Figures of Speech

Ha! I may have an English degree, but I don't know why a "figure of speech" is called a figure of speech. I know what it IS... But I don't know why it's called by that name. For instance, if I said "That kid was 'screaming bloody murder'", that's a figure of speech that means a child was screaming really loudly... And it was frightening... Yeah? I mean, I suppose that if anyone literally walked into a room and yelled the words "bloody murder," this would be pretty startling. Anyway, I suppose this figure of speech is supposed to be more creative at conveying emotion because it gives us this "picture" (in this case... Blood?) to express how horrible the screams sounded. (yikes!). Anyway, what's wrong with just saying the child's screams were way too loud or something like that? Is it boring? Is it too direct? Does it make us SOUND intelligent? (We think?) to say "bloody murder"?

I'm inclined to think it's the third choice. But I think figure's of speech are also ways of simplifying complicated ideas. Concepts that can take paragraphs to explain are simplified to a single statement. For instance, if you say to a person

"Beggars can't be choosers". That means, someone who has been going crazy wanting something in any variety they can get CAN'T then say, "No I want a different KIND" when that thing comes their way... A car, for example. But to say all that every time is a lot of words, so we "simplify" it, and use the figure of speech instead. I think the problem comes when the figures of speech become so "cliche'd" that we're not even sure what they literally mean anymore. For instance, if someone says, "We're gonna paint the town red.". That means. "We're gonna go out (to various places) and our goal is to have a lot of fun.". So what does red paint have to do with it? :). Just a figure of speech...sure. But what's that? :)

Anyway, this could be fun. I thought I'd take some figures of speech and explain what they literally mean...

1. "A spade is a spade"

This means the same thing as "what you see is what you get.". It means, you need to realistically accept what a person or situation actually is, rather than kidding yourself that there is something else there. It just "is what it is"... Nothing more.

2. "There's plenty of fish in the sea"

I think everybody hates and loves this one at the same time. It conveys both agony and joy. It means don't worry about the person that you're no longer romantically involved with, because there are plenty of others you can meet.

3. "So, that's the way the wind blows."

It means, so that's the result of something someone did, or that's the outcome of certain choices. It's usually used when someone has had a feeling that something's been going on around them, but they aren't sure what. But it means negativity, like "oh, so that's what's been going on behind my back," or "without me knowing about it."

4. "You can't teach an old dog new tricks."

This means if someone has been around a long time and they are used to doing things a certain way, chances are, others won't succeed at teaching them to do those things a different way. They are "set in their ways," as people say.

5. "Snooze ya loose!"

It pretty much explains itself: hurry and get it before it's gone! If you wait, there won't be any left.

6. "If that's not the pot calling the kettle black!"

This means basically, if you don't want to be judged, then do not judge others (please).

7. "When it rains, it pours!"

This refers to when a person spends a long time waiting to see even the smallest results of what they've done, and all of the sudden, everything they've waited for seems to come too fast, and all at once. This can refer to positive or negative circumstances... Yours personally, or someone else's.

8. "You could just knock me over with a feather!"

This means, I'm so shocked and surprised by what's happened I can barely stand up! (you could say).

9. "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."

This means I can show you all the steps you need to take to get certain results, but I can't make you actually do the work.
Or, even more accurately, it means "I can offer you the help you need, but I can't make you accept it."

10. "That man is such a stuffed shirt."

Why do we say "stuffed shirt"? This refers to someone who we believe is angry much of the time because of their seemingly "aloof" personality. They don't seem to speak much and show very little expression of feeling. Sometimes it refers to someone who we believe is generally no fun.

11. I'm walking on eggshells"

This is a person who is scared and nervous around another person because that person tends to get angry easily. The easiest translation is: "I don't know what to do because I'm afraid I'll do the wrong thing."

12. "I've created a monster."

This means something started out as a good idea but now it's too big for me to handle.

So what's the point of this? Well, this blog is called The "duh"I don't get, because when people point out something that they believe is just "common" sense (or that it doesn't even need to be said), they'll say "Duh!". But not everyone gets what they mean. To take this a bit further, people with Autism or AS often have a hard time I think with figures of speech, or cliche's because the meaning of a figure of speech is implied, rather than stated directly. The meaning is "underneath" the words you could say. This can be a mess for some people to pick through, where as, for neuro-typicals tend to use figures of speech much more than saying things literally. Pretty interesting I think! :)