Opinion: Be careful where you sit on 'the cutting edge'

Numbers are mathematicians’ tools of the trade. Words and how they are used were my tools when I taught at Drury University. How words are used is fascinating and sometimes confusing.

For example, an attractive woman may be described as “drop-dead gorgeous.” If translated into a language other than English, would this still sound like a compliment?

It is said to be an admirable thing to “be on the cutting edge.” If you were there, wouldn’t you need to be very careful where you sit down?

In an age of high technology, it is thought to be a high compliment to be “ahead of the curve.” Think about that for a moment: If the curve continues on, and you keep on being ahead of it, won’t you eventually end up back where you started?

If being ahead of the curve is good, sliding down a “slippery slope” is thought to be a bad thing. Hold on. To a skier at the top of a mountain, the more slippery the slope to slide down, the better.

You have probably heard someone point out the importance of something by saying it needs done “in the worst sort of way.” Is it reasonable to want to do something as poorly (aka worst) as possible? I have been known to opt for the quickest sort of way to do something, but never the worst way.

It confounds me that it is certainly not fine to break traffic laws, yet the penalty for doing it is to pay a fine. A nice person is said to be fine; thin hair is fine; an attractive person may be said to have fine features; and you search for something with a fine-tooth comb. Is all that fine with you?

One sport expression is too far out of bounds for this old-word guy to tolerate. Just about every football play-by-play announcer’s description of a spectacular touchdown run ends with “he takes it to the house!” I can put up with most sports clichés, but not this one. As far as I know, there is no house of any kind, on any football field, anywhere. How can you take the football to one? The player crosses the goal line and scores a touchdown. That should be clear enough.

One who has lost a game can be a sore loser. If the game was strenuous, all the players may have sore muscles. Winners of the game might be so happy they want to “soar above the clouds.” To top it all off, higher player salaries may cause ticket prices to soar.

Directional disorder reigns (that’s neither reins nor rains) in our everyday language. You can pick out an item in a store, pick out a tune on a guitar or pick out the winner in a horse race. You switch directions when you pick up on the telephone or pick up a package and put it in a pickup truck.

Consider turns: You turn in at night, turn in to your driveway, turn in a lawbreaker and turn in a term paper. You may have turned out to vote; those not re-elected have been turned out of office.

Hanging can be a multidirectional activity. If you are just loafing (not a unit of bread) around, you may be said to be hanging around or hanging out. If you have a certain attitude, you may be said to have a hang-up, which is also how you end phone calls. During trying times, you may need to hang in there. Retirees hang it up. Not to mention let it all hang out, hang it all and hang the expense.

I’m not sure about the distinctions between a building burning up or burning down. Could tearing up a thing and tearing down a thing be the same action? I know that to attract attention, something is played up; just the opposite when played down. Can the same be said of one who is beaten up and one who is beaten down?

Finally, you get up in the morning. You are so excited about a task, you get up for it. Then, you are ready to get down to business.

This column is finished; I can get up and get around to doing other things.

Joe McAdoo is former chairman of the communication department at Drury University.[[In-content Ad]]