Hotsy Totsy

It occurs to me that the the phrase "painted into a corner" is nonsense. For it to qualify as a legitimate expression, it needs to be not only plausible, but common. Yet for all the painting I have done - and all the painting I know my family and friends to have done - I cannot think of one instance where someone has gotten into a fix and painted him/herself into a corner. I can hardly stand to imagine it actually occurring. The excruciating inevitability of the ensuing joke is just too much for me to stomach. The fact that the above situation is so unbearable testifies to my point. The phrase is a "thorn in my side," which is, by way of example, much more palatable for reasons now obvious. I continue to hold that no one has ever literally painted him/herself into a corner. If you know otherwise - even if you are from Singapore (and a great deal of this blog's readers are, strangely) - please email me, and set me straight. Perhaps the conundrum is more likely in places that lack the idiom. I should think so, though I'm certainly not wishing it on anyone.

While I'm at it, I don't want anyone using the phrase "It's that kind of thing" as a descriptor ever again. Example: "I just came from a cocktail party where everyone refused to make eye contact. You know, it was that kind of thing." No matter what you're describing, it's always "that kind of thing." It cannot logically be otherwise! So, no more of that kind of thing, please.

Let it be known that I still very much do like the phrase "hotsy totsy," though.