Rug Rat:
Rug
rat = infant. An infant crawls on all fours and chews on everything it can.
Often the child is on a carpeted floor to prevent injury. Babies are known for
their constant drooling and uncleanliness, and their willingness to eat
indiscriminately. Compare this description to our common perception of a rat.
The rug rat is an effective metaphor because we visualize a cross between rat
and baby - something that has an air of both sarcasm and truth, and may also
reveal something sinister about how our culture perceives early childhood
parenting.
"...neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."
(Lev.11:44, referring to Kosher diet).
Couch Potato:
Couch potato = lazy person. A lazy
person buries themselves in the cushions of a couch (sofa, chesterfield, La-Z-Boy) in safe, sedentary comfort, "vegging out"
mindlessly in front of the TV, eyes in a fixed, submissive stare. A couch potato never leaves the
home, and cannot be motivated, having everything nearby so they never have to
move. Compare this to the potato, which is buried in the comfort and
providence of soil and to which the only escape from its lifestyle is
death. Covered in eyes, but without a brain or muscle, the potato is snuggled
and unmotivated.
A comfortable sofa is fertile
soil for the couch potato.
Road Hog:
Road hog = territorially
aggressive driver. The territorially aggressive driver takes up far more space
than they need. They tend to push aside other drivers in their efforts for
territory and destination, and in doing so, are impolite - even outright greedy, and are deemed unintelligent. This matches our concept of the hog,
with our many phrases like "greedy as a pig", "you're making a
pig of yourself" or "corporate pigs". One can visualize the pig
at the feeding trough with other pigs, grunting and shoving with their
self-centred intentions.
Passive drivers fatten the road
hog.
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