Guest guest Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 She missed this popular couplet : A woman, a dog, a walnut tree The more you beat them, the better they be. On Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 6:24 PM, azam24x7 <azam24x7 wrote: > http://news.in.msn.com/columns/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1285075 > > Maneka Gandhi says words can kill > > Phrases/sayings that use animals are so common that you tend to forget that > many of them are not just absurd but actually quite vicious. There should > be > , for this new century , new sayings. > > And it just takes one person to start speaking n a particular way for it > suddenly to change the world. > > Imagine the first person who said ‘rocking” or or “gimme a five” or “ put > your hands together to welcome..”. Every few years the Oxford dictionary > brings out new editions with thousands of words that were unheard of a few > years ago but now seem perfectly normal. Most of these sayings are from an > ancient time and they need to be replaced with kinder , gentler ways. > > Afterall , speech shapes the course of all action. > > Lets look at some one’s that desperately need to go: > > “I have a bone to pick with you.” Cave man picking up filthy bones ??? If > you can’t get rid of this senseless phrase turn bone into bean. > > “You're beating a dead horse” This implies that its O.K. to beat a live > one. > How about just saying " You're wasting your time " . > > " Kill two birds with one stone " . Why do you want to kill any birds at all ? > How about " Feed two birds with one seed'. > > " Blind as a bat " . Factually wrong as bats have very good vision. Why not > say > " blind as a pumpkin or a tomato " (not potatoes, they have eyes!) > > This place looks like a pig sty. If left to themselves, pigs keep their > homes very clean. It's only when they're in captivity that they are forced > to live in their own filth. How about, " This place looks like a garbage > dump " or " This place looks like my son’s room " . > > " Raining cats and dogs " . An expression dating from the Middle Ages. > Homeless > and neglected cats and dogs died in great numbers, and their remains were > washed along the city streets when it rained heavily. How about : " Raining > waterfalls or Raining torrents " . > > " Make a monkey out of someone " . It implies that monkeys are foolish, and > that their behaviour is embarrassing. How about: " Make a fool out of > someone " . Or even " Made a voter out of someone " . > > " You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear " . As it is, to make silk, > the silkworms are steamed alive in their cocoons. The idea of cutting off > someone's ear is awful. Why not replace it " you cannot make a wedding dress > out of a dishrag " . > > There's more than one way to " skin a cat. Ish " ! Fits into the bone picking > category. Why not : " there’s more than one way to bake a cake " or " There's > more than one way to pet a cat " . > > " I'm so hungry I could eat a horse " . How about: " I’m so hungry I could eat > the dining table " . > > " There are plenty of other fish in the sea " .Yes, but you don’t need to > catch > them. How about : " there’s many more leaves in the tree " . > > " What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander " . You mean after they > are cooked? Why not have " What's good for the goose is good for the > gander " . > > " That's a whole other kettle of fish " . Fish need to be in the sea, not in > cooking pots. " That's a whole other sack of beans " or that another plot > altogether. > > What about that sanctimonious rubbish : " Give a man a fish and you'll feed > him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you'll feed him for life " . Actually > this doesn’t work any more since finding fish is getting harder and harder. > Can’t we replace it with " Give a person vegetables and you'll feed him for > a day. Teach that person to grow vegetables and you'll feed him for life " . > > " Run around like a chicken with its head cut off " . Have you ever seen this > happen? I have , when I was a child , and the pain of seeing this chicken > flap and flap with her head off till she collapsed in a quivering , hurting > heap, has never left me. It is not something that should be used lightly. > > " The straw that broke the camel’s back " : how about " the book that broke the > student’s satchel " instead. > > " As easy as leading a lamb to slaughter " : would you find it easy taking a > little baby to be killed or even evoking that image. Does she go to > slaughter easily – no, she doesn’t.She struggles with fright and the > knowledge that you are going to do something very bad to her . What about : > " as easy as a politician taking bribes " . > > " Cook his Goose " : " Cook his peas " ? > > " Dog in a manger' ? Again meaningless. Have you ever seen a dog sit in a > horse’s trough ? > > " Smell a rat " ? How about " smell socks " > > " Looks like the cat that ate the canary " . What about " the cat that ate the > cream " > > The power of autosuggestion is so strong that common phrases that seem > senseless or are not even thought about because they are so trite, often > lessen your urge to protest against cruelty and violence. Look at the > phrases you use and see which ones make violence to animals seem acceptable > ? Replace them in your speech with something gentler and you will see a > new > person emerge. > > Maneka Gandhi > > To join the animal welfare movement contact gandhim > > -- > http://www.stopelephantpolo.com > http://www.freewebs.com/azamsiddiqui Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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