Metaphors: trivia

Wilson Gray hwgray at GMAIL.COM
Wed Jul 14 02:08:53 UTC 2010


On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 9:05 AM, Jonathan Lighter
<wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> The one I've known for more than 30 years is "beat you like a redheaded
> stepchild."
>
> Maybe we've discussed that one.
>

Yes, indeed we have. Had we not already discussed that one et sim.,
these two would have escaped my notice as being of no interest. IME,
we colored use things like, "best the NP out of you, beat the black
off of you, beat you till I can't see you," etc. or merely the simple
"beat your ass."

OTOH, we might "talk about you like you had a tail," i.e. "scandalize
your name."

-Wilson
–––
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"––a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
–Mark Twain

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