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December 13, 2004
Plagiarism metaphors
The current record-holder for quantity of metaphors relating to plagiarism: Jeremiah McDonnell, a teacher in Tallahassee, Florida, who is apparently an experienced writer of letters to editors. In a letter to the Tallahassee Democrat today on the subject of plagiarism, McDonnell offers the following metaphors:
Trouble is, I can't quite figure out what the man is actually trying to say about plagiarism (or essays, or term papers). Must be my end-of-semester fatigue, or perhaps a more mundane senior moment. So, dear readers, senioritis will pay a reward of an as-yet-undisclosed sum (must check with my accountant, bookkeeper, agent, banker, manager, and creditors before naming exact figure) to the person who can most persuasively translate the message in McDonnell's letter.
Posted by senioritis at December 13, 2004 08:09 PM
Comments
beats me. if i had to read it again (and i read it three times too many), i'd be more confused than when i started. here's what i started writing:
head cheese = term paper
hot dog = food that tastes good, but isn't good for you
rat = dead, stinks, stinch; can't find cheese if dead
guess i don't get the prize. it was fun just trying to figure it out.
Posted by: aj at December 13, 2004 10:04 PM
Ah, but you've already extracted a meaning from the metaphor web that had eluded me: plagiarists (rats) can't find cheese (term papers). Or something. Uh-- I'm still stumped, too. Other players?
Posted by: senioritis at December 13, 2004 10:50 PM
Perchance there is a connection between the pointy hat of the first paragraph and the fact that "it is [his] job to point"?
Posted by: collin at December 14, 2004 02:02 AM
On the first point, I read the rat as pure, unavoidable stink--the presence of something undesirable in his consciousness. I've no idea how the rat made its way into his noggin.
The hot dog meat (typical essay) and head cheese (researched term paper) refs play on meat processing, right? The jellied meat-parts in head cheese are less refined and less purely processed (ground up?) than the reduced parts constituting a hot dog, I think. Head cheese, I'm told, it rather nasty for that very reason, whereas hot dogs...mmm, hot dogs.
But to hold up the comparison of meat and plagiarized writing, I think he needs more examples: reading response=bologna, journaling=sausage links, annotated bib=chicken nuggets, and for veg'rians, blog entry=tossed salad.
Posted by: Derek at December 14, 2004 07:10 AM
Derek is definitely in the running for the coveted prize. And he points out something I'd missed: "head cheese" doesn't necessarily mean "boss," as in "She's the head cheese in this place," but can also refer to a revolting form of processed meat (http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1626,144187-250192,00.html). Maybe we should write to McDonnell & suggest that he provide a metaphor glossary for his readers? (Then again, collaboratively treasure-hunting his possible meanings is a pretty decent sport when the Steelers aren't on T.V.) And we should definitely suggest that he add Derek's items to his literacy smorgasbord.
Posted by: senioritis at December 14, 2004 07:44 AM
Derek-
That was hilarious. A smorgasbord indeed.
Posted by: aj at December 14, 2004 09:37 AM