[Erik Olson]

In the U.S. the expression is "hold the fort down." To me all you need to do is hold the fort, as in hold the line, so down is superfluous. Anyway, why must it be held down, is it in danger of floating up? I thought a battle line lost ground by having to retreat backward or gained ground by advancing forward; so what's the down for? If there was a real fort and someone asked me to hold the fort down, I would tell him not to worry, since gravity would do that for us just fine. I would say it's in no danger of floating away, but we might have to hold it by making sure it doesn't have to retreat to the back of us. Besides, if you're holding something to begin with, surely it won't squiggle out of your grip to float up? Is the fort a bird? That might make a bit more sense. Hold the bird down that it might not fly up.