I love how we change up things we don't necessarily like doing into things that are fun. The phrase, "taking out the trash," can mean disposing of discarded items, but also removing unwanted pests (typically said in a macho kind of way). "Burning down the house," is another seemingly cruel phrase that turns into a hip and cool one when used to describe a great party. Yup, my examples tend toward the dated, but there's plenty of others.
Maybe it's because we enjoy playing word games, or fiddling with expectations, and basically creating a bit of chaos for the sake of fun. Yup, just like us crazy humans to ignore our own language. Puzzle books use this principle to challenge our thinking. Comedians play with words to make us laugh. And, dictionaries struggle to keep pace as we fiddle constantly.
There's so much joy in words. I wish more of us understood that. Until then, that's why we have creative types to jiggle our fancies with new usages and thoughts. And, maybe we'll also find ways to turn bad things into good, just by using a bit of mental fidgeting.
- M
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