# firmly plant this. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 5, 2004, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firmly-plant-this/267679 "2004-10-05T17:25:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firmly-plant-this/267679/21 "2004-10-07T14:19:05Z")
> [@cuauhtemoc](#): > > I was listening to a piece on the radio about, if I remember correctly, the Patriot Act provision that allows law enforcement officials to monitor who’s checking what books out of the library. A librarian who was unhappy about the policy provided a quote for the story. She said if we allowed this to stand, we would “have our feet firmly planted on a slippery slope.” Neither the context nor her tone of voice suggested that her tongue was planted in her cheek, let alone firmly. That’s weird. She’s clearly means, “that will put us on a slippery slope.” Does “firmly planted” mean that we’re REALLY on a slippery slope. Or does it mean that we’re RESISTING the slippery slope. Or does it just mean that her brain is firmly disconnected from her tongue. ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firmly-plant-this/267679/22 "2004-10-07T16:07:50Z")
She was clearly against allowing the government to keep tabs on the book-borrowing habits of random people without cause, and _especially_ the part where she, as a librarian, would be compelled by law to cooperate with this. The implication was that we’d be stuck sliding down the slippery slope to Big Brother Government. Now maybe she was being playful, like people who say “deja vu all over again”, but that’s being pretty generous. At any rate, it’s a rare thing when a mixed metaphor jumps out and punches you in the face like that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firmly-plant-this/267679.md?page=1)