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Monday, May 6, 2013

Again, Is This Just Me?

When you hear the phrase "to think outside the box," doesn't it sound to you as if the speaker is still inside the box? I mean, it's hardly an innovative phrase, is it?

2 comments:

Bonnie said...

Perhaps the box is a place of refuge, where you don't have to think. It seems that phrase is used way too much.

P. J. Grath said...

Yes, the box is what's known and familiar, and as you point out, Bonnie, we don't have to think as much inside it. Getting outside," on the other hand, means being open to what's new and untried, so referring to that openness with a cliche (known, familiar) amuses me. We humans are funny creatures.