I deconstruct idioms all the time. I often find myself wondering the question "What is the etymology of that idiom?" (Anecdotally, I think I picked this up from Lt. Commander Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation; specifically, I believe, the series finale, "All Good Things..." where the idiom in question was "Burn the midnight oil".) And so generally I ridicule the ridiculous idiom when I think of this.
Why does this subject of idioms come up now? Well, people use strange idioms all the time, but specifically, the other day, one of my friends said something about letting "the cat out of the bag." Isn't this a classic example of animal cruelty, to imprison a cat in a bag? I mean, I am really not a cat person, but why would you do that? And why would letting it out be such a disappointing failure?
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