Atte wrote: | On Sat, 25 May 2002, John Chambers wrote: | > Isn't this slicing your baloney rather thin? | | I don't get it...
Oh, yeah; I guess it's a somewhat obscure English metaphor. In common American speech, at least, "baloney" isn't just a sort of bland sausage; it is commonly used to mean things like "nonsense" or "idle chatter" or other such things which the speaker doesn't want to hear any more about. Some slicing your baloney thin is used to say that someone is making fine distinctions between things that aren't worth comparing at all. When I've heard it, it has always been spoken in a humorous voice. Sorta like saying that someone has far too much time on their hands. There are probably some equally obscure ways to say this in most other languages. The topic almost begs for witty metaphors. To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html