Little sayings, slogans, and general slang terms inevitably invade our everyday language. Colloquialisms, aphorisms, proverbs and the like most often enrich, rather than detract, from our expressive communications.
I was watching the four and a half hour movie “Tin Man” over the 4th of July weekend. It’s a stylized science fiction remake of the Wizard of Oz. Early in the movie I was struck by a phrase “Glitch” said to “D.G.” He said simply, “You flick the abacus.”
I had to back up and replay it to be sure I heard right. The context of the scene, the intonations of the voice, the body language, made interpreting his meaning crystal clear. Yep. That’s EXACTLY the kind of thing a sci-fi scarecrow character would say to Dorothy all right.
I love good writing. And I love that particular line so much, I wish I’d written it.
