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'outside your comfort-zone' I hate this because it suggests to me that if I don't try it I'm some sort of coward or stick-in-the-mud. Also, I hate 'pro-active' but I think it was because years ago someone who was really annoying used it and I kind of felt that to be pro-active you had to be able to deal with something before it had happened.

I think you'll find most of us played rounders at school ;)


To be fair we all use hundreds of phrases where the origins are lost, obscure or misunderstood. I don't think you need to be an active participant in something to be able to analogise or use its terminology.


Although I rather liked the exchange in Episodes this week where Matt le blanc says:

- come on take it, it's a chick magnet


and MAngan's character looks slighlty nonplussed and says

-really, does anyone still use 'chick magnet'

(MLB pauses a moment)

-huh? Yeah ... I think they do. We still use it here anyway.


Made me chuckle anyway.

Ms B Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> The whole nine yards, major league, out of the

> ballpark, touch base etc, especially when used by

> UK managers who don't even play the game in

> question. Just silly.



You forgot 'getting to first base' 'rain check' 'hardball' 'right off the bat' 'out of left field' 'touch base' 'step up to the plate' 'strike out' and 'a whole new ball game'.



(incidentally the whole 9 yards has a confused origin - not sporting - as do the alternatives 'whole ball of wax' and 'whole enchilada' or 'the whole shebang' - all indeed as uncertain in their origins as the English equivalent of 'the full monty').


Perhaps we should stick to cricket terms - 'all rounder', 'on the front foot', 'bowled a googly' 'hit for six' etc.

To be honest, I'm not keen on any sporting terms used metaphorically. Unless you're familiar with that particular sport they're not very successful as metaphors, plus as sport is very gendered (in cultural terms) they tend to alienate women in the audience too. So there.


Bound to offend someone, but if you can't say it in plain English you probably don't have anything to say in the first place...

Huguenot Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Plain english is very overrated.

>

> Whither then the nuance, the elegance, the bloom

> of a creative metaphor?


Creative use of metaphors is great - arguably all language is metaphor anyway, so perhaps it's a false opposition - but we're talking buzzwords here.

Ms B Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Huguenot Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Plain english is very overrated.

> >

> > Whither then the nuance, the elegance, the

> bloom

> > of a creative metaphor?

>

> Creative use of metaphors is great - arguably all

> language is metaphor anyway, so perhaps it's a

> false opposition - but we're talking buzzwords

> here.



Exactly



Get with the programme



Netts:-S

Annette Curtain Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Ms B Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Huguenot Wrote:

> >

> --------------------------------------------------

>

> > -----

> > > Plain english is very overrated.

> > >

> > > Whither then the nuance, the elegance, the

> > bloom

> > > of a creative metaphor?

> >

> > Creative use of metaphors is great - arguably

> all

> > language is metaphor anyway, so perhaps it's a

> > false opposition - but we're talking buzzwords

> > here.

>

>

> Exactly

>

>

> Get with the programme

>

>

> Netts:-S


Can't. It's being up-cycled, reused and repurposed.

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