Tag Archives: rubber crutch

I’m as serious as a rubber crutch in an orthopedic ward

The informant first heard this saying from her mother in Washington, USA where the informant is from. This is an American saying that is used in a conversational setting. The informant states that this saying is used when somebody is trying to say that a situation is not serious at all and is silly. This is because, as she says, a rubber crutch is not very useful in any orthopedic ward, so this phrase is used to convey that. This is a folk metaphor and makes use of a silly concept to describe a situation as accurately as possible. The use of which the informant describes the saying  as makes sense. The phrase itself and the way its told has a humorous and silly tone to it, indicating that this is a piece of folklore that would not be performed in the professional setting, but rather, used in a casual conversation.