"You can't beat that with a stick." I'm not sure where this saying came from and a google [internet search] provided no answers to the origins of this either. I'm stuck with the ability to eradicate the image of people beating on things with a stick. Some things can't be beaten with a stick. For example on my way to the bathroom, a customer sighed and an employee remarked that it sure was nice to be Friday. In reponse, the customer added, "Payday as well." "You can't beat that." I added the, "with a stick" in my own little thoughts as I walked on by. You can't beat a Friday with a stick, but there are other things you can beat. Which brings me to the old cliche of, "Beating a dead horse." A goggle on these words returns the many usages of this saying including a few jokes.

Now I've beaten a horse to death many times in my life. I remember playing Rolemaster [a roleplaying game superior to AD&D] in my youth and having many discussions to the point where we made jokes about the horse we've beaten to death, buried and rose from the dead so we could continue to strike it with our proverbal whips until we were mentally exhausted. Our usual topic was about a young gentleman who my Gamemaster (GM) had issues (pronounced ith-ues) with. The horse had more lives than a cat and our gaming sessions became more of a bitching contest. It worsened after the young man left the group, because the stench of the horse never disappaited and yet during the night we would find some reason to raise the spirit of the dead horse to beat on it. With a stick of course.

Funny how things slap you in the face like a large hispanic woman who thought you said whores instead of horse, but cliches have been my bugaboo (peek a boo bugs?) since that horrid review of my poem. When the TV has been on and I catch a glimpse of a show I've many cliches used in dialog. Why do TV writers do it? To dumb down the TV so all the morons who watch it can get it? I know it goes on in movies and books as well.

The problem with many phrases I hear is that I have little word play games that fire off in my head. In many cases the humor escapes the casual fan (heh like I have fans), but I chew on the flavor of the giggle I created for my own self-amusement. At least I keep myself happy.

Oh well enough bantering today...

me