I treat clichés like potholes – trying very hard, sometimes too hard – to avoid them. Still, many little phrases have become trite because they have value. When people say “It’s like riding a bike” you know what they mean. It will come back to you. What gets less attention are the converse statements. The things people don’t say. There is no idiom: “it’s like ice skating” Because skating ain’t like riding a bike.
This past weekend I put on skates for the first time in 28 years. I can’t speak for everyone – I’d like to but I can’t – so let’s just say for me this skill seems to have run off with all the French I ever knew. I had no strong skating desire bubbling inside for 28 years. I wanted to assist my seven-year-old who’s just learning. Which left us both crashing to the ice and the boy saying, “You’re not much help.” Cold, man. And I was already pretty chilled.
Now I have a nice shiner and a bunch of other clichés to remember. Smooth as ice. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. You should see the other guy. (Actually, he’s fine. He had a helmet.) An once of prevention is worth a pound of “Hey, what happened to your face?"
This past weekend I put on skates for the first time in 28 years. I can’t speak for everyone – I’d like to but I can’t – so let’s just say for me this skill seems to have run off with all the French I ever knew. I had no strong skating desire bubbling inside for 28 years. I wanted to assist my seven-year-old who’s just learning. Which left us both crashing to the ice and the boy saying, “You’re not much help.” Cold, man. And I was already pretty chilled.
Now I have a nice shiner and a bunch of other clichés to remember. Smooth as ice. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. You should see the other guy. (Actually, he’s fine. He had a helmet.) An once of prevention is worth a pound of “Hey, what happened to your face?"
Lol!
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