Irritating Metaphors

"Caught between a rock and a hard place"

This is an uneducated reference to the Greek myth of Scylla and Charybis, which occurs in Book 12 of Homer's "Odyssey". Scylla is a female sea-monster who lives on a rock on one side of the straits, and there is a whirlpool, known as Charybis, on the other side, with only a narrow passage in between. Acting on the advice of Circe, Odysseus steers his boat through the danger, though Scylla does manage to snatch and devour six of his crew. The source of the myth is probably the notoriously dangerous Straits of Messina, between Sicily and mainland Italy.
   The myth has been used since then as a metaphor for facing two opposite and contrasting perils. Even for those who do not know the names of Scylla and Charybdis, "being caught between a rock and a whirlpool" is still a striking and evocative image. But the modern usage, "being caught between a rock and a hard place" evokes no image at all. What is "a hard place" supposed to mean? It is sheer anticlimax; bathos. Whoever coined it could have no feeling for language at all. May I appeal for the restoration of the old usage?

Here we see Scylla and Charybis in a cartoon of 1793, by James Gillray. The Prime Minister, William Pitt the younger, steers Britannia's boat between the rock of radical democracy (with a French Revolutionary "cap of liberty" on top) and the whirlpool of arbitrary monarchy, represented by an upside-down crown. The boat is followed by the opposition Whig leaders: Priestley, Fox and Sheridan; presumably hoping for an upset.

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"Shoes to die for" (or, indeed, any other consumer goods)

What on earth is this supposed to mean? Several different lines of thought occur to me:-

It would be more meaningful to say "Shoes to steal for", or even "Shoes to kill for". Are these shoes so important to you that would steal them? Evidence suggests that many people are prepared to do this. Would you be prepared to murder someone to get hold of them? A few people might do this, though they would be considered criminal psychopaths.

Giving your life for a cause is considered admirable; always providing that the cause itself meets with approval: as witness all the war memorials to those who "gave their lives for their country". Does "shoes to die for" mean that you would sacrifice your life to own those shoes? Really? But in that case, how could you enjoy wearing them? And how would anyone else benefit? This is just clumsy and thoughtless use of language. It would be more meaningful to talk of "shoes to sell you soul for"; though probably people who speak in this way do not believe in immortality of the soul.
   In actual fact I find it hard to imagine ways in which you could help your country, or any other cause, by dying; other than by setting an example of heroic martyrdom. Generally speaking, while being prepared to risk your life for a cause is undeniably heroic, you will help your cause better by remaining alive. The only person who helps the cause by dying is a suicide bomber - but this is condemned as terrorism rather than praised as heroic sacrifice.

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"Groundhog Day"

I have no idea what this means. Does anyone in Britain know what it means? Then why do people keep on using it?

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"Curveball"

 I presume this is a metaphor from baseball: what in cricketing terms would be an inswinger (or outswinger).  I think we in England should strike back against all such alien usage by applying cricketing metaphors whenever possible. I had great hopes of Sir Alec Douglas-Home (Lord Home), as the only Prime Minister ever to play first-class cricket, telling the United Nations that Britain was "caught on a sticky wicket" but would "play with a very straight bat", and having this translated into Hungarian or Korean. That'd show them!