Since it seems like every newscast begins with the headline “Deflate-gate” over the past few days, most people probably think this just came up in the playoff game for the Super bowl. Actually, the Indianapolis Colts “smelled a rat” back last November about under-inflated balls supplied by the Patriots following its regular season game against them. But I guess that was just “swept under the rug.” After all, it wasn’t a big championship game.
But this time the charge was taken more seriously. Savannah Guthrie on NBC’s Today show this morning said she thought they were now “Trying to get their ducks in a row.”
Quarterback Tom Brady says he had nothing to do with any deflating of balls. Head Coach Bill Belichick said repeatedly that “He has no idea how that could have happened.”
This is just the latest in a series of scandals which the media has dubbed “Gate”
When I was in Washington, DC last August I saw the building where it all began on 17 June 1972 when the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel was bugged by members of the Republican party. We all know that was traced back to President Richard M. Nixon, and that’s what took him down. After that every scandal became a “Gate.” There are so many I won’t attempt to name them all. All the way from Billy-gate to Debate-gate to Frankie-gate to House-gate to Iraq-gate, Korea-gate, Closet-gate, Flake-gate, Gamer-gate, Portrait-gate and on and on. You get the picture. I guess this just goes down as another infamous cliche.
The question remains as to whether these incidents, take Watergate and Deflate-gate, for example… whether they were isolated incidents or just one more in a string of such practices that happen all the time but those involved are not caught. In the latter in certainly seems so, and I think the former as well.
But let’s get our mind off of the news and think about all of these sayings! All the ones used above except gate, along with their origins, may be found in Most Comprehensive Origins of Cliches, Proverbs and Figurative Expressions. If you don’t have your copy, order one online today at Amazon or any reputable retailer. They are “going like hotcakes!” (That’s in there too!)