We'd say "has a short fuse" and "take the biscuit" but maybe Terry has already told you that.



>>Could you reveal the original metaphor/phrase and how it was mixed/twisted ? And I am serious. I promise to keep a short wick and not to take a cake.
>
>The wick part comes from Serbian "has a short wick", comparing the guy to a pack if dynamite which can go off really quick. "Take the cake" is something I've heard here often enough - something takes the cake when it's too much, far overboard, excessive etc.
>
>Now I can see why the wick part would be a metaphor, but taking a cake doesn't even symbolize anything, it's not a comparison - or if it was, it's lost. Now it's just an expression.
>
>>>>>(blinkblink) bwah?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>His short wick would have extinguished as soon as he hit the water with his soggy cake.
>>>>
>>>>As I said, look at the mixed metaphors in Dragan's statement.
>>>
>>>I wouldn't call this "mixed metaphors". I'm just twisting and trying the familiar phrases. And, ahem, along the way - if we say "do A and B", we can also say "do B and A", assuming that if there was some particular order about them, we'd say "do A, then B". So... "try and do x" is equivalent to "do x and try"... which will be an interesting exercise, which I will do and try from time to time.