From the annals of bizarre metaphors

[Jonathan Lighter]

Lesson for whippersnappers: allusive, topical cliche's don't have to come
from the era of the allusion.

JL

On Sun, Dec 6, 2009 at 3:34 PM, Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: From the annals of bizarre metaphors
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Victor Steinbok said
> > "I am not surprised that the BYU-Utah football rivalry caused BYU
> > quarterback Max Hall to *go all Three Mile Island on us* last
> > Saturday. Such a meltdown has been brewing for years. It was bound to
> > happen somewhere, sometime, to somebody."
> >
> >
> http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705348524/Why-is-Y-ignoring-spew-of-hatred.html
> >
> > VS-)
>
> The partial meltdown of the reactor core at Three Mile Island occurred
> in 1979, but a superficial search shows only relatively recent
> examples of "going three mile island". The phrase "going chernobyl"
> also appears.
>
> 1995 Dec 17 Nystagmus sci.med.vision
> The impact on one's life is far more than people imagine - reading or
> focusing on moving objects gives you a headache (and I love to read -
> Just try to cram technical manuals for a hot project at work without
> your head going Chernobyl(sp).
>
> http://groups.google.com/group/sci.med.vision/browse_thread/thread/e41c9a29d56e555f/1695ac81d3fb36d?q=%22going+chernobyl%22#01695ac81d3fb36d
>
> 2004-08-20, 05:59 PM Aaron Brachowitz
> Kerry: How dare you criticize my Vietnam service!!!
> Public: Man, this dude is going all Three Mile Island on us.
>
> http://www.actuarialoutpost.com/actuarial_discussion_forum/archive/index.php/t-35537.html
>
> 2005 Feb 03 (6:54 am) by grandmasterb
> After cooling down a bit (I have every right to be going three mile
> island here) I go inside and ask the receptionist if I can talk to the
> sales manager.
> http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ef006d2/6551
>
> 2006, Management by Baseball: The Official Rules for Winning
> Management in Any Field by Jeff Angus, HarperCollins.
> He instructed the Chicken to desist. The Chicken agreed. Then he
> immediately started up. The fans loved it, but Piniella went Three
> Mile Island and chased the Chicken with lethal intent.
>
> http://books.google.com/books?id=xUyZ7aGu72YC&q=mile+island#v=snippet&q=mile%20island&f=false
>
> 2008 Mar 12 at 9:14 pm EDT By Nocore
> This is a great set of endorsements. I love seeing the military brass
> coming out for Barack.
> Too bad it's being eclipsed by Ferraro and Hillary going Three Mile
> Island on us. Man, is that campaign ever melting down.
>
> http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/samgrahamfelsen/gGBTgn/commentary
>
> 2008 May 6, Immelman's brother masters teaching by Steve Hummer,
> Atlanta Journal Constitution.
> All the fried food went Three Mile Island on his stomach.
>
> http://www.ajc.com/ajccars/content/sports/stories/2008/05/05/mimmelman_0506.html
>
> 2009 Jan 21 Be a Good Fan, Save Your $cratch by Derek Mead
> Despite the economy going Chernobyl, a tremendous lack of fresh water
> that will probably initiate the next Civil War and the impending doom
> of the black abalone and numerous other obscure creatures, people are
> pretty stoked on life right now.
> http://www.dailynexus.com/article.php?a=18083
>
> 2009 Mar 27 Top 10 things for college hockey nerds to watch for in the
> tourney
> Words cannot express the joy I derive from seeing a previously very
> good UNH team going Chernobyl on national television.
>
> http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Top-10-things-for-college-hockey-nerds-to-watch-?urn=nhl,151027
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



--
"There You Go Again...Using Reason on the Planet of the Duck-Billed
Platypus"

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org