The Bird Who Sticks His Head Out.
My parents weren't big on idioms when I was a kid, and I'm probably happier off as a result. Idioms have a way of summing things up a bit too perfectly, of providing a universal answer to a singular context. Not ever wound demands a band-aid, I guess is what I'm saying.
The other thing is, only some idioms actually make sense. Most don't seem to make any.
Take this old expression: "The squeaky wheel gets the grease." I'd always thought that it was an odd way of saying, "Go out and take a risk." But as of 2009, this Urban Dictionary definition seems more appropriate.
Yesterday, I just finished reading Jennifer 8. Lee's excellent "The Fortune Cookie Chronicles," and it's there that I discovered the Chinese equivalent of this semi-sensical English expression.
In Chinese, they say, "Qiang da chutou niao." But in English, it means, "The bird who sticks his head out gets shot."
See, now that I get.
From the Archives
Via @danoshinsky
- Today's Mizzou first round loss was total karmic revenge for last year's upset-a-palooza Big 12 Tourney first round. Oy.
- I cannot believe that @allisonbennett saw a game at MSG before I did. My level of basketball-related jealously is uncontrollable.
- San Antonians are outraged about @JohnTEdge's NYT article suggesting that Austin is the home of breakfast tacos http://nyti.ms/9L8yKY
- WGN Radio's *alleged* new list of words you cannot say on air http://bit.ly/bolFSR
- The first of what should be many spectacular World Cup soccer ads http://bit.ly/bIlQyn
Recently on danoshinsky.com
- What Journalists Can Learn From Abraham Lincoln.
- A Porker’s Last Goodbye.
- The Blog Post That May Make Me The Butt of Your Jokes.
- When Voicemail Accidentally Serves as a Time Capsule.
- Wait, You People Still Speak to Each Other?
The best of danoshinsky.com
Regular Blog Installments
