.

If it were a candle, Shakespeare would put it out or quench it.
Othello, at Desdemona's candle-lit bedside:

Put out the light, and then put out the light:
If I quench thee, thou flaming minister,
I can again thy former light restore,
Should I repent me:--but once put out thy light,
Thou cunning'st pattern of excelling nature,
I know not where is that Promethean heat
That can thy light relume.

Tony Martin and Fran Warren singing psw's song. I love Fran Warren, but that song was a big step on the downhill slope of post-war popular music, which reached rock bottom with "How Much Is That Doggy in the Window," 1953.

Fran Warren singing A Sunday Kind of Love with Claude Thornhill and his orchestra, so that "I Said My Pajamas" won't be all you know of her.

When we rented tuxedos for my high school prom, one of the colors you get your cummerbund in was "Tony Martin Blue".

vinny - maybe it is both, then, answering the question posed by op 1ce and for all.

Why not "switch off"?

Because they're not talking only about electricity. The context is a lights-out during WWII, not sure what the electricity situation was in Bucharest at the time - yes, Bucharest; the intended readers are American, the writer is elderly and Romanian :-) Anyway, I suppose some of the electricity network was probably damaged in the air raids etc.

From old Monday Night Football days:

Don Meredith and Turn out the lights, the partys over

Because they're not talking only about electricity. The context is a lights-out during WWII,

OP, now that you've actually given the context, I'd lean toward "put out." Although some non-electric sources of illumination could be "turned out"-- such as some old-time spirit or oil lamps-- "turning out" strongly implies operating a mechanism, which might not be appropriate in a war-shattered city.