Mudslinging and muckraking are nothing new in political campaigns. And for that matter neither are metaphors--metaphors like mudslinging and muckraking, for example.
In the U.S. presidential race, gibes about pork-barrel spending have given way to controversy over Senator Barack Obama's "lipstick on a pig" remark. It's the same Jeopardy category--porcine figures of speech--but Republican outrage has been spurred by the generally unfavorable connotations of the word pig.
Looked at from a pig's point of view, this seems downright unfair. Sure, the ancient Egyptians, Cretans, Syrians, and Greeks all revered the beast. And in present-day China the pig remains an emblem of virility and fertility. But in Judaism and Islam, the pig is the archetypal unclean animal. And metaphorically, the pig's reputation stinks.
By itself, pig is synonymous with greedy or gross behavior, and a pig sty is always a messy and filthy place--even though pigs are among the cleanest animals around. To pig it is to behave like a slob, while to pig out (or to make a pig of oneself) is to eat greedily (and often noisily and unpleasantly). In English, pig has served as a crude insult to women, police officers, and people who are overweight.
When it comes to metaphors, no part of the pig, not even the squeal, goes to waste. A pig's whisper is a grunt, and to be pig-headed is to be stupidly obstinate. To make a pig's ear out of something is to do it badly, and in a pig's eye is a sarcastic way of saying "very unlikely indeed." Pig's arse! is the cry of skeptical Australians. Hogwash! is the American reply.
Someone who buys a pig in a poke does so foolishly without first checking the condition of the merchandise. And to be a piggy in the middle is to be stuck between two unpleasant extremes. Pigs led to slaughter put up no resistance, and to stare like a stuck pig is to gaze in terror and surprise. To drive one's pigs to market is to snore loudly, to bring pigs to a pretty market is to make a bad bargain, and to go to pigs and whistles is to be ruined.
In a couple of months the presidential campaign will be over. But as far as pigs are concerned, will the name-calling ever cease?
I'm afraid that's not likely to happen--at least not until pigs can fly.
Until then, let's give credit to the porker for contributing so much to our stock of metaphors while enduring such ignominy in the process.
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Comments
In a pig’s eye! Pigs do fly in Cincinnati’s, or “Porkopolis’”, “Big Pig Gig,” which features “flying pig” artwork as well a “flying pig marathon.” And, yet the pig-headed name-calling goes on.
you need to make up some dog metaphors and other animal metaphor
example….a dog is a man’s best friend