Things I don't understand, vol. II
Phrases I don't understand, never have, have even heard used in conversation, in context, and still have no idea what they mean:
"Throwing the baby out with the bathwater" I'm more familiar with the cultural background of this idiom than the actual meaning.
"Proof is in the pudding" No idea
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" I had to look this one up to wrap my head around it, why would you look a horse in the mouth anyway? Dad, I'm looking to you on this one.
"Don't get your nose out of joint" Seriously, that's just random words strung together.
"Throwing the baby out with the bathwater" I'm more familiar with the cultural background of this idiom than the actual meaning.
"Proof is in the pudding" No idea
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" I had to look this one up to wrap my head around it, why would you look a horse in the mouth anyway? Dad, I'm looking to you on this one.
"Don't get your nose out of joint" Seriously, that's just random words strung together.
posted by Josh at 11:26 AM
6 Comments:
"throwing the baby out with the bathwater" was one of my college profs favorite phrases. pretty much, it has to do with the idea of when you hear something, an opinion or a theory, etc, you don't just completely throw out the whole concept, but you filter through it and keep what is good or solid withtin the argument. in terms of the phrase the bad stuff is the nathwater (obviously the dirty water) and the good stuff you keep is the reference to the baby. pretty much, make sure you don't miss something good because you are so focused on dumping the not so good.
sorry for the typos!
Oh! And I got the horse one. One of the first things you check when buying a horse (besides the obvious build and such you can see without close inspection) is the teeth and the feet. So Don't look a Gift Horse in the Mouth is like if someone gives you a free horse, don't start inspecting its teeth to see if its high quality or not (and coincidentally complaining becaus of it).
BAM!
"Proof is in the pudding" comes from an old Cosby stand-up bit. That's pretty much all there is to the joke. He was contractually obligated to put it in there.
"Don't get your nose out of joint" is actually a phrase I coined after I punched a ton of people in the nose. True story.
So you're supposed to strain the baby? Like through a collander? I don't get it at all. I'm putting someone's nose out of joint today, that's an idiom I can keep.
josh, josh, josh...repeat after me....DONT TRY TO STRAIN THE BABY. you just remove the baby from the bathwater. it is the idea of find the good thing (baby) amidst all the bad (bathwater).
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