Tonight, I'm overthinking idioms.
"I trust him about as far as I can throw him."
As an #ActuallyAutistic person, this one baffled me. What does your ability to throw them have to do with their trustworthiness? After awhile, I just accepted that these things don't always make much sense, but the idea behind them is what's important.
Well tonight I'm here to propose (unseriously) that there is infact a deeper meaning!
"I trust him about as far as I can throw him," means you don't trust him. But, if taken literally, if you could throw him pretty far, then you'd trust him, right?
If you're a manipulative or controlling person, then your ability to move someone else around a given space is important to you. As someone with a background in horse training, I can tell you that the one who yields or moves out of the way is submissive to the one pushing. This may seem obvious, but it's important in small interactions, not just big, sweeping gestures. If someone looks like they might be trying to move past you, and you scooch out of their way to let them, you are submitting to them. In a reasonable society, that's called "working together" and "being polite". In a herd hierarchy, or a manipulative relationship, it's about someone taking your space, and it'll be performed multiple times just to enforce the hierarchy.
(I want to make it clear that this has nothing to do with D/s relationships and dynamics. That is a very specific niche, and has nothing to do with these ramblings.)
Back to the idiom. If you're a controlling person, and you can't control someone else's movements, because they're too stubborn, or can fend you off, or you're not strong enough, then you're not likely to want much to do with them. You can't trust them, because they're not in your control.
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Shiri Bailem
in reply to emilie_stims • •like this
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emilie_stims
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Andy H3
in reply to emilie_stims • • •That's a fascinating take on the idiom @emilie_stims
May I add that it's almost impossible to create physical distance by throwing a human being of similar stature.
For years I practiced a combat sport that involves high throws. While it's easily possible to throw an opponent several feet beyond their initial position, the nature of generating momentum for such a throw mean that the "thrower" will inevitably land themselves in close proximity of the person being thrown.
anomalon :gi:
in reply to emilie_stims • • •:) I like overthinking idioms.
For me, this one is about labour. Throwing someone is not a cooperative act. They might submit, but they can't really help.
So, as much as I am prepared and willing to take on the monumental expenditure of energy, this person is trustworthy.
And also, what would be the point?
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Bernie Does It For Harris
in reply to anomalon :gi: • • •emilie_stims
in reply to Bernie Does It For Harris • • •ooh that's an interesting take, I never thought of it like that. I always took it as, kind of sarcastic? Similar to a lot of "southernisms". "He couldn't pour water out of a boot with instructions on the heel" isn't literal, it's meant to convey his stupidity with an imaginary scenario. It's funny how the same phrase can be understood in so many ways 😂