[–] 19306630? ago (edited ago)
Whenever someone pauses to comprehend, or criticizes the usage of an idiom, or the usage of an idiom derails a conversation, or appears adds unnecessary ambiguity/uncertainty, that’s pushback. This is the mechanism by which common usage is resolved.
This is all just descriptive linguistics, though. You can’t prescribe the usage of a language; you can only describe how its used, and conjecture as to why it is so used. Language changes, usage fades or usage ingrains itself into a local dialect or jargon, and through contact and linguistic exchange, to the common parlance of the language at large. Some even transcend language.
“Locked and Loaded” seems to be here to stay, but language is fickle.
[–] 19306650? ago (edited ago)
Interesting 180 you just made.
[–] 19306686? ago
How? I analyzed the idioms at question, and found that the inaccurate usage was the more correct owing to its universal understanding. I’m neither for nor against any of these idioms, just that the meaning is clear and the conversation efficient.