This is the ne plus ultra of the DP catalog. Does one really know what an emotional rollercoaster is? We say neigh; it is merely a common and simplistic referent explaining the vacillation of one’s feelings. To compare the metaphor further would require some work: rollercoasters go up and down, side to side, with highs and lows and anything in between. Sure, that sounds good, but seriously? Escalators perform similar functions. So do airplanes. But wait, says the rollercoaster defender. It’s the progression of ups and downs that makes the metaphor, a hormonal capsule barreling along the track of comedy, drama and tragedy. Wrong. Emotions have neither elevation nor lateral coordinates. They are locatable as feelings, not plots on a graph. This example’s detestability, much like most of the phrases we discuss, is in its laziness. It is sloppy English, unimaginative, and thoroughly overused.
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