Idioms Are Atomic

It is a general rule in linguistics that idioms must be treated as a unit, and should not be analyzed (except etymologically) from the meaning of their component words. Thus, an idiom's internal structure may be ungrammatical, logically invalid ('I could care less' for 'I couldn't care less', a sarcastic variant of the latter which became common in and of itself) or even nonsensical ('head over heels' for feeling as if you were turned upside down, or the now-forgotten 'where's the beef?' for 'there's no substance to this'), but nonetheless be a valid statement in the language if the whole is recognized for its accepted meaning by the majority of the population within which the idiom is current. -- JayOsako

Makes me wonder what academic linguists would have to say about the AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs and InSovietRussia phenomena...

Where's the beef?

For those readers who are not US citizens, or are too young to remember, this line came out of a humorous and popular Wendy's Hamburgers commercial that aired in 1984.

U.S. presidential candidate Walter Mondale used the line (with devastating effect) against Gary Hart in the Democratic party's 1984 primary debates.

It remained current for about two years before fading out of popularity.