The fish rots from the head first

A woman was approaching an issue at work with our boss. She was demanding support from her managment for herself, for the technicians, and for the validity of their test methods. She was visibly upset. "Ya know, the fish rots from the head first...."

WOAH. An awkward giggle game from one of my co-workers. Everyone else hushed. Are you supposed to tell your boss that?

(what does that even mean?)

It's not in my fabulous dictionary! So I go online. This phrase is used in business and politics a lot. It's not succinctly defined. So let me take you through the thought...

The head = management / head(s) of government
How management/government acts reflects upon those they manage/govern.
Usually this term is used with a negative connotation (so it seems)
So if management/government is corrupt/not doing an ideal job, it will reflect poorly on the rest of the company.

Thus, a business will crumble from the top down, the head first.

Apparently there's a book about it

See what Wickipeida has to say about the phrase: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_of_the_Leader

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The Fish Rots from the Head (First)

My Score Card for this idiom:
Able to be understood initially?: yes
Able to be understood once explained?: yes

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See? I'm catchin' on,
An ever-improving American

The Check is in the Mail

I was raising money for the American Heart Association.

Who better to call for money than your parents, eh? Mom said "sure."

I gave myself two days to do the fundraising, so on the last day, the money was due. I emailed Mom:
"hey, how much were you going to give? The money is due today, so I'll just pay for you for now."
an hour later: "How about 25 bucks?"
30 mins later: "Sure."
an hour later: "The check's in the mail."

Good deal.

Then I though, oh damn. They probably made the check out to the American Heart Association, and not to me... Oh well, that's double the money for AHA, I guess.

Later, we found out our company didn't raise nearly enough money. So we decided to have another fund raiser sometime in the future. I call home and this time Dad answers. I tell Dad "thanks for your donation. We didn't make enough, so I'll put the check mom sent towards the new fund raiser we're doing."

Dad kinda chuckled. "I'm not really sure Mom sent you the check yet..."
"Well, she told me she did... she said she did."
"Yea.. well I think Mom meant that she would send it soon..."
"What? Why would she tell me she sent it when she hasn't?"
"Well, how about I transfer $40 bucks to your account? $25 for the first one, and the rest for the second one? Will that be okay?"
"...Sure."

Either Dad's confused or Mom's a liar. Humph.

The next day, I get an email from Mom:

The Check is in the Mail...

Is an idiom that means I will pay you later.
I laughed so hard at your sweetness.
However, it made you another $15.00, so it was profitable.

You need a book of idioms! J

Whhaaaat? My own mother is in on the secret language too!?
Am I an idiot?
But this idiom can be taken literally and it still makes sense!
WHAT A DANGEROUS IDIOM!
Oh, and I know Mom knows I have the dictionary... I'm thinking J means Joking.

Oh ya, and, Mom,
this one is NOT listed in my dictionary of idioms (thank you very much).
so HA.

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The Check is in the Mail

My Score Card for this idiom:
Able to be understood initially?: umm... when you're actually expecting a check, no, it does NOT make sense!
Able to be understood once explained?: I suppose

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I'm not even sure this proves I'm an idiot; I think this is a bad context for this idiom.

I'm not quite sure I'm the idiot in this one,
One who takes things at face value

Monday Morning Quarterback

"Eh don't worry about him. He's just a Monday morning quarterback."

*GOD it's getting old how often I'm saying this*
"... uuuh I don't know what that means..."

"it's just that... he wants to be one of us, but he's not qualified. So he'll tell you stuff, and just ignore him."

Okay. But I have a feeling that's not what Monday morning quarterback means. So I look it up in my special dictionary. GASP. It's not there. WHAT DO I DO!? So I try to reason it out.

I think there's Sunday football. Or is it Monday night football. Let's just say Sunday. So...maybe the Monday morning quarterback is the shmuck who's ready to play RIGHT when your team already played --- like he's too enthusiastic. "Cooooool it, kid. Take a break."

Or maybe... if they play Monday night, then the guy is there too early... so he's still a schmuck... "Coool it kid. Rest up."

So... Schmuck? Over-enthusiastic? That's what I figure.

I ask my resource, Justin.

"Well... they play football on Sundays...right?" Okay. Got it. "... So everyone always thinks they can play the game better the day after everything happens. He shoulda done this, shoulda done that. But it's the day after...so who cares. Hindsight is 20/20. It's a lot more difficult to make the right plays as it's happening."

Oh.

Okay that makes sense. Damn the Monday morning quaterbacks. But, we're all guilty of it. Lesson: don't shoulda-woulda-coulda. Say "well, this has been a learning experience for me.. maybe next time we should do *this*...." Maybe write it in a book so the next person knows...

It's all about preventing things from happening next time ... don't focus on the shoulda-woulda-couldas.

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Monday Morning Quarterback

My Score Card for this idiom:
Able to be understood initially?: Not if you don't know football
Able to be understood once explained?: Yes

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You live, you learn.

Yours preposterously,
An under-read American