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Idiomatic Expressions
Jan. 21st, 2006 04:15 pmLet's talk about idiomatic expressions.
The glass is half-empty. I’ve always hated this analogy. What kind of person, however pessimistic, says, "My glass is half-empty—and then there’s some milk, in there, too"? That’s just dumb; nobody really says that. That's retarded.
Head over heels. My head is above my heels right now, as I sit at my computer, yet I am not "head over heels" in the sense of the expression. It implies tumbling, but "heels over head" does, too, and cannot be mistaking for simpling standing up or sitting down. Even if you add "falling" to the beginning, Patricia-- you can fall, say, from a great height, and never flip over. You just drop straight down, and your heels remain below your head the entire time.
Have your cake and eat it, too. Don’t you have to have the cake to eat it? Can you eat a cake if you don’t have it? Wouldn’t it be better phrased, "Save your cake for tomorrow, and eat it today, too"? That would make sense, and still fit the bill. The word "to have" is misleading.
I'm sure there's more; those just get to me right now . . .
The glass is half-empty. I’ve always hated this analogy. What kind of person, however pessimistic, says, "My glass is half-empty—and then there’s some milk, in there, too"? That’s just dumb; nobody really says that. That's retarded.
Head over heels. My head is above my heels right now, as I sit at my computer, yet I am not "head over heels" in the sense of the expression. It implies tumbling, but "heels over head" does, too, and cannot be mistaking for simpling standing up or sitting down. Even if you add "falling" to the beginning, Patricia-- you can fall, say, from a great height, and never flip over. You just drop straight down, and your heels remain below your head the entire time.
Have your cake and eat it, too. Don’t you have to have the cake to eat it? Can you eat a cake if you don’t have it? Wouldn’t it be better phrased, "Save your cake for tomorrow, and eat it today, too"? That would make sense, and still fit the bill. The word "to have" is misleading.
I'm sure there's more; those just get to me right now . . .
