I saw the following question on Quora:
--- quoted text ---
How did the ANC (African National Congress) become a dumpster fire?
Steve Hayes, Studied history and theology, retired English editor
Answered 1m ago
Im not sure that I fully understand the metaphor of a dumpster
fire. I thought it was used mainly for a flame war on social media,
and the in-fighting in the ANC goes a long way beyond a mere war of
words.
--- end quoted text ---
Can anyone help expand my understanding of the metaophor of a
"dumpster fire"?
In South Africa we don't have "dumpsters", and when I see the word
dumpster I picture a skip. Skips are usually used to collect building
rubble, but people sometimes hire them for putting their other junk
in, but I've been told that American dumpsters, while used for similar >purposes, are constructed differently.
So is "dumpster fire" (used metaphorically) used for anything other
than a flame war in Facebook comments, and what would it mean in the
context of the question?
On Wed, 26 Feb 2020 04:21:45 +0200, Steve Hayes
<hayesstw@telkomsa.net> wrote:
So is "dumpster fire" (used metaphorically) used for anything other
than a flame war in Facebook comments, and what would it mean in the >>context of the question?
Dunno about the construction differences since I don't know what a SA
skip looks like. There are several designs and sizes of them used in
the US.
The metaphor is that a crisis that gets out of hand is like a fire in
a dumpster...no one knows when it started or why because it burns out
of sight until it gets out of hand.
No social media origins, but it can be applied to what can happen in
social media.
On Wed, 26 Feb 2020 04:21:45 +0200, Steve Hayes
<hayesstw@telkomsa.net> wrote:
I saw the following question on Quora:
--- quoted text ---
How did the ANC (African National Congress) become a dumpster fire?
Steve Hayes, Studied history and theology, retired English editor
Answered 1m ago
Im not sure that I fully understand the metaphor of a dumpster
fire. I thought it was used mainly for a flame war on social media,
and the in-fighting in the ANC goes a long way beyond a mere war of
words.
--- end quoted text ---
Can anyone help expand my understanding of the metaophor of a
"dumpster fire"?
In South Africa we don't have "dumpsters", and when I see the word
dumpster I picture a skip. Skips are usually used to collect building >>rubble, but people sometimes hire them for putting their other junk
in, but I've been told that American dumpsters, while used for similar >>purposes, are constructed differently.
So is "dumpster fire" (used metaphorically) used for anything other
than a flame war in Facebook comments, and what would it mean in the >>context of the question?
Yes, "dumpster" is the US term for a "skip". The name comes from
George Dempster, the former Mayor of Knoxville TN who owned a
construction company. He developed and patented a container in 1935
to be used for construction and other debris. The container could be
picked up by a truck designed for that purpose. It was originally
known as the Dempsey Dumpmaster. "Dumpster" has now become the
generic word for what you call a skip.
Dunno about the construction differences since I don't know what a SA
skip looks like. There are several designs and sizes of them used in
the US.
The metaphor is that a crisis that gets out of hand is like a fire in
a dumpster...no one knows when it started or why because it burns out
of sight until it gets out of hand.
No social media origins, but it can be applied to what can happen in
social media.
I saw the following question on Quora:
--- quoted text ---
How did the ANC (African National Congress) become a dumpster fire?
Steve Hayes, Studied history and theology, retired English editor
Answered 1m ago
I’m not sure that I fully understand the metaphor of a “dumpster
fire”. I thought it was used mainly for a flame war on social media,
and the in-fighting in the ANC goes a long way beyond a mere war of
words.
--- end quoted text ---
Can anyone help expand my understanding of the metaophor of a
"dumpster fire"?
In South Africa we don't have "dumpsters", and when I see the word
dumpster I picture a skip. Skips are usually used to collect building
rubble, but people sometimes hire them for putting their other junk
in, but I've been told that American dumpsters, while used for similar purposes, are constructed differently.
So is "dumpster fire" (used metaphorically) used for anything other
than a flame war in Facebook comments, and what would it mean in the
context of the question?
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