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Monday, March 08, 2010

Help With An Idiomatic Expression

So anyway, the guy says "you don't want to upset the whole duck and bird pond!"


Now, hang on there. I'm reasonably sure that's not a real idiomatic expression. "Upset the duck and bird pond"? Ducks are birds. But that's not even the point though, that minor redundancy is the least of our worries, here! Nobody says "upset the whole duck and bird pond." It doesn't mean anything. How do you upset a pond? Tip it over? Or just...say something really mean to it, in pond-language?

From context, I could tell he meant that we didn't want to upset the whole apple-cart, or do whatever you do to a whole shooting-works to render it inoperable. But that's a far cry from any kind of duck and bird pond. Can anyone think of what he might have meant to say, here? Is there some saying that's close, that I'm missing? I feel like there is! It's driving me crazy.

I would have asked him myself, but, you know. Negotiations were a bit touchy. I didn't want to upset the whole duck and bird pond.

5 comments:

Mel said...

I don’t know what he’s on about either!, but he has a point. Upset the duck and bird pond and next thing you know, it’s the whole kit and caboodle.

limom said...

Here, we would say:
eh brah, no make, pancake.
translated it means:
Please don't be like that and upset everything you flat round breakfast treat.

dogimo said...

@Mel - as long as you didn't say "kitten caboodle"!

@limom - I would have real trouble over there because I would be like, "Wha--? YES make pancake!"

Lunarchick said...

I dunno...I kinda like it for some reason. I mean it does evoke quite a picture. If you have upset the whole freakin' duck and bird pond you have done some serious damage. Upsetting an apple cart pales in comparison.

dogimo said...

I agree, it's pretty evocative, it's just kind of surreal for a saying that skews so potentially rustic.