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Phrases like ‘bring home the bacon’ and ‘take the bull by the horns’ need to stop so we avoid offending the rising numbers of vegans, academic claims

The growing popularity of veganism could lead to a cull of meat and dairy sayings, an academic has claimed.

Phrases such as ‘bring home the bacon’ and ‘killing two birds with one stone’ will go out of fashion to avoid offending animal lovers, according to Shareena Hamzah of Swansea University, reports Daily Mail.

She cited guidance from Peta, the animal rights charity, which wants people to replace expressions such as ‘take the bull by the horns’ with ‘take the flower by the thorns’.

Dr Hamzah said the influence of veganism will raise awareness of animal cruelty and push people towards using less meaty metaphors.

‘If veganism forces us to confront the realities of food’s origins, then this increased awareness will undoubtedly be reflected in our language and literature,’ she said.

‘The increased awareness of vegan issues will filter through our consciousness to produce new modes of expression.’

But Dr Hamzah said it was unlikely such phrases would be cut out of the linguistic diet altogether, and their more sparing use could in fact heighten their impact.

She said: ‘The image of ‘killing two birds with one stone’ is, if anything, made more powerful by the animal-friendly alternative of ‘feeding two birds with one scone’.’

Peta also wants to replace the phrase ‘to flog a dead horse’ with ‘to feed a fed horse’.

Likewise, ‘more than one way to skin a cat’ should become ‘more than one way to peel a potato’, it says.

Do you agree that some of the old sayings need to stay in the past?

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  • I don’t consider whether something will offend or not before I say it. You take offence, you don’t give it.

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  • I can see their point but I think it’s a bit extreme. Sayings naturally change overtime and I don’t think that can be forced.

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  • I think some old sayings are quite odd, but we don’t tend to think about the words too much.

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  • They are all old phrases and it’s just words.. no one actually does it or thinks about doing it when they say it. So petty…


    • They are old phrases and sayings and as generations move forward they are losing relevance and being replaced by new phrases and sayings.

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  • I’m a vegetarian since I was 11yrs old and have been vegan part of my life. I’ve never been offended by such language, it just shows a different opinion on how we view animals and how we use them.

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  • I live in a regional area and phrases like these are very common. I really can’t see the vegans winning here anytime soon.

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  • I really do not hear many of these sayings being used in everyday conversation.

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  • This is just taking tings to the extreme. What nonsense.

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  • Every time I read or hear something like this I can’t help but roll my eyes. It’s a saying, it’s been around for a very long time. People just like to get their knickers in a knot and complain about every little thing now days

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  • Oh no! Unbelievable! This is pure exaggeration in my idea!

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  • I have no issue with people being vegan but they really need to stop with this stupid stuff they are going on aboutnand stop getting so butt hurt over everything!!

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  • I have nothing against Vegans except their need to push their beliefs onto everyone else.
    I honestly don’t recall saying any of these recently or having heard them, but these are phrases people understand, it’s going to take a while for people to change

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  • Oh please,

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  • You can’t force these kinds of linguistic changes.

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  • I have always hated the cat saying because in the past there has been some horrid cruelty to cats and some have looked as though either part or all of the skin was removed.

    Reply

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