I never realized how much imagery makes up our language.  It seeps in most of my conversations.  What’s funny is when the image is off – just by a hair.  Or, rather, a word. My old boss was notorious at doing this.  If I had only known I would someday be writing a blog about this I would have written some of her ‘ism’s down. 

I’m not exempt.  In fact, lately, I’ve noticed I am starting to pull the wrong image out of the hat.  Just the other day, I was writing my blog and wanted to use a metaphor for quickly.  Instead, I wrote “At the drop of a pin.” Wrong drop.  “At the drop of a hat” = quickly.  “At the drop of a pin” = quietly.  Thank goodness for editing.

It happens during conversations.  So, here’s a warning: if we are ever speaking at a party, you better duck.  The mixed metaphors will be flying!