{"id":34,"date":"2012-07-17T21:50:19","date_gmt":"2012-07-17T21:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.knottyweasel.com\/?p=34"},"modified":"2012-07-17T22:14:53","modified_gmt":"2012-07-17T22:14:53","slug":"like-a-bag-of-broken-sausages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.knottyweasel.com\/?p=34","title":{"rendered":"Like a bag of broken sausages…"},"content":{"rendered":"

the incongruous simile<\/h1>\n

I’m sure you’ve heard somebody use similes that seem really incongruous or just plain wrong.\u00a0 We heard one used by a newsreader the other day (which I struggle to remember) which was nonsense – but my mind, rather than letting it drop, tried to start justifying the association.\u00a0 I mangled the subject and it’s rotten simile around until I could somehow align the two – with most amusing results!<\/p>\n

After this mental effort, it occurred to me – this could actually be a fun game!<\/p>\n

the game<\/h1>\n

Primarily to be played by a group of co-located people the goal is nothing other than fumbling about with words and meanings for fun within the framework of the use of simile.\u00a0 The general goal is: given a seemingly unrelated thing A and simile B, find a way to make the simile fit.\u00a0 For example:<\/p>\n

A: Writing this blog<\/span><\/p>\n

is like<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

B: Massaging a racoon<\/span><\/p>\n

So the next bit is to come up with things to make this simile somehow appropriate as though the phrase were taken in one.\u00a0 The more ridiculous the better I say.\u00a0 Writing this blog is like massaging\u00a0a racoon – best done in a dustbin and once you’ve had your vaccinations.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Give it some structure<\/h2>\n

Probably best played as a group round a bunch of booze, there are probably\u00a0a load of ways to add some structure.\u00a0 My first thought and the one that seems most fun is the general free-for-all route:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Everybody writes a single\u00a0object\/action\/situation\/whatever on a slip of paper and puts it into the Thing<\/em> hat.<\/li>\n
  2. Everybody writes a single simile (without the “is\/are\u00a0like” bit – that’s a given) on a slip of paper and puts it into the Simile<\/em> hat.<\/li>\n
  3. Pick one random slip out of each hat<\/li>\n
  4. Maybe use a flipchart\/whiteboard\/big piece of paper to write out the resulting phrase\u00a0Thing<\/em> “is\/are like” Simile<\/em><\/li>\n
  5. Have at it – just come up with weirdness!<\/li>\n
  6. Pop the slips back in their hats (or for extra oddness – pop them back in opposite hats)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    To turn it into a more competitive game you could do things like<\/p>\n