What's Sauce For The Goose...
...May cause us to take a gander at something. Since 1914. From the adult male goose, the dictionary noting “the outstretched neck of a person craning to look at something.” As in, “Take a gander.” We can give someone a goose, but we can only take a gander. Give a penny, take a penny; give a goose, take a gander.
“Beats me.” Beats? What exactly is beating me? And does it hurt? When we don’t understand something, will that lack of understanding start hitting us? Or is it sort of like, “’Beats me,’ said the masochist, as he whipped up something to eat.”
“Stop pulling my leg.” Ok, I’ll stop – but only if you’ll tell me what that has to do with fooling you. In these days of super-awareness over harassment issues, we don’t dare touch any part of you when joking around, much less pulling your leg. In French, we might “put you in a box”; much safer that way. Doesn’t make any more sense, but safer.
“Fly off the handle.” Huh. I’ve seen people fly off an aircraft carrier, fly off the end of a runway; but never fly off a handle, no matter how large and long it is. Supposedly, it has to do with how a loose axe head flies off from its handle, translated into someone who is really, really angry.
“Piece of cake.” For me, doing radio sure is a piece of cake; however, actually baking a cake is not a piece of cake. Why not a piece of pie? A piece of bread? Somehow, cake won out and something difficult for me is a piece of cake for you.
“Beats me.” Beats? What exactly is beating me? And does it hurt? When we don’t understand something, will that lack of understanding start hitting us? Or is it sort of like, “’Beats me,’ said the masochist, as he whipped up something to eat.”
“Stop pulling my leg.” Ok, I’ll stop – but only if you’ll tell me what that has to do with fooling you. In these days of super-awareness over harassment issues, we don’t dare touch any part of you when joking around, much less pulling your leg. In French, we might “put you in a box”; much safer that way. Doesn’t make any more sense, but safer.
“Fly off the handle.” Huh. I’ve seen people fly off an aircraft carrier, fly off the end of a runway; but never fly off a handle, no matter how large and long it is. Supposedly, it has to do with how a loose axe head flies off from its handle, translated into someone who is really, really angry.
“Piece of cake.” For me, doing radio sure is a piece of cake; however, actually baking a cake is not a piece of cake. Why not a piece of pie? A piece of bread? Somehow, cake won out and something difficult for me is a piece of cake for you.
posted by Tom Carten at 3:19 PM
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