Benchmark

Being a bit of an amateur etymologist (hence the title), I'm privately amused then folks talk about setting the benchmark very high. Because if you look at the history of benchmark, it harks back to the days when journeymen (junior craftsmen) tried to join a guild and they would bring their best wares to the guild master for a test of quality. The guild master would be sitting on his bench when the journeyman came in and he would pass his goods to the master. The master would lay it on the bench and measure it against the marks etched out on the bench to make sure the journeyman's goods were all exactly the right size. If the goods passed muster, then the journeyman would be allowed membership into the guild and would have the right to ply his trade. So benchmarks are actually horizontal, not vertical. Perhaps we should talk about setting the benchmark further across rather then higher.