more novel metaphors that people don't even notice they invent

[Eric Nielsen]

Hmm, non biodegradable. Where did the stink come from?

On Sun, Feb 21, 2010 at 11:05 PM, Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com>wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      more novel metaphors that people don't even notice they
> invent
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>
>  From Gen. Petraeus appearing on Meet the Press today:
>
> > Abu Ghraib and other situations like that are non biodegradable. They
> > don't go away. The enemy continues to beat you with them like a stick.
>
> I wonder if this use of "non biodegradable" is biodegradable. Good thing
> he explained what he meant--
>
>     VS-)
>
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