The use of the phrase "blow out of the water" has long annoyed me, because I associate it with fools who credit themselves with having "blown out of the water" someone else's position in an argument.
I suppose this is because it combines an obnoxious rhetorical bombast--something the stupid substitute for soundness of argument--with an equally obnoxious display of self-satisfaction; with a person arguing very badly, and then being very pleased with themselves for having argued badly as they award themselves the laurels of victory.
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
27 minutes ago
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