Talk:way out of a paper bag
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The following information passed a request for deletion.
This discussion is no longer live and is left here as an archive. Please do not modify this conversation, but feel free to discuss its conclusions.
Seems wrong to me. a bit like X one's Y off. Would any user actually look up unable to X one's way out of a paper bag? There's been similar formulaic phrases deleted before (I think, but aint sure). Maybe if this was linked from paper bag it could be kept, however. --Keene 10:06, 4 July 2007 (UTC)
- Although I am an inclusionist by nature (if it exists, we should have it), these are not genuine phrases and should ALL be deleted. SemperBlotto 10:18, 4 July 2007 (UTC)
- delete this. There is an idiom "unable to find one's way out of a paper bag", where "find" can be replaced with "organise", "navigate", "negotiate", "manage", "fight, "punch", "dance" and possibly others. "one's" is "his", "her", "your", "its" or "their" in actual use, but other idioms like this are at "one's". We should have an entry for the idiom at whichever of these is the most common and have redirects from the others. Thryduulf 10:40, 4 July 2007 (UTC)
- See [1] for examples. Thryduulf 10:47, 4 July 2007 (UTC)
- Perhaps "way out of a paper bag" would be a good place for the entry, as that covers all forms? Thryduulf 10:50, 4 July 2007 (UTC)
- delete this. There is an idiom "unable to find one's way out of a paper bag", where "find" can be replaced with "organise", "navigate", "negotiate", "manage", "fight, "punch", "dance" and possibly others. "one's" is "his", "her", "your", "its" or "their" in actual use, but other idioms like this are at "one's". We should have an entry for the idiom at whichever of these is the most common and have redirects from the others. Thryduulf 10:40, 4 July 2007 (UTC)
- I think couldn't punch one's way out of a paper bag might be a valid idiom, with a second figurative sense indicating that punch is often replaced with any relevant verb. Perhaps list as a cliche? I don't think this (...X one's way...) is useful at all, on its own. --Connel MacKenzie 14:31, 4 July 2007 (UTC)
- The problem is the only cosistent part is "way out of a paper bag", the start is variously "can't <verb>", "can not", "unable to <verb>" in the present tense, then there are past tense (e.g. "couldn't <verb>" "wasn't able to <verb>") and future tense (e.g. "won't be able to <verb>", "not be able to <verb">, "not <verb>") uses. Then there are many, many verbs that can be used; the most common ones I hear in the UK are "find" and "organise". Thryduulf 18:33, 4 July 2007 (UTC)
- I think couldn't punch one's way out of a paper bag might be a valid idiom, with a second figurative sense indicating that punch is often replaced with any relevant verb. Perhaps list as a cliche? I don't think this (...X one's way...) is useful at all, on its own. --Connel MacKenzie 14:31, 4 July 2007 (UTC)
- I'm a supporter of prepositional phrases, as you may have realised by now. I would put this as out of a paper bag idiom, and prepositional phrases as the categories.Algrif 17:59, 6 July 2007 (UTC)
- I'm not sure what you mean by "categories" above, but I agree that out of a paper bag would be a good "main entry" that the other forms hard-redirect to. --Connel MacKenzie 16:12, 23 August 2007 (UTC)