Idioms are great. Whenever you want to convey something, but are too lazy to form your own sentences, you just whip out an idiom and it’s all crystal clear. Easy as pie!
Nevertheless, idioms aren’t always straightforward. Some idioms make perfect sense. For example, it’s, like, so easy to take candy from a baby! I could literally do it with my eyes closed. Seriously, babies have really shitty motor skills, all you have to do is just wait until they drop it.
Yet some idioms use comparisons that seem really far-fetched, or just pure wrong. Let me complain about those for a while.
Side note: Yes, I know that most idioms have clear origins and explanations. I too have access to the Internet and know how to type. All I’m questioning is their relevance and usage in an average conversation. Also, shut up, nobody likes a smart-ass. Which is why I have so few friends…now you’ve made me depressed.
4. Happy as a clam
What?! How do you even tell if a clam is happy? Do they smile? If they do, holy crap that’s creepy! For this reference to really hit home we have to assume that clams on the whole are happier than most other living things. Who surveyed the clam population to establish this fact? More importantly – can I have their job?
3. Cool as a cucumber
That’s right, we all know cucumbers are smooth operators. I dare you to try scare a cucumber and see what happens. Nothing is what happens! It’s a freaking vegetable, it has no ability to show emotion. If “cool” refers to temperature, then how did someone come up with this specific comparison? Are cucumbers notoriously poor conductors of heat? Because I’ve never heard anyone say “This man is having a heat stroke. Quick, beat him with cucumbers!” On a side note, I think I’ve just inadvertently invented a new reality ER show that I’d be more than willing to watch.
2. Dead as a door-nail
I sort of see the logic here. Door-nails don’t move or breathe, just like dead people. You know what else doesn’t move or breathe? Literally any inanimate object you can find. Your table? Dead! Your toothbrush? Dead! Your bed? So very dead! You’re surrounded by death, yet you go on about your business, oblivious to those poor door-nails and their struggles. What kind of monster are you?!
1. Sleep like a baby
Holy shit! Really?! Have you ever seen a baby before? That analogy is on par with “healthy as a multiple gunshot victim”.
If you’re trying to talk about how great you’ve slept babies are definitely the last thing you should be bringing up. Try comparing your sleep to something more calm and reserved. Like a cucumber, or something.
There are many more dubious idioms, but these are my picks for today. How about you? Do you hate some idioms? Do you hate some idiots? Are idiots as thick as bricks?