One has heard that drug users who are desperate for a fix sometimes pawn their own or other people's belongings in order to get cash quickly.
But you seldom see it spelled out quite so bluntly.
Refreshing, no?
Monday, November 9, 2009
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10 comments:
God Bless America
Umm... I don't get it. What does this have to do with drug users?
This was apparently done by the same window painter who did the new cheerful Finnegans' toy store windows downtown. I'm finding it hard to have the visual messages of "buy toys and be happy!" and "sell your goods because you're miserable!" using the same cartoony animals.
@Reb: U.S.A.!! U.S.A.!!
@Jennifer:
a monkey on one's back, Slang.
a. an addiction to a drug or drugs; narcotic dependency.
b. an enduring and often vexing habit or urge.
c. a burdensome problem, situation, or responsibility; personal affliction or hindrance.
...except I've hardly ever heard it used in senses (b) or (c).
@E.: Does the Finnegan's mural suggest you "Get a (plush) monkey on your back!" ?
Well, I'll be a monkey's--
Er, perhaps not. Anyhow, I've heard it used consistently in c, rarely in b, and (obviously) never in a. Fortunately, it's never too late to learn, right?
P.S. In other news of how sheltered I am but how I am constantly learning, about a week after one of my colleagues had baffled me by referring to a "keg stand," as I had mentioned to you, I ran across it in a book and felt all smug about knowing what was going on. Now I'm just waiting for a similar chance to use this new definition! :-)
I find myself wondering if the purple bow-clad monkey clutching the wads of cash is actually a cruelly accurate caricature of the woman you'll see behind the counter if you go into the pawnshop. Because, you know, that would be creepy.
I'd also like to point out that this sign was not far from the credit union billboard featured, um, three Mondays ago. It was a good day for bad signs.
The only thing missing is some cartoony animals saying, "Got a HOT deal for us?"
Yeah, that ought to cover all the bases.
I too had only heard of sense c. I thought we were laughing at people who used cheque cashing places being depicted as asses or monkeys.
Works on so many levels.
@Margaret: Awesome!
@Aviatrix: South of the border it is, of course, impossible to get cheques cashed.
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