# Personal Ads: "Partner in Crime" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 4, 2021, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030 "2021-08-04T13:11:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030/41 "2021-08-05T12:27:55Z")
Ha! Love it 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030/42 "2021-08-05T14:32:47Z")
Next up: “Like two peas in a pod”. Does this mean that we are confined together in a small space with no means of escape? ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030/43 "2021-08-05T14:58:05Z")
What part of “like” is difficult for you? That’s pretty clearly labeled as a metaphor, and as such it requires interpretation. My issue with “partner in crime” is mostly its vapidity. It doesn’t say anything. Most of the people accusing me of “overthinking” seem to agree that a literal crime isn’t being referenced, so my question is what’s the difference between saying you’re seeking a partner in crime and you’re seeking a partner? Cutesiness? OK, I’ll buy that–I’m not interested in you because you’re way too cutesy for me. Thanks. But what’s the sense in saying that you’re looking for a partner? Everyone placing a personal ad is looking for a partner–that’s the whole idea. So to take this in a whole different direction, and perhaps get my point across more clearly, can you come up with a personal ad that says nothing about you or what you’re looking for ? To do so, I would include “partner in crime” for sure, but also the aforementioned > [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > “I’m equally comfortable in jeans and sneakers as in a fancy dress” and also “I want someone who’s fun to be with” and “understanding of my needs”–maybe “someone who likes the same things I like” (without further specification). Perhaps a few absurdly general truisms such as “You have to have cherries to bake a cherry pie–agreed?” Or “I’d like someone I feel I can trust.” As opposed to what? Someone you’re sure will betray your deepest secrets just for laughs? I wonder what the longest ad would be that I could write that wouldn’t contain a single useful or meaningful phrase. I could probably get over 50 words without repeating myself, I think, or indulging in dadaist gibberish. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030/44 "2021-08-05T15:01:00Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > My issue with “partner in crime” is mostly its vapidity. It doesn’t say anything. Yes it does, as has been laboriously explained to you. It means that they like to go out and do fun types of activities as opposed to sitting at home and gaming or watching tv or gardening (or they could like both). ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030/45 "2021-08-05T15:04:27Z")
So it couldn’t possibly include “I want someone who’ll sit at home with me on the computer 24/7 trolling websites with ridiculous garbage that annoys people while eating Cheetos”? That couldn’t possibly qualify as a partner in crime? I think it could. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030/46 "2021-08-05T15:09:17Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > So it couldn’t possibly include “I want someone who’ll sit at home with me on the computer 24/7 trolling websites with ridiculous garbage that annoys people while eating Cheetos”? That couldn’t possibly qualify as a partner in crime? I think it could Good for you…but unless you can find someone else that agrees with your somewhat unusual interpretation of the phrase you will never find that partner. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030/47 "2021-08-05T15:10:08Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > What part of “like” is difficult for you? That’s pretty clearly labeled as a metaphor, and as such it requires interpretation. “Like two peas in a pod” is a simile, not a metaphor. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030/48 "2021-08-05T15:11:52Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > will never find that partner. Correct again. That’s precisely my point. The person trying to narrow the field down in any sort of useful way does not accomplish that goal by specifying a partner in crime, which could include anything depending on the person’s own peculiar definition of the term. Hence it could mean anything and everything, ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030/49 "2021-08-05T15:12:18Z")
A simile is a type of metaphor. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030/50 "2021-08-05T15:12:42Z")
Pretty much sums up the thread for me… [![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l1O7huPq8KA/Ujlf4a3H-PI/AAAAAAABBrw/CzDhLall-n4/s640/Don't+you+think+if+I+were+wrong+I'd+know+it.jpg) ](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l1O7huPq8KA/Ujlf4a3H-PI/AAAAAAABBrw/CzDhLall-n4/s640/Don't+you+think+if+I+were+wrong+I'd+know+it.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030/51 "2021-08-05T15:15:44Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > But then, as I think about it, it’s probably just some kinda bored woman who is thinks it’s funny. She wouldn’t be all that different from anyone else. I haven’t read beyond this post, but, yeah, that’s it. It’s about the same as someone saying they’re “fluent in sarcasm”. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030/52 "2021-08-05T15:16:56Z")
I like jokes when they’re funny. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030/53 "2021-08-05T15:17:15Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > The person trying to narrow the field down in any sort of useful way does not accomplish that goal by specifying a partner in crime, which could include anything depending on the person’s own peculiar definition of the term. Using the term _correctly_ usually ends in favorable results. Using the term _incorrectly_, as you insist on doing, will just confuse people. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030/54 "2021-08-05T15:18:08Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > A simile is a type of metaphor. [if](https://www.grammarly.com/blog/whats-the-difference-between-a-simile-and-a-metaphor/) [you](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/metaphor-similie-and-analogy-differences-and-similarities#quiz-0) [say](https://www.learnersdictionary.com/qa/Similes-and-Metaphors) [so](https://blog.prepscholar.com/simile-vs-metaphor), I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030/55 "2021-08-05T15:20:46Z")
I do say so. A simile is a type of metaphor that uses “like” or “as.” ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030/56 "2021-08-05T15:22:10Z")
You should at least click on my links. While they emphasize the difference between the two, one explicitly says “a simile is actually a subcategory of metaphor, which means all similes are metaphors, but not all metaphors are similes.” ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030/57 "2021-08-05T15:24:22Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Using the term _incorrectly_ , as you insist on doing, will just confuse people. It ain’t me who’s using it incorrectly. I don’t use it. I don’t even approve of it. It’s all the people, some of them in this thread, who are defining it willy-nilly and expecting others to understand their clear meaning, which is what I’m trying to point out. Everyone understands what it means? Yeah, sure, if it means nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030/58 "2021-08-05T15:25:37Z")
Only to you. The rest of us seem to understand the phrase. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030/59 "2021-08-05T15:26:06Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > I like jokes when they’re funny. Then _that_ joke isn’t for you. Move on. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030/60 "2021-08-05T15:26:22Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > all similes are metaphors, which is precisely what I asserted, and which you denied. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-ads-partner-in-crime/948030.md?page=4)