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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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In reply to:
The one I like best is
"grow two trees from one seed"
It has two very nice (in the 'precise' sense of that overused word!) advantages: it stands the proverbial phrase on its head, metaphorizing birth instead of killing; and it shares with the original the aspect of being highly improbable on the literal level.
well, said, grump! that was my favorite, as well. the world needs all the help it can get to get past our violent metaphors and expressions...
formerly known as etaoin...
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Wordwind says, "The url's too long to paste. I'll see whether it can be reduced later today." Done for you. Here you go: http://makeashorterlink.com/?U26715A21
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Don't let keiva's supposed helpfulness fool you.
he was banned, and force his way back by extortion.
he is not wanted here
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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As of troy said, Keiva is contemptible.
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stranger
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stranger
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wwh spake:
>> And yet, none of the alternative suggestions is as terse and clear as the original. <<
to which I reply:
Huh?
"to grow two trees from one seed" is exactly as terse and clear as
"to kill two birds with one stone"--
(well, OK, not *quite* as terse, being longer by one letter...)
;-) Ch.S.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Isn't there some kind of gun shot that spreads so that a hunter could get several birds with one blast of the gun?
Without looking it up, betcha this is where we get the words scattershot and birdshot.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Keiva: you were banned from AWADtalk for starting a flamewar,
and refusing to quit. You extorted a reprive from Wordsmith
by threat of a lawsuit. You are completely contemptible.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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Grump wrote: >>But in a way it is exactly that casual--or thoughtless--reference to unnecessary killing which is problematic, and helps makes the term offensive!
All too PC for me, Grump. The language is the language and merely wishing it otherwise will not make it change. Your desire to eradicate the phrase from the language may well succeed if you campaign vigorously enough across the entire English-speaking world. I wish you well with it. Good luck!
- Pfranz
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Carpal Tunnel
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The expression about killing two birds with one stone
Even in days "when killing birds was necessary to get food," I can't imagine that throwing stones at them was an very effective method. It wouldn't work: even a professional baseball pitcher can't consistently hit a spot the size of a bird. I'd think the only practical method would be trapping, as by limed twigs.
So if there was not a food-gathering practice of throwing stones at birds, where did the expression come from?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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In reply to:
All too PC for me, Grump. The language is the language and merely wishing it otherwise will not make it change.
ah, yes, but he's doing more than just wishing, he's talking about it... I would think anyone with an interest in words would truly understand that language is powerful, and to ignore those phrases which don't fit our hopes for the future must be discussed, and over time, changed.
In reply to:
I can't imagine that throwing stones at them was an very effective method.
I would think we're talking about using a sling, rather than throwing. my understanding of the sling indicates that it is a very effective tool.
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