Reggie was discussing some player who had had a nice comeback from being almost out of the league, and he referred to him as having a "new leash on life."
Now, it is possible Reggie was drunk, and was slurring his words, though he didn't slur anything else.
Dear Reggie: It is "a new LEASE on life." I know you've been pretty damn rich for a really long long time, and maybe you forgot "leases" exist. But they do. They are for people who don't want to buy things outright, in cash--it is a contractually agreed-upon rental agreement. So, when someone gets a "new lease on life", they have done something to buy back some more years on their life, as it were.
Therefore, you will please note--that while a "new
lease on life" makes a bit of sense, "new leash on
life" makes no sense at all, unless you envision "life" as being some sort of pet. For example, if you name your Puggle "Life" instead of "Mr. Snugglebritches", and you went out and bought a
new leash for the Puggle almost known as Mr Snugglebritches, but named Life instead, you can then say, accurately, "I've got a new leash on 'Life.'"
English is hard enough for foreigners to learn without people on TV making it more nonsensical than it already is. Come on, Reggie!
5 comments:
You've been reduced to using the cute puppy. [shakes head]
Is that a cute puppy? I had not noticed.
To hell with the foreigners.
American English has been growing exponentially more nonsensical every year since the first publication of "Archie" comics.
Reggie is so used to mispronouncing his ex-teammates name, Rick S"ch"mits, that anytime he runs across an s in certain words, he automatically adds the h.
Come on, he has a college education.
Mr Snugglebritches. I like that name!
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