Verbal Expressions That You Don't Get

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The first time I heard that, I thought, "The only glass houses are greenhouses...but people don't live in greenhouses, those are for plants!" I understand what it means, and it is about hypocrisy, but it still makes no darn sense!

I think there are different degree's of "bonding" with some being more superficial than others. "bonding" doesn't necessarily mean there is anything deep or personal going on. Sometimes it's just a game.

Last edited by marshall on 10 Sep 2010, 2:32 am, edited 1 time in total.

Idioms are really just meme's that cropped up arbitrarily at some point in history and eventually managed to gain almost universal status. Often the original phrase gets corrupted long after people have forgotten the original logic of the metaphor. That's basically why a lot of idioms don't make sense logically.

If aspies ruled the world all idioms would be replaced every 20 years, just to keep them modern and logically self-evident. But that would be too easy and boring. Illogical NT's have to make the language interesting by keeping lots of archaic, illogical, semi-random gobbledygook in it.

"The exception that proves the rule". Nothing about that sentence makes sense to me. How does an exception prove a rule?

I think it's just a jumble of words that idiots use to try and "win" the "argument" when someone points out an error in whatever ill thought out crap they were spouting.

I've found that the best response when someone says it to me is to ask them exactly how an exception can prove a rule. To date, I have never received a coherent answer.

Last edited by Grey_Area on 11 Sep 2010, 5:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

The phrase "archaic, illogical, semi-random gobbledygook" makes me smile.

Usually it is just a fallacious mode of argumentation, yeah. Essentially saying "Well, my idea is wrong, so therefore it's actually right."

The original meaning of the phrase is different - I looked it up. Originally it meant that the fact that an exception exists implies the existence of some general rule.


Perhaps you prefer the other variants of this phrase, like "Not the sharpest knife in the drawer?"
Or "...the brightest crayon in the box?"

For your amusement, here's a whole list of them: http://dan.hersam.com/lists/not_bright.html

Me too. I had fun typing it.

LOL

They forgot...

"not the shiniest marble in the box"
"not the smartest cookie in the coockie jar"

"there's more going in an empty pickle jar"
"there's more going on in a sterilized petri dish"

If someone says they are "stretching the truth" they are admitting they aren't telling the truth, instead are telling something bigger/better than the real thing. Common example is the fisherman who caught a minnow, and holds his arms out real wide while explaining the struggle neccessary to pull in the fish, and how it almost got away.



#20 seems like how much of an insult would vary based on the loal standard for a temperature scale. Too bad nowhere does the general population use Kelvin as the standard temp scale, as it would completely throw off that insult.

Comparing apples to oranges makes perfect sense. It is saying you shouldn't use a false analogy. Apples and oranges are both fruits but they are not the same. Many people will equate two things based on a single attribute (in this case fruit-ness) and then extend that to state that they are equal in all things. It is their near similarity that makes the phrase work.

Pay it forward is from a movie. Don't know if the movie cam first or not.

Circle the wagons is an historical reference to a wagon train under attack. If there was no place to shelter the pioneers wold pull the wagons into a circle to form a defensive perimeter.

I hate this. and that is usually the answer I give them

I cant stand when people ask me how others are. How in the heck am I supposed to know how they are.

as if I walk around asking people to jot down some feelings so I have answers next time someone asks me how another individual is.

I remember a kid in high school would always answer this with "point above center", people stopped asking him after a while because they only looked stupid every time he responded to their pointless question

when i was young i used to say "a preposition" but i've given in and don't take it literally anymore.

When people ask me what's up I have this stock response. I look up at the ceiling and feign ducking to avoid a falling object.

When people asking me "How are you doing?" the best answer I've come up with is a slightly cryptic look and a neutrally intoned "adequate". It is also very disarming and usually gets a smile. I think it catches people by surprise because it is actually a very honest reply (I have a trouble with the little lies in normal social discourse), but doesn't cross the line into revealing too much personal information. Try it. Next time someone asks you some variant of "How are you?" toss out a non-committal "adequate". Try it on your therapist if you are in counseling. It's great fun to watch them puzzle out just WTF you mean, especially when "adequate" is exactly what you mean.