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What are some idioms that no longer make sense? Can you think of a modern replacement? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 day ago* by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world
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I was thinking about the phrase 'The pot calling the kettle black'. It comes from a time where cooking was done over open fires and cookware would become visibly ashy. (Fun fact: It first appears and was perhaps coined by Cervantes in Don Quixote!)

What are some other idioms that have lost their literal connection to time? What would be a good modern replacement?

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[–] 2 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

Honestly, I'm not sure that I want modern equivalents, since many are so rich in imagery.

I do love the imagery of "loose Canon", and by "love" I mean that as it's been described and depicted, it's a truly horrifying situation. So it makes for a really visceral image.

A quick aside: there's this murder mystery/logic puzzle game called "the Return of the Obra Dinn" that takes place on a merchant ship. The game is basically like a series of still frame dioramas that you have to analyze and figure out what's going on. There's a particularly striking scene with a cannon which breaks loose from its chains and several unfortunate sailors. It took me a long time to actually find the third sailor in the scene... (There wasn't a lot left)

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