Andrew Tallman Show Topics: Clichés and Expressions You Don’t Understand

Every once in a while I hear someone say something that I know I’m supposed to understand, but I don’t. Sometimes, rarely, it’s because I just don’t get the intended meaning. Other times, mostly, it’s because I start thinking about the expression itself and realize that it is confusing. But there’s a third kind of emerging difficult expression, the Biblical reference, which depends on the rapidly fading public knowledge of the Bible. So, let’s share our collective ignorance today and come up with all the expressions that baffle us or we think might baffle others.

Examples from the show:
~"He stole my thunder."--Doesn't lightning do the real damage? Stole my lightning?
~"Give 110%."--So long as you don't feel the need to be constrained by math.
~"Read between the lines."--Why, do people write stuff in there?
~"It's water under the bridge."--Is this different from water in the pond or near the waterfall?
~"Don't cry over spilt milk."--Do people normally? Perhaps mood-stabilizers would help.
~"There's more than one way to skin a cat."--PETA is gonna git ya for that one.
~"I'm head over heels in love."--Isn't that how most people stand up?
~"I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole."--Is such a pole something you normally carry around with you?
~"She's turning over in her grave."--Is this what dead people do when they are uncomfortable?
~"More than I can shake a stick at"--Is there some lesser amount at which you might be more comfortable shaking your stick?
~"I could care less." --Then you don't care not at all, since there is room for you to care less. What you mean is "I couldn't care less."
~"It's just reducing everything to the least common denominator."--Actually, we have to raise the denominators when we do this, not lower them. 1/2 and 1/3 must be changed to 3/6 and 2/6, hence the least common denominator (6) is actually higher than 2 or 3.
~"Great minds think alike."--Of course, so do mediocre minds.
~"No man is an island."--Okay, but no man is a peninsula, either.
~"It's not rocket science."--But something can be very complicated and still not be rocket science. Gunsmithing is not as challenging as rocket science, but still not the easiest thing in the world.
~"He's like a broken record."--Which usually means that there is a regular ticking noise, not endless repetition unless it's really broken badly. Still, what's a record? A better phrase would be, "He's like a scratched CD."
~"You can't have your cake and eat it, too."--Good expression, but many people don't get it. Reverse the order, and it's clear. "You can't eat your cake and still have it, too." Even better, "You can't keep your money and spend it, too."
~"He drinks like a fish."--Fish ingest about as much water as any other organism. The rest they are breathing. Besides, alcohol probably will kill a fish.
~"Don't let the cat out of the bag."--Boy, phrasemakers really aren't cat people are they?
~"He works me like a dog."--Are dogs well known for their intense productivity?
~Please feel free to add your own.