This is an invitation to join me in the world’s first ‘Meta-crimp’. I’ll make a suggestion for the first half of a mixed metaphor & I’d welcome suggestions for the second half. OK, so it’s not crimping in the Booshest sense of the word, but it’s the best description I could come up with. Anyway, here’s the first bit:
You can take a horse to water…
Any takers?
Metaphor Madness BETA 
will you make me an editor, to add new ones – or just comments.
anyway here is one from Matt Jones – “don’t look a gift-pie in the crust…”
‘You can take a horse to water…’
…but you can’t make it read the terms and conditions … (apparently?!)
http://weblogs.asp.net/plip/archive/2008/02/26/you-can-take-a-horse-to-water-you-can-t-make-it-read-the-terms-and-conditions.aspx
This metaphoric term dates from the 12th century and was in John Heywood’s proverb collection of 1546 – http://www.answers.com/topic/you-can-lead-a-horse-to-water-but-you-can-t-make-it-drink
‘You can take a horse to water…’
…but you can’t make it cross bridges before it gets to them . . . . . .
I’ve blogged recently on ‘Let’s CHANGE Management Speak’. I had some good stuff sent in, and it would be great to continue the campaign here!
Url: http://catchthevision.wordpress.com
Hi Graham
Thats great, really interesting to see that you recently did a piece about the quirks of business speak on your blog. I knew this would be right up your street.
Great to have you involved. Look forward to your sharing your insights with us.
Happy to join in Dawn.
Only today, someone expressed concern about something being frustrated because a person had ‘put a spoke in the wheel’. But putting a spoke in the wheel is exactly what is needed. Without a spoke in a wheel, the wheel would collapse.
I think that this term is really an incorrect equivalent of ‘putting a spanner in the works’, which probably refers to actions taken by Ludites to bring factories to a halt (not to mention indiana Jones?)
I’ll leave my comments on what this might mean for ‘Management Speak’ for elsewhere, but if I find any more mangled thoughts I’ll let you know.
Url: http://catchthevision.wordpress.com
You can take a horse to water, but it will sink like a duck.
“A bug up your ass”
from “A hair up your ass” and “a bug/bee in your bonnet”.
What about “You can take a horse to water but you can’t make him talk the hind legs off a donkey”??
“blow me down with a feather” – knock me down with a feather + ?
Seen here:
http://twitter.com/jemimakiss/statuses/922005499