On Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at 8:50:14 AM UTC-4, occam wrote:
> On 21/03/2023 13:00, Peter T. Daniels wrote:
> > On Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at 3:16:00 AM UTC-4, occam wrote:
> >> On 20/03/2023 16:38, Peter Duncanson [BrE] wrote:
> >>> On Wed, 15 Mar 2023 10:47:58 +0100, Bertel Lund Hansen
> >>> <
gade...@lundhansen.dk> wrote:
> >>>> In a tv program about four murders in the UK a woman was speaking at her
> >>>> son's funeral. She described him lovingly with vivid words as somewhat
> >>>> wild. She used this expression:
> >>>> He could start an argument in an empty room.
> >>>> I liked that.
> >>> I don't know when that phrase originated but there are variants;
> >>> "fight" instead of "argument"
> >>> "pick a fight" instead of "start an argument"
> >>> "house" instead of "room"
> >>> etc.
> >> I would like to propose: "He could start an argument with his own
> >> reflection in the mirror".
> > That's redundant. Either word works by itself.
>
> No it wouldn't.
>
> "He could start an argument with the mirror" could mean that the person
> is mad, and that he is in the habit of talking to inanimate objects e.g.
> the dishwasher, the TV set, a portrait on the wall etc.