# Metaphorical phrases that just irk you. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 13, 2010, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932 "2010-04-13T07:36:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932/21 "2010-04-13T17:58:43Z")
“Every cloud has a silver lining” — what does that even mean? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932/22 "2010-04-13T18:09:52Z")
Whenever someone meets a stranger from the Internet (or wherever), there is only one concern that they have. Do they worry that the person might be a knife murderer? A gun murderer? A pointy stick murderer? Apparently not. Who’d be crazy enough to carry around a knife, gun, or pointy stick? That’s just crazy talk. Likewise, people take good care of themselves because there is no chance that tomorrow they could be hit by a car, SUV, or truck. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932/23 "2010-04-13T18:11:23Z")
> [@](#): > > “Every cloud has a silver lining” — what does that even mean? Okay, this one I understand. it means that there is some good thing, even if small, associated with every bad thing that happens. What it literally means is that for every cloud – meaning a dark cloud, a rain cloud – when the sun gets behind it and there aren’t any other clouds around, you often have a “glow” on the edges of the cloud where sunlight passes through the thin outer layer, lighting it up. of course, you rarely see single rain clouds with clear sky around them to see this effect. Rain clouds tend to come in bunches and often completely cover the sky, so the image isn’t usually true – every cloud does _not_ have a silver lining. But even if it were, I like to say that Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud. Still not as stupid as “have your cake and eat it too”, despite the efforts of those trying to save that phrase. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932/24 "2010-04-13T18:49:38Z")
> [@overlyverbose](#): > > Another thing I hate (and I’m not sure this truly applies) is when people describe music or theater as organic. Was it grown without pesticides? Really? And I hate the inaccurate use of “organic” to (apparently) mean “grown without pesticides.” _Everything_ that we grow is organic. I’d like to hear an example of music that it said to be “organic,” but I can easily imagine music being described as such, as long as one considers _every_ definition of organic and not just limit oneself to the the hip, modern, singular definition as used for agricultural products. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932/25 "2010-04-13T19:03:05Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > It irks me to hear words like “delicious” used metaphorically, in non-food contexts. Personal and irrational, I know. [Yummy](http://www.celebritydietdoctor.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/elisha-cuthbert-diet-and-exercise.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932/26 "2010-04-13T19:11:27Z")
**Now then** … WTF? Is it _now_ or _then_? What does that mean?! (I’ve never used/heard the OP’s expression, but I’ve had plenty of eargasms.) ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932/27 "2010-04-13T19:24:59Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Still not as stupid as “have your cake and eat it too”, despite the efforts of those trying to save that phrase. Having cake and eating cake are different words describing the same action–ie, consuming cake. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932/28 "2010-04-13T19:30:27Z")
Well, this thread is neither here nor there. So we don’t need to go there. It’s all just a horse of a different color that you can lead to water but not make drink, unless it is dead, then you can continue to beat it. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932/29 "2010-04-13T19:32:43Z")
When did you stop beating your dead horse of a different color? ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932/30 "2010-04-13T19:56:59Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > “It is what it is”. > > No shit, Sherlock. What the hell else would it be? If this is all you can think to say about the situation, don’t say anything. Otherwise, you’ll just confirm that you’re as stupid and uncreative as I suspect you are. That’s what I came here to say. I don’t have a problem with “that’s all it is” or “there’s nothing more to it” or the like. But “it is what it is?” Yeah, I get that. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932/31 "2010-04-13T20:16:44Z")
20/20 hindsight. I’m sorry, there is NO SUCH FUCKING THING. Learning from your mistakes is a good thing. Learning from the mistakes of others is even better. But that does not make you an omniscient observer of the past. Yes, as a matter of fact I **AM** a frustrated history major. What’s it to you? ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932/32 "2010-04-13T20:38:35Z")
“I could care less” Gawd, I hate that saying. ---
**Author:** ![HenryGale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b782af/32.png) [@HenryGale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HenryGale)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932/33 "2010-04-13T20:47:36Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Having cake and eating cake are different words describing the same action–ie, consuming cake. I don’t think this is helping. Are you suggesting you can’t eat your cake and eat it too? The problem with this phrase is that we have it exactly backwards. it used to be “eat your cake and have it too,” which makes a lot more sense. “Have” as in possessing the cake. You can eat your cake or you can keep the cake, but you can’t eat your cake and keep it too. Which doesn’t address why it’s cake in the first place, or why we don’t just say “You can’t have it both ways,” which is what this one is trying to say. But I do like cake… ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932/34 "2010-04-13T20:54:21Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Having cake and eating cake are different words describing the same action–ie, consuming cake. Well, then, that renders the expression “Have your cake and eat it too,” even more nonsensical. ETA: What HenryGale said. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932/35 "2010-04-14T02:05:40Z")
> [@Kizarvexius](#): > > 20/20 hindsight. > > I’m sorry, there is NO SUCH FUCKING THING. > > Learning from your mistakes is a good thing. Learning from the mistakes of others is even better. But that does not make you an omniscient observer of the past. > > Yes, as a matter of fact I **AM** a frustrated history major. What’s it to you? That’s not what the expression means. With contacts, I have 20/20 vision. Does that piss you off because I’m not an omniscient observer of the present whenever I put contacts in? 20/20 vision literally means that at 20 feet from an object you can see it with the clarity that an average person with normal clear vision could see it at the same 20 feet. Figuratively it means clear, precise, normal vision. When people say hindsight is 20/20 they mean that when looking back on a past decision we can see with clarity something that wasn’t clear at the time. There’s absolutely no implication of omniscience whatsoever. The implication is only that it’s possible to understand something with more clarity than you could initially once you have the benefit of it having already happened. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932/36 "2010-04-14T02:21:27Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Having cake and eating cake are different words describing the same action–ie, consuming cake. Just to add to the chorus here: Exactly, that’s what makes the phrase nonsensical. Whenever you eat your cake, you are having it. When you ask a guest “Would you like to have some cake?” you are not asking if they want to be the proud owner of some delicious patisserie, you’re asking if they would like to eat the damned thing. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932/37 "2010-04-14T02:26:53Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > to ‘‘egg [someone] on’’ as, in, encourage bad behavior > > I don’t know what eggs have to do with anything, and I don’t like to think about food in non-food contexts. > > Does that even count as a metaphor? I don’t know, because I don’t understand. Wiktionary says it has nothing to do with eggs: > [@](#): > > Etymology > > A variant of the archaic “edge on.” > Verb > Infinitive > to egg on > > to egg on (third-person singular simple present egg on, present participle eggs on, simple past egging on, past participle egged on) > > 1. (transitive, idiomatic) To encourage or coax a person to do something, especially something foolhardy or reckless. > \* 1908, Robert Louis Stevenson, In the South Seas, ch. 25, ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932/38 "2010-04-14T02:29:37Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > And I hate the inaccurate use of “organic” to (apparently) mean “grown without pesticides.” _Everything_ that we grow is organic. Fair enough. For what it’s worth, I’ve never heard music described as organic until “organic” foods became more mainstream. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932/39 "2010-04-14T02:44:32Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > I’m not sure how a dead cat became the standard object that one should be able to swing without hitting something… I think “Not enough room to swing a cat” refers to the 'Cat ‘o nine tails’, a whip formerly used in the Royal Navy. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932/40 "2010-04-14T02:54:26Z")
Wait, a lot of these aren’t actually metaphors, are they? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metaphorical-phrases-that-just-irk-you/535932.md?page=3)