Idiomatic Expansion

 I was listening to NPR today and Mara Liasson said that the Trump administration was "pushing the edge of the envelope." I was struck by this as I hadn't heard this particular mash up prior. This reminded me of two other examples of idioms that have expanded and I merely wanted to muse for a moment on the idea.

To be clear, the idiom in question is "pushing the envelope" and somehow "the edge" got added (pushing one over the edge? approaching the edge? razor's edge? cutting edge? leading edge?). Again, I'd never heard this particular mash up before, but it makes enough sense how it came about. I'm a little sensitive to idiomatic expansion because in high school I was called out for saying "on top of the ball" instead of "on the ball" or "on top of things." I don't know why I mashed it up, but I did, and now I think about it more than I should. So, yes, "pushing the edge of the envelope" set me on edge, if you will.

Sometime between these two events (high school and literally today) I came across David Mitchell's rant on "holding down the fort" which is the expanded idiom I hear the most. To summarize his piece - one should "hold things down" or "hold the fort", but to "hold down the fort" makes it sound like the fort is going to float away should you fail in your duty. It's stuck with me and I try to avoid the mash up, though I've heard someone else say it as recently as Saturday (I was left alone on a shift and asked to "hold down the fort").

Where am I going with this? Nowhere. I was thinking about it and wanted to type a few words in a row to get the thought out of my head. Hopefully I haven't got this idée fixe stuck in your head.

(I think that fails as an expanded idiom, but whatever.)

Spring Ahead

 [Author's Note: they can't all be winners]

Art by Will

Pen springs. Watch springs. Leaf springs. Twisty bits of metal that make the world run. Now I was running, delivering amusing automata to good boys and girls. Those springs, however, had me all twisted up.

You'd think making a spring would be easy. Shape some metal the way you'd like an presto! But no, there's heating and cooling and the selection of alloys and all that sort of stuff. You have to consider how many times the spring will need to expand or contract. You have to consider how far it should move. In short, it's complicated.

Chasing Waterfalls

 The inclined plane is a simple machine that has been in use since prehistoric times. Used as a machine it allows for motion from one plane to be transferred to another plane with mechanical advantage - that is, for example, to push a vehicle up a ramp (pushing horizontally makes the object move vertically), to split wood (chopping “down” makes the wood split “sideways”), or convert rotational motion to longitudinal motion (a screw twisting into wood or a propeller propelling a ship through water) with less effort than simply lifting, tearing, or pushing. This is all to say that the inclined plane is ubiquitous - I suspect there’s one within eyesight of wherever you’re reading this.

When we think of machines, we often think of humans doing work. Work, however, can be done by gravity. Think of a marble at the top of a ramp. Gravity pulls the marble “down” and the inclined plane transfers that motion “sideways” - instead of ending up directly beneath where it started, the marble will end up somewhere else horizontally (assuming the ramp is not also a helix).

This is all to say this is a simple concept. A ubiquitous concept. A prehistoric concept. Yet, it’s a concept that seems to escape people all around the world. Especially people who have to deal with water.

I am going to blow your mind: water generally flows downhill. Crazy, right? Obviously I’m being sarcastic, as you certainly already know this. You know who doesn’t know this? Bathroom contractors, the streets department, and my housemates.

Shark?

Art by Kaitlin

"Are you a shark or are you just labeled 'shark'?" I asked.

"What are we if not a collection of labels?" the shark rejoined.

"Surely there's a truth though - are you a shark?"

"No, I'm just a drawing."

"What?"

"I'm merely a few squiggles with, apparently, a pyramid on top and the word 'shark' written on my body."

What are you even talking about?" You're a fish of some sort.

"Big words for a stick figure!"