pipe or pike?

[gypsylady]

You never know what's coming down the pipe, or pike? Which is correct? The answers posted in May 2007 were not conclusive. Pike makes more sense to me as mostly rain water comes down a (drain)pipe whereas any kind of traffic could come down a (turn)pike. Any ideas where this phrase originated?

[Quizmonster]

I didn't see the earlier query, but I would say 'pipe' makes far more sense, certainly in British usage. Here we say, for example, "What's in the pipeline for next month?" and similar things. A pipeline is, of course, what supplies of oil, gas etc come in, so it is used figuratively to mean any source of things such as information and so on.
Perhaps 'pike' - if that's a standard abbreviation of 'turnpike' - might make sense in American usage, because that's a roadway down which traffic and supplies come.
I guess, therefore, that it depends on which side of the Atlantic you are!

[gypsylady]

Quizmonster, I like your answer. You have twigged my memory; it seems to me, years ago when I worked briefly for an oil and gas industry, they would say we don't know what's coming down the pipe. Maybe that's the origin of the expression!

[Quizmonster]

Gypsylady, the earliest recorded use of 'pipeline' to mean the method of transporting oil to a central collecting-point was in the 1870s. The earliest figurative use of the word...ie to mean a means of connection involving ideas etc dates back to the 1920s. In fact, it appeared in a
book-title, Pipelines to the Infinite, which dealt with getting in touch with your subconscious.
It is pretty clear, as you say, where the notion came from.

[Lashrito]

This may be a total guess, but I wonder if the "pipe" (as opposed to pike) variation comes from the short-lived use of pneumatic tubes for distributing mail & other communications in skyscrapers in the early 20th century.