Bring home the ... bagels
PETA argues ‘words matter’ in idiom campaign
Sticks and stones can break your bones, but PETA suggests some “anti-animal” idioms casually spoken every day are downright beastly. Virginia-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the world’s largest animalrights organization, has come out with five popular expressions it would like to see silenced once and for all for the sake of cleansing human conversation of speciesism.
The hit list includes “Bring home the bacon” and “Beat a dead horse.”
“Words matter,” PETA posted on social media, “and as our understanding of social justice evolves, our language evolves
along with it.”
Instead of “Kill two birds with one stone,” which means to achieve two goals at once, PETA suggests “Feed two birds with one scone.”
Instead of “Be the guinea pig,” which means to subject oneself to experimentation, PETA suggests “Be the test tube.”
Rather than “Beat a dead horse,” the act of pursuing a lost cause, PETA prefers the kinder “Feed a fed horse.”
And while it’s financially fruitful to “bring home the bacon,” PETA would rather you “bring home the bagels.”
Lastly, don’t “Take the bull by the horns,” PETA asks. Instead, that vexing problem can be tackled when you “Take the flower by the thorns.”
PETA is perhaps best known for its protests of circuses featuring performing wildlife and its “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” campaigns featuring advertisements of Hollywood stars and supermodels.