I try to avoid making predictions, but here’s one I cannot resist: get ready, ladies and gentlemen, because we are going to thread the needle. Even in a world where most people have all the originality of a parrot, especially in the way they speak, it still amazes me the way that phrases take hold. I used to think the disorder that compels people to mimic authority figures was unique to the PR world. I was wrong.
The most offensive example of this, in my opinion, is the liberal sprinkling of every utterance with the word “right.” In early 2001, a woman I worked with who is blind – I point that out because what she lacked in the visual realm she more than made up for when it came to listening and hearing – started counting how many times one of our managers used the word “right” every time she opened her mouth. Then she started calculating and predicting where in the sentence “right” would be used, and the tone, and the significance of the pause either before or after the word. For a while I thought the use of “right” was something only the high tech marketing people were into. Again, I was wrong. Obama’s people use it all the time. A couple of my brothers do as well. We’ve all moved on to other jobs, the blind woman, the manager and me, but a few months ago I had breakfast with the former manager, who is now a teacher, right, and loving it.
Although it seems to have subsided somewhat, “Wall Street vs. Main Street” was making me nervous there for a while. Seriously, when something is recited thousands upon thousands of times, it loses its punch. Toward the end of last year, when a billion dollars in aid still seemed substantial, Gwen Ifil made her opinion on the sudden and excessive use of the two most famous street names in the U.S. clear. “We sure have heard that expression a lot lately,” she said, and then segued into the next segment of her show.
So for now, it seems we are threading the needle. As is often the case, I have no idea what this means, and I’d bet that many people who use it don’t either. My guess is that they’ve heard it used by people with power and since imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery, why not? For me, threading a needle means being precise, merging two objects – a needle and a thread – with very little wiggle room given that the eye of the needle isn’t much larger than the thread through which it must go. And for me, it’s an important step in a mending project. I cannot replace buttons or repair a tear without a threaded needle.
At any rate, regardless of the meaning, which almost never really matters, there are lots of sewing projects going on at the moment, including (all from one morning):
· Obama’s war council is threading the needle on Afghanistan as it makes a decision that will impact us for many years.
· Consumer advocate Clark Howard helped a woman who called into his show thread the needle as they reviewed the interest policy for her credit card.
· The healthcare debate on the floor of the U.S. Senate is a very tricky affair because of the public option, supported by some, loathed by others, and, for still others, loathed and supported at the same time. This means that during the debate, Senate leaders must be very careful as they thread the needle.
· There are a number of scandals running simultaneously in Portland, one of which involves a vote of no confidence against the police chief, taken by the police union, the leaders of which have been quietly threading the needle against her for a while now over other matters.
· The retail outlook for the upcoming holiday season is abysmal. This is a classic example, an analyst said on one of the morning programs, of why it’s a wise idea to thread the sales needle before – not after – the economy goes sour.
As I said, lots of needles are being threaded, and I expect that many more will be. Although it’s still early, the best use I’ve heard thus far came from a woman who lives in the neighborhood where I grew up. “I’m so old,” she bellowed recently, “that I can barely thread the goddamn needle without a magnifying glass.” Of course, the amount of alcohol she consumes probably doesn’t help matters, but I didn’t say so, because by that point in the conversation such a comment would’ve gotten lost like a needle in the haystack, where threading is pretty much impossible.
The most offensive example of this, in my opinion, is the liberal sprinkling of every utterance with the word “right.” In early 2001, a woman I worked with who is blind – I point that out because what she lacked in the visual realm she more than made up for when it came to listening and hearing – started counting how many times one of our managers used the word “right” every time she opened her mouth. Then she started calculating and predicting where in the sentence “right” would be used, and the tone, and the significance of the pause either before or after the word. For a while I thought the use of “right” was something only the high tech marketing people were into. Again, I was wrong. Obama’s people use it all the time. A couple of my brothers do as well. We’ve all moved on to other jobs, the blind woman, the manager and me, but a few months ago I had breakfast with the former manager, who is now a teacher, right, and loving it.
Although it seems to have subsided somewhat, “Wall Street vs. Main Street” was making me nervous there for a while. Seriously, when something is recited thousands upon thousands of times, it loses its punch. Toward the end of last year, when a billion dollars in aid still seemed substantial, Gwen Ifil made her opinion on the sudden and excessive use of the two most famous street names in the U.S. clear. “We sure have heard that expression a lot lately,” she said, and then segued into the next segment of her show.
So for now, it seems we are threading the needle. As is often the case, I have no idea what this means, and I’d bet that many people who use it don’t either. My guess is that they’ve heard it used by people with power and since imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery, why not? For me, threading a needle means being precise, merging two objects – a needle and a thread – with very little wiggle room given that the eye of the needle isn’t much larger than the thread through which it must go. And for me, it’s an important step in a mending project. I cannot replace buttons or repair a tear without a threaded needle.
At any rate, regardless of the meaning, which almost never really matters, there are lots of sewing projects going on at the moment, including (all from one morning):
· Obama’s war council is threading the needle on Afghanistan as it makes a decision that will impact us for many years.
· Consumer advocate Clark Howard helped a woman who called into his show thread the needle as they reviewed the interest policy for her credit card.
· The healthcare debate on the floor of the U.S. Senate is a very tricky affair because of the public option, supported by some, loathed by others, and, for still others, loathed and supported at the same time. This means that during the debate, Senate leaders must be very careful as they thread the needle.
· There are a number of scandals running simultaneously in Portland, one of which involves a vote of no confidence against the police chief, taken by the police union, the leaders of which have been quietly threading the needle against her for a while now over other matters.
· The retail outlook for the upcoming holiday season is abysmal. This is a classic example, an analyst said on one of the morning programs, of why it’s a wise idea to thread the sales needle before – not after – the economy goes sour.
As I said, lots of needles are being threaded, and I expect that many more will be. Although it’s still early, the best use I’ve heard thus far came from a woman who lives in the neighborhood where I grew up. “I’m so old,” she bellowed recently, “that I can barely thread the goddamn needle without a magnifying glass.” Of course, the amount of alcohol she consumes probably doesn’t help matters, but I didn’t say so, because by that point in the conversation such a comment would’ve gotten lost like a needle in the haystack, where threading is pretty much impossible.
