I don't know why but it makes me angry
Okay. I was reading the writer's block thing today and It mentioned a canary in a coal mine as a confusing idomatic expression. Personally I don't see what's confusing, the reference is literal. My grandfather was a coal miner in West Virginia. My mom would tell me stories how the miners would send Canaries into the mines to check the gas levels, if the canary came out alive, it was safe to go in... if not... well who cares about a few dead birds right? (heavy on the sarcasm). I hate how cruelty can be addapted and forgotten morphed into "enigmatic idomatic expressions"