Are those crickets I hear, even under snow?
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin made headlines a few weeks ago with his take on robots putting people out of work.
鈥淚 think we鈥檙e so far away from that that it鈥檚 not even on my radar screen,鈥� he told his audience at an event in Washington sponsored by the digital news company .
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 50 or 100 more years.鈥� Hmm, I wondered, will this episode generate headlines about 鈥渉earing crickets鈥�?聽
Have you noticed this particular buzz phrase?聽
You hear crickets when you don鈥檛 hear anything else 鈥� in the perfect stillness of an evening. So to say that 鈥減eople are hearing crickets鈥� can be a way to describe the embarrassed or stunned silence that falls in a room in response to something someone does or says 鈥� telling a tasteless joke at a dinner party, for instance.
Mr. Mnuchin鈥檚 鈥�50 or 100 more years鈥� comment was with flabbergasted silence from the people in the room, and shock on the part of Silicon Valley.聽
studying artificial intelligence think robots will be replacing people within just a few years.聽
I did not, in fact, find the 鈥渃rickets鈥� idiom used in coverage of the Mnuchin comment, but other examples abound.
鈥淢ention ethics in Idaho and you hear crickets鈥� was the on an account of a state senator鈥檚 struggle to advance a reform proposal.聽
A newspaper columnist in a Snow Belt city took issue with a state official鈥檚 reported treatment of a popular local priest. The columnist made clear he expected an apology from the governor, but none had come forth.聽
鈥淚f it weren鈥檛 for the two feet of snow on the ground, you could hear the crickets,鈥� the columnist wrote.
After Rep. Steve King (R) of Iowa drew fire for saying, 鈥淲e can鈥檛 restore our civilization with somebody else鈥檚 babies,鈥� a blog asked, 鈥淲hy are we hearing crickets from the GOP on Steve King鈥檚 ugly Tweet?鈥澛�
But just to nitpick, idioms like the 鈥渃rickets鈥� work best when they stick closest to their origin. It鈥檚 not that one 鈥渉ears crickets from鈥� anyone after someone else鈥檚 boneheaded comment; it鈥檚 that one 鈥渉ears crickets鈥� because no one is saying anything at all.
I remember when I learned the idiom 鈥渢o hit the nail on the head.鈥� I was about 8, in the family car as we drove my father and a colleague to work. I made some comment the colleague found especially perceptive, at least from a child, and he turned to me and said, 鈥淵ou hit the nail on the head!鈥澛�
I鈥檇 never heard the expression before, but grasped his meaning immediately.
Metaphors by definition involve a transfer from one reality to another 鈥� from an outdoor scene to an auditorium in Washington, for instance.聽
But a certain ratio must be maintained: Hammer strike is to nail as perceptive comment is to the issue under discussion. Maintain that ratio, and you鈥檒l be able to hear the crickets 鈥� even with snow on the ground.
