Grade The Expression, Part 251.

FINALLY SOMEONE SPEAKS OUT FOR SANITY! i believe that this phrase throws US ALL under the bus with its clumsy metaphor and needless violence. sir, i give you an A+ for your courage and bravery in bringing this issue to light.

now, please try and explain "dollars to doughnuts" to me...

OK, so here's the thing with under the bus. First, you have to be familiar with a work environment where ruthless behavior (or even better, ruthless behavior that can be played off as "accidental") is rewarded. If you combine that with a familiarity of urban living, you'll then get this beauty of this saying.

Here's how this works. I'm walking down the street in place like New York. The sidewalk is crowded. I'm in a hurry. Got to get someplace important. You are a little old lady in front of me, and you're walking very slowly. Now I have a handful of options here.

I can wait patiently until you, the little old lady, get where you're going and then speed up. I can try to make other people on the sidewalk move or be intimidated enough to make way for me. I can step off the sidewalk and into the street and pass you. But that's a problem for me because a bus is coming down the street. Or, I can shove you out of the way and into the street so I can continue on my merry way. If I push you into the path of an on-coming bus, well, that's ashame, but life's rough sometimes. If I'm a ruthless egotistical bastard, my option is clear. The easiest way for me to get where I'm going is to throw you under bus.

So this metaphor works on many levels. First, the thrower will take the path of least resistance to get what they want, and in the decision process of what's the easiest, morality plays no part. It's a simple calculation of effort. Consequences to anyone but myself don't count.

The throwee is someone who is weaker, innocent and unable to control their fate. They are at the mercy of the thrower. Even if the little old lady catches on to what's about to happen, there's not much she can do about it.

The thrower is also taking advantage of the throwee. The thrower has other options open to him or her, but it requires effort and factoring in morality. Also, there's a chance of failure with the other options. If the thrower decides to navigate the crowd to get around the old lady, then he or she runs the risk of running into to someone bigger and stronger than he or she is.

It's a statement about power, who has it, who is on the receiving end of it, how it's exercised, and the consequences when power is abused.

Excellent comment, thank you. Ah, not crossing the street, but *moving down the sidewalk* ... I had my scenario wrong.

This could be the first entry in a blog on urban life (is urban life and language too narrow a niche?). Or, I suppose, a how-to blog on being a ruthless, egotistical bastard.

Extra fruit cup for employing the "thrower/throwee" construction.

With the sun out (which means I'm thinking a bit more clearly) and the crossing the street scenario factoring more into my thinking, I have a refinement to add.

There's also an implication of saving yourself at the expense of others in the expression. I mean, the bus is coming and not all of us are going to make it where we're going and if I have to knock a little old lady under the bus to get across the street, down the sidewalk, get where I'm going and avoid getting hit by the bus, well, that's what I'm going to do - if I'm the thrower that is.

There's also the aspect of the throwee being a sacrifice. Once the bus runs over the little old lady, it's going to stop, thus, making the pathway safe for the rest of us. This also implies a sense of smug self-righteousness on the part of the thrower.

Some notable thrower/throwee combos include * Dick Cheney/Scooter Libby * That guy Dick Cheney shot in the face/That guy Dick Cheney shot in the face