2020.Random.Phrases

One of my only real abilities as a writer (which I don't consider myself because I'm not at all) is that I can sometimes turn a nice phrase. One of the things I like about interviews (and by extension podcasts, speeches, etc.), and a big reason that I like the poems I hold dear, is that phrasing is important to me. And it's interesting to hear how other people package their thoughts. Phrasing is superficial – the paint on the object not the thing itself – but it's important as the thought’s conveyance, the clothes we present our ideas in. Or perhaps, I just lack anything much deeper. Each of us has our cross to wield.

About a year ago, I heard someone say "If so, good; if not, why?" and I decided that I would keep a list of the cool phrases I've randomly encountered. So I started one, and here’s what I ended up with after about a calendar-year of doing so.

There’s nothing altogether interesting about this list, just phrases that, for whatever reason, struck my ear as interesting (fancy, funny, fun, etc.).

Enjoy, maybe:

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If so, good; if not, why?
Water of unknown origin
A phytosanitary certificate is required
Associative dyspepsia
Large-type asshole
In the audio realm
Pablo Escobar’s hippos
The rusty sands of Mars
Yada, yada, yada, the world is complicated
“Afterwork”
A homemade asshole
Comically terrible in the UI
Quicker in the hole area
Unconscionable food
Empathy for the Machine
Heavy science and scary numbers
Imperfect egg tart
Despicable but necessary
Unpredictable hitting
Need not be submitted in folded form, but the creases should be evident
Well-fed at the sharp end
Take out the tools, hook up the hose
Rear-echelon patriots
Cavorting with the glitterati
Alive in the public dark
Fried-chicken flavor grenade
The codex of cunts
Take some soundings on the future
Same tip, minimal effort
Ridiculous snow
Silkscreening Helvetica onto glass
Overstimulated onanists
Radical moderation
Described verbally and shown at a distance
Hands on the wheel, driving on the bright side of the road

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