Taking more edge off than needed
There is a phrase people often use generically without understanding what it means. This includes me. What exactly is the edge that people feel the need to take off?
So I asked Pi the ai.
My question today is about the edge that people say they like to take off. What is the edge in; takes the edge off actually intended to be, and how did the term come to its popularity with things that intoxicate?
Great question, Jeff! The phrase “taking the edge off” usually refers to reducing or dulling the intensity of something, like stress, anxiety, or physical discomfort. When people use the phrase in relation to intoxicants like alcohol or drugs, they’re suggesting that these substances help to relax them or ease their worries, even if just temporarily. As for its origin, it’s thought to have come from the idea of smoothing out or rounding off a sharp edge, which is a metaphor for reducing the harshness or severity of a feeling or experience.
The problem I occasionally have with the edge is over-sanding. I end up spending the rest of the morning as a circle with no edge, rolling around instead of staying in one place and being productive. Some days I imagine myself as Sysaphis, the god rolling that huge round stone up the mountain but other days I am the huge stone that keeps resetting back to the bottom. You can try and progress, but we both know the day is ending with the boulder at the bottom, and we’ll try again tomorrow. Or Monday
It reminded me of a silly game I invented to play in the car. Windshield Wiper Chicken: Each player takes turns lightly tapping the windshield wiper’s single wipe mode. Not all cars may have this in the same way but on my car, it was a down push of the steering wheel level that was on the passenger side, easily accessible without risking distraction. When you pressed it too fast, it would just advance a little, and depending on how quick you were, the turns could last four or five tries before it actually triggered the full swipe and you lost. The games fun comes from the anticipation. There are many games where you’re racing against a clock or something to complete a challenge. This one made road trips spontaneously interesting for me.
This doesn’t relate directly to the issue with my morning drug routine, except that I keep hitting the bong until it feels right, but the difference is the windshield wiper game has a live reaction. You either lose or you advance the wipers just enough to stay under the threshold. My drugs frequently take a minute or more to actually “hit” and even then the overall feeling isn’t that detectable with my brain type and the Paxil medication I probably should not be mixing. So what happens is I sometimes I take the edge off, but keep taking more and more unknowingly.
And then when I go to do that task I’ve been having trouble with all week I look up and notice – When did it become Friday already?!?
Well… that’s a Monday problem now.
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