Saturday, November 29, 2014

The Idiocies of Language...



Has it ever stuck you how a number of commonly used expressions ether fly in the face of logic, or make little sense altogether?  Take for example the chestnut that something is, "More fun than a barrel of monkeys!"  I, for one, regard the thought of a barrel of monkeys as being at least inhumane, and very possibly quite dangerous.  I guess the operating thought is that monkeys can be entertaining to watch (until they throw their feces at you), and so a number of monkeys might amplify that voyeuristic pleasure.  If confined in a small space such as a barrel, however, the bloodshed that monkeys would be likely to inflict on one another would be appalling. -- Some fun, eh?  Perhaps to the sadistic, and just imagine the merriment that would ensue should said monkeys escape their confinement.  They do tend to attack the faces, rip off fingers, and otherwise mutilate their victims; just loads of yucks there!

Then we have strange expressions like someone is as "Happy as a clam."  Now mollusks are generally not regarded to have a range of emotional expression, and I really don't regard them to be sentient.  If one defines happiness as filtering water, feeding, and excreting then clams are perhaps overflowing with joy, but forgive me if I doubt their capacity for higher emotional states. All I can say is, I'm grateful to be mammalian...

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