What is the origin of "opening a can of worms"? I would think a can of snakes would be more ominous.
542729
In my house, cans of baked beans have a much more ominous outcome.
641108
Literally it translates from the Spanish as "What barbarity!" (and it's two words, "que barbaridad," not one, in Spanish as well.) But as the others pointed out above, the phrase connotes an expression of disgust or shock, akin to "That's terrible!" or "How awful!"
639470
This is a references to an old phrase started, not England, but Scottland... the term was mistranslated by the English in the midst of war. The Term was used by the Scottish to bring out their weapons and black axes, the axes weren't really black but that's a different story. In any case... it is now used to mean "Get ready for the worse"
292922
not so sure of the origin and history behind the phrase but if you find it ranining cat's and dogs be careful not to step in a poodle... i looked it up for you and yu can find the answer at the link below
1107848
snake refers to the book Genesis, where Satan appeared as a snake in order to deceive mankind and make us question the truth.\n\nAnd by the way, not everyone has freedom of speech. Jesus kind of died for what he was preaching. Read a history book. Or watch the news. Or do something besides smoke pot.
102365
It's a mixed metaphor, a mixture of what appears to be your American version of 'to throw a spanner in the works' and 'a fly in the ointment'.\n\nI guess it's supposed to mean buggering things up just to be a pain.
472901
There is some debate about the source of the term, but the generally accepted version is that it comes from the Monty Python song, "Spam spam spam spam, spam spam spam spam, lovely spam, wonderful spam…" Like the song, spam is an endless repetition of worthless text. Another school of thought maintains that it comes from the computer group lab at the University of Southern California who gave it the name because it has many of the same characteristics as the lunchmeat Spam: \n\nNobody wants it or ever asks for it. \nNo one ever eats it; it is the first item to be pushed to the side when eating the entree. \nSometimes it is actually tasty, like 1% of junk mail that is really useful to some people.
773621
That and a horrible predjudice against snakes.\n\nTee hee!
648327
It wasn't a snake.\nAnd by the way, how can believing that everything came from nothing make more sense?\nDoes a machine design and build itself?\nYou need your eyes opened my friend.
483960
It is one of those sayings whose exact origins is unknown, it obviously refers to things kept secret or hidden. In the past it may actually have had something to do with someone who had died under mysterious circumstances. It was brought into literary use by Thackeray in 1845.
596116
The snake has been and important part of culture for many thousands of years. The native americans beleive it is a profecy of bad things to come, were as some Europeasn think it is a change. I think the snake meens confrontation with temptation (As in the Bible, Adam and Eve)If you feel tempted by something bad, our come into contact with temptation, I think this dream is in place to warn you to choose right from wrong.
267253
Similes:\n\nAs big as a ballon\nAs frail as a peice of glass\n\nMetaphore:\n\nThe garden hose was a snake that spat clear poison from its mouth.
785422
It's probably from Aesop's Fables. That's where most quotes like that come from.
212930
Wow, this poem is something else. By that I mean it is really abstract in its language and in its metaphors. I have a guess on it's meaning, but that is merely a guess. This author is using so much personal experience that it is hard for me as a reader to really connect well with what is being said, but here is my hypothesis:\n\nFirst of all, I think the title "Call It Fear" needs to be kept in mind when reading through the entire poem. The structure and the wording is suggestive of a person who is caught in the panic of fear ("call it an ocean of fear of the dark"). So, it can easily be assumed that this poem is analyzing fear and the essence of fear in the human mind.\n\nThe author has this deep fear, a fear of the dark, or possibly a fear of the unknown. The author is not alone however as she has found someone, referred to as Goodluck, who also has the same fear. They have come together to escape the fear, and their only escape has been found in the music that they have found on the radio, the church music that plays on a lot of stations on Sunday mornings. \n\nThere is also a question of the repeated imagery of "a string of shadow horses kicking and pulling me out of my belly." This image is repeated in the first and third stanzas and is linked to anxiety, the butterfly feeling that everyone gets in the pit of their stomach when they are controlled by fear. The idea of "shadow horses" seems to suggest the idea that death is pulling and tugging at the speaker of this poem, and it is the fear of death that drives the speaker to use music to escape the fear.\n\nThis is my guess on the meaning of the poem. . . I hope it proves helpful!
243061
I think it means things are going to get worse before they get better. I really like that quote. I do not know where it originated but it is inspiring.
154108
Hi there,\n\nIt is called a scarecrow.\n\nEtymology:\n\nc.1200, from O.N. skirra "to frighten," related to skjarr "timid, shy," of unknown origin. The noun is attested from 1530. To scare up "procure, obtain" is first recorded 1846, Amer.Eng., from notion of rousing game from cover. Scarecrow first recorded 1553, earliest ref. is to a person employed to scare birds. Stick-figure sense is implied by 1589. Scary is first recorded 1582; scaremonger is from 1888. To scare up "find, produce" is 1853, from the notion of hunters rousing game Scared stiff first recorded 1900; scared shitless is from 1936. Scaredy-cat "timid person" first attested 1933, in Dorothy Parker. \n\nrule wid style n luv@vinny
469444
I don't know how to cut and paste answers here,but I just typed the word into my Internet Explorer bar and there is a lot of information there. It is a 'worm',highly dangerous,with many alias names.