Ever noticed how odd some metaphors appear when the speaker/writer mangles them? Ever been tempted to make them even weirder?
For example, in the job I ought to be proofreading RIGHT NOW instead of goofing off on this board I just came across: “missed it by a hair’s breath”. It should be “hair’s breadth”, of course – but what immediately sprang to mind was “hare’s breath”.
A lot of people think that “a tough row to hoe” is actually “a tough road to hoe.” Well, yeh… but who would be hoeing a road to begin with?
Okay, Dopers – what mangled metaphors have caught your fancy? And can you maim them even further beyond recognition?
Then again, how many people use hoes (as in farm implements) today? Agricultural illiteracy has led to several references to “bailing hay”, to say nothing of “having a hayday”. I’ve also seen “As ye sew, so shall ye reap.”