What You Say Matters - Common Idioms For Vegans

  When you embrace a compassionate lifestyle, you start to see all sorts of things that you never considered inappropriate before.  You also begin to hear a lot of things that strike you differently than they might have in your pre-vegan days. Idioms play a major role in our everyday communications. These are those common little sayings that are time tested and widely understood. They save time, they connect us to our past, and they make communication more interesting. That said, it also communicates volumes about who we are and what makes us tick.

  Many idioms use animals in their expressions, and that is what we need to think about. Do you know what the original meaning of the saying is? Are we perpetuating a way of thinking that treats animals as objects as opposed to thinking, feeling being entitled to live a cruelty free life? Here are some common animal idioms, and some suggestions for alternates that may have a wider reach than you realize.

Photo Credit: Using English

Well I'll be a Monkey's Uncle. This one is just precious isn't it? It dates from around the time Charles Darwin began publishing his work on evolution. Those who thought it was all a bunch of hooey would say this little tidbit, expressing their disbelief at such a notion. Well guess what, we are basically all monkey's uncles or aunts, and that extends to every other living species too. We all share things in common, the will to live, to be free, to exist free of pain. Perhaps saying I'll be an Eggplant's Uncle is more appropriate. Really, that is an absurd thought. We know that we aren't related to vegetables, grains, seeds, and plants in the way we are to other species.

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Another good one, it basically means not to inspect a gifted or free item in front of the giver. Not only is that downright rude, but it goes back to a time when inspecting a horses gum line could tell you about its relative age and health. Now I wonder why that information would be important. Any guesses? Animals are not put on this earth merely for our use and consumption, so nix this one from your vocabulary if you can. Better still, try switching it up for Don't look a gifted cabbage in the leaves. You can wash up those organic veggies when you get home.

Photo Credit: Holy Taco

What do we say when we are trying to express being grateful for what you already have? A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. It's pretty obvious where this little gem comes from, when hunting, it is better to go for the sure thing then to risk it and go for the risky bigger haul. Let's get the birds back in the bushes and fields where they belong, they are not for sport. I rather like the expression A blackberry in the hand is worth two in the thorns. Very yummy imagery and the only one that gets hurt is the one digging in the bush for those juicy berries.

Is there anything more adorable then the imagery of fluffy kittens and puppies a plenty? It's raining cats and dogs may seem to be a harmless expression, but its origins are rather macabre. What seems to describe a heavy rainfall rather refers to the aftermath of such an event. It hails back to a time when the streets of 17th century London would be filled with the carcasses of dead cats and dogs when the rain was heavy and they were flooded. There is no more distasteful image then that of starved, abused, or consumed and discarded animals floating in the streets. I think that this saying will never be the same for me. Saying It's raining rice and beans is far more palatable and even more appropriate. The earth can provide both of these delicious staples in plentiful numbers enough for every living sole, if we used our land and other resources better.

Crocodile tears refer to fake or unauthentic tears for mere effect. It originated from an observance of a crocodile eating, and its tendency to secrete 'tears' from its lachrymal glands when working its jaw. But let's look further, it also suggests that crocodiles are somehow 'other', and are not capable of feeling pain or fear, something that is simply not true. All animals feel, if they have a nervous system, they are designed to feel for self preservation. So let's just chuck this expression and put in one we all can identify with, Onion tears. Tell me the last time you were chopping onions and didn't get a little weepy eyed, but did that mean you were sad? Not likely, it is the effect of the sulfur being released in the juice of the cut onion, it irritates our eyes, but our tears are not from pain or fear, but rather the work of those same lacrimal glands.

Living High on the Hog is something few of us are doing in this economy, but the term refers to those who are living extravagantly.  It refers to the fact that the wealthiest individuals could afford the best, which included the best animal flesh, literally those cuts from high up on the pig, the back and belly. The lower parts, the feet for instance, were meant for the servants and the poor. Pretty awful imagery, but in today's world, one would hope that those with an extravagant lifestyle would be choosing to put the very best into their bodies. And while for non-vegans that may include meat, one hopes it would be limited to the best organic products in moderation.  For the rest of us, the saying I would rather use is living High on the Hemp, A nice double entendre there.  Hemp may just be one of those perfect crops, we can get great oils, milks, and protein from this plant and it is not only a great food source, but it can be used to produce sturdy canvas cloth as well as light linen-like fabrics. It is also the basis for many other goods, and is a hearty crop that can grow in many different climates. High on the hemp indeed!

Photo Credit: The Daily Mail

We were always warned as children; Don't count your chickens before they are hatched. This originates from one of Aesop's fables in which a young milkmaid imagines her bucket of milk being turned into cream and butter, and those items being traded for eggs that will then hatch and all the things that will come to her from having all those chickens. Seems harmless, but it does perpetuate the belief that cow’s milk and chickens are property to be used as mere commodities, a way to obtain other things, be it money or luxury goods. It is too close to the factory farming model for my liking. Switch this one for something a little more organic and sustainable; how about Don't count your pumpkins until they are harvested. Just think of those lovely big fat orange pumpkins, but not every pumpkin seed grows to become a viable pumpkin. No harm, no fowl, literally.

Photo Credit: Women's Day

Ever have a juicy secret and been told Don't let the cat out of the bag. We understand this to mean keep things on the down low, don't let the word get out.  It seems innocent enough, until you examine its ghastly origins. This was a warning to those early market patrons who went to buy what they thought was a fat piglet for dinner, and were tricked by the butcher who always handed over goods in a burlap bag.  If one did not inspect their purchase, they might indeed find a skinned cat in the bag instead of the desired piglet, it’s all pretty sickening.  Letting the cat out of the bag was really about discovering trickery and avoiding being the victim of a ruse.  Is there a compassionate way to express the same idea? There are many, but you can choose your own.  I may go with Don't let the banana out of the blender. Just thinking of smoothies makes me happy.

And finally, the mother of all idioms, Killing two birds with one stone. This one leaves little to the imagination, as it denotes taking down two birds with a single shot.  Do we even want to use a word like ‘kill’ in our vocabulary, unless we are discussing what we did to our daily workout? I think we can do without the word in common speech, and leave it for referring to what it really is, the taking of a life, any life, before its natural end.  We get enough of this sort of violence in our daily news.  As for me, I will happily replace it with the term Cutting two carrots with one knife.  Vegetables are not suffering a violent end when we use them in our daily diets, but this accomplishes the same intention of the original saying, accomplishing more with less effort.

  When you think about the words you use, the turns of phrase, the language you employ to communicate your ideas and intentions, it is easy to slip into the same old tired idioms. I think the words that come out of our mouths are just as important as the food we put into them. When you choose to live compassionately, it is often a series of small steps, small changes over time that bring us in line with a new values system and way of living. Using positive terminology and imagery helps us to become more self-aware, more evolved, and more enlightened. It may take time, but there is value is using words and sayings that express your kinder and more harmonious outlook.

  Imagine the next time you are having a conversation with a friend and use one of your ‘new’ improved idioms in place of the standards.  You might find your listener confused initially. They may say “pardon”, or even ask “what did you just say?” Imagine the ripple effect,  what if your explaining your new phrases got others thinking about what they say, imagine if people began to question where the origins of their own pet phrases came from.  At the very least you have made an impression, the best case scenario is that they begin to examine the role that animals play in their own lives.  I am not saying you will be out converting others to a new vegan lifestyle, you might, but more than likely you will not.  I don’t believe in preaching about a vegan lifestyle, it is not a religion, it is a choice made for personal reasons. But what if your new turn of phrase is the tiny pebble in the pond, one that sends out little ripples at first, but they get larger and larger as they move away from that initial splash. You never know where those ripples may lead, and your new kinder way of expressing yourself may just have the power to lead others to find a more compassionate way of being in the world, and isn’t that Cutting two carrots with one knife. Food for thought.