Saturday, November 2, 2013

2013-1101 Letter - Food Idioms


Hi All –

The question came up in our group as to which greeting is more polite, “Hello” or “Hi.”  The person who asked this question had been told by a teacher that “Hello” shows more respect and therefore, if one of her students encountered her outside the classroom, it would be best to say “Hello.” 

A cursory glance at the beginning of most of my postings reveals that I usually say “Hi All” instead of “Hello All.”  This doesn’t mean that I am disrespecting anybody – well, except for that guy sitting over there in the corner – but merely means that In My Humble Opinion (IMHO), either greeting works. 

From that conundrum we moved on to a moving story replete with food idioms.  This tearjerker told the story of poor Mrs. Havenaught, a young widow still in her salad days with a babe in arms who was sweet-talked into buying a lemon of a used car by a well-seasoned salesperson, Simone Legreedy, who, cool as a cucumber,  used honeyed words to win Mrs. Havenaught over .   Just to look at Simone, you would think that butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth but, in fact, she was a bad apple who was rotten to the core.  She was definitely full of beans and consumers would be wise to take her advice with a grain of salt.

Mrs. Havenaught’s couch potato husband had recently kicked the bucket and left her to bring home the bacon, and, being a good egg but knowing next to nothing about buying a car, she was fruitlessly trying to compare apples and oranges. Well, she decided to put all her eggs in one basket and buy the whole enchilada.  So she pulled out her life savings of $300 and then plunked it down, cash on the barrelhead.  At that point, the deed was done and the fat was in the fire.  She didn’t know it but she had gone from the frying pan into the fire.  Starting the car was as easy as apple pie, so far so good, but then the brakes went south and BAM! she plowed into a Cadillac!

Fortunately, nobody was injured but Mrs. Havenaught had to fork over another two grand to the owner of the Cadillac – this is why you have to have car insurance, kiddies! Then her good friend, Nina, the cream of the crop as far as I’m concerned, came along to talk turkey.  They chewed the fat awhile and then Nina made the problem go away by having the car towed to the garbage dump. 

There’s definitely food for thought in this story.  Just because you acquire a taste for a new car, don’t assume that your salesperson is on the up and up.  Remember, there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Take care,
Kevin


Reminder:  If you are unsure about the meaning of the idioms used in this message, please refer to "Idioms, Figures of Speech, and Proverbs" posted in August.  An alternative is to look at http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com


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