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From: "Maria Conlon" <mariaconlon...@hotmail.com>
Newsgroups: alt.usage.english
Subject: Re: What metaphor am I trying to think of?
Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2004 12:53:54 -0400
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Harvey Van Sickle wrote:
> CB wrote:
>> Qp10qp wrote:
>>> Harvey Van Sickle wrote:

>>>> I'm missing a metaphor:  the one where something initially
>>>> co-exists well with other things in its environment, but
>>>> eventually grows so big -- without intending to -- that it
>>>> absorbs or squeezes out everything else around it.
>
>>> Grew like Topsy?
>
> I'm not sure, but I think that merely implies haphazard growth rather
> than sheer size.
>
>> Cancer, if you feel negative enough about it.  That's a part of an
>> organism that grows out of control.  Some kind of benign tumour?
>
> I'm trying to be analytical rather than taking sides:  it's a
> descriptive summary of the growth of Heathrow airport -- which in 1946
> was thought to be a containable development -- and it's fairly
> important to avoid partisan commentary.
>
> As mentioned in a response to John Dean, I think I'll compare it to an
> vigorous but invasive plant (a Russian vine or similar).

The "kudzu" would be a good choice. See:

http://www.cptr.ua.edu/kudzu/

Maria Conlon