X Marks the Spot

“Aiy, what’s this here marking on the ground? Nine boxes—some be empty, some be having Os, and some be having Xs! They must be marking the spot for tiny treasures! Aiy matey, dig them up and bring them back to The Captain. Get to it!”

They dug and they dug where each X marked a spot, but they still came up with no treasure. When they realized the Xs were not, in fact, marking any spots, the leader sighed a big sigh and turned away from his crew.

“Those hooligan pirates, they fooled us again. I’ll be betting there’s no treasure on this God forsaken island—“ he was saying when he suddenly stopped and peered off into the distance.

Up in the sky, the clouds were forming what looked like an X over a neighboring island.

“Aiy, mateys! An X in the sky, marking the spot where the treasure be!” he yelled.

And just like that, they were off to follow the next X.

As Easy as Shooting Fish in a Barrel

This idiom has always confused me.  I’m no expert with a gun—I’ve only shot one once at my then-boyfriend’s house down in Texas—but it doesn’t seem like shooting fish in a barrel would be the easiest thing.

First of all, we usually catch fish, not shoot them.  It seems to me that is for a reason.  Maybe it’s because fish move around so much and so constantly.  Maybe it’s because water can mess with your depth perception, which is important when trying to be an accurate shooter.  Maybe it’s something else entirely, I’m not sure!

Also, if you’re shooting fish in a barrel, that barrel is going to have holes in it.  That will allow the water to drain from those holes, which will mess with your water-to-fish ratio.  I suppose that would make it easier though, because as the water drains the fish have less space to swim away to.

After a while you’d be shooting fish in an empty barrel, which would be way easier.  And after even more time, you’d essentially be shooting dead fish that were lying at the bottom of that empty barrel.

So I guess this idiom makes some sense.  Either way you’re going to end up with a bunch of dead fish—goal achieved!

New Facebook Page

Hi everyone! Please like my new Facebook page— I’ll be posting every time I have a new story, some fun contests where you can suggest new idioms, and some outtake photos from my blog photo shoots! I’d love if you liked the page, and please suggest it to your friends, as well. Feel free to connect with me through Facebook– I love hearing from people who are interested in my blog, have suggestions on how to improve it, or just want to say hello and get to know me a little bit!

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