So I broke my poor pinky toe last Saturday and I got to thinking that “stuck out like a sore toe” would be just as good as “stuck out like a sore thumb”.
Which reminded me of mr.stretch’s alternative to that common phrase: Stuck out like a sore dick.
Another alternative to a common phrase that I’ve picked up over the years is “serious as dick cancer” in place of “serious as a heart attack”.
mr.stretch tells me that both of these phrases are pretty damn evocative for menfolk.
I think these alternatives are as descriptive as the originals, and they get the same point across.
On a slightly different note, mr.stretch also has alternatives to common phrases that I think are just wrong and don’t make any sense. For example, when being asked a bunch of questions: Why are you drilling me? I’m not drilling you; I’m grilling you.
Also, I’ve always heard and used “dead as a doornail”; he says “dead as a doorknob”. I googled mine and at least it makes (some) sense. Where he got his I have no idea, though apparently other people say it as well.
What alternate phrases/idioms do you use or have you heard?
A friend of mine once tried to come up with alternatives to “get two birds with one stone.” He tried to think of what you would use to “get” two of other kinds of animals. The best one he came up with was “get two monkeys with one sucker punch.”
I’ve often heard “Does a bear shit in the woods?” or “Is the Pope Catholic.” The other day, my mother surprised me by saying instead, “Does a cat have an ass?”