European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 5, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                U. A a v a Vav v a a a a done to bother cracking All those idioms James j. Kilpatrick the writers Art using a visit to California last year president Clinton remarked that 150 separate programs of Job training Are available to the unemployed. Despite this array he said a a lot of people fall Between the  How a that again Between the cracks a spokesman for the fish and wildlife service used the same phrase in testifying before a House committee on a Bill dealing with biological diversity. Proposed classifications a would allow Many elements of diversity to fall Between the cracks a. Obviously the metaphorical phrase is through the cracks but were dealing Here with a figure of speech and often those figures done to add up. The Field embraces idioms dialect Slang metaphors and colloquial speech. Such fur Belows contribute greatly to the Rich fabric of English readers often ask which is right "1 could care less Quot or Quot i  care  the phrases appear to be used interchangeably but they re not inter changeable. They express different Levels of indifference. I if columnist Michael Kinsley were to say that he a could care less Quot about Whitewater clearly he cares in some degree about the Story. His care level is maybe 2 on a scale of 10. But if Kinsley a could no to care less a he plainly does not care at All. His level of concern is Zero. What about the idiomatic a for free Quot at the Washington Park zoo in Portland ore., senior citizens sometimes Are admitted for free. Cable opera tors May transmit local broadcasts for free. The Post. Al service will update certain mailing lists for free. In Canton Ohio the repository reported in january that local Banks were willing to Cash government checks for free. Is there anything wrong with a for free not in my Book. The idiom is perfectly Clear. The phrase carries nuances that Are not conveyed by Quot without  it seems More voluntary not As stiff. At the time of the Iran Contra hearings a few years ago the Wall Street journal said Congress has a a ways to go before the hearings could compete with sitcoms on to. Secretary of state Warren Christopher used the same plural formulation in March about the situation in Bosnia. An Overall peace agreement he said is a a ways Down the Road Quot he meant it was a far piece pronounced fur piece Down the Road. How could one explain to a foreigner that when one is angry one May be beside himself that is what baseball manager Lou Piniella was a few years ago. His Catcher had failed 1o Call for a cutoff throw to Don Mattingly. The a said Piniella was beside him self. When Piniella is sore that is no place to be. The ubiquitous verb a a done appears in All kinds of contexts. When we Are tired we Are done in. When the roast Chicken is ready for the table it is done a completed agreement is a done Deal. Belching at dinner my dears is simply not done. After four visits to Grants Tomb we have done Grants Tomb. Lou Piniella beside himself. Hundreds of idioms a probably thousands of idioms a come out of sports. President Bush used to talk about putting on a a full court  in any adversarial Exchange at some Point a the Baltis in his.  a worried fellow has an a ooh two look on his  an aggressive questioner a throws High hard ones a a front running candidate May be a fast out of the Gate Quot the idiomatic use of a a part is a puzzler. In the real world a golfer feels great if he scores below Par a that is if he makes a Birdie or an Eagle. In the world of idiom someone who feels below Par feels Lousy. Unto Sal press Syndicate. Not a Hole lot of shaking going on Tony Kornheiser and now Welcome to another instalment of science so scary we Are tinkling in our pants. Today we have three items to Ponder 1. The voracious Black Hole in space that is swallowing everything around it faster than Bill Clinton at a Corn dog festival 2. The rapacious virus in Britain that eats Peoples flesh. A a. 3, the genetically altered Tomato in the Sandwich i just ate. We Start with the flavor savr the Tomato a genetically altered a is a highly scientific concept. It Means these tomatoes do not have Mommy and daddy tomatoes like most tomatoes we have known Over the years. Instead they were uttered up in a Laboratory by Guys who were so nerdy and obnoxious in school that people like us used to spit in their food and now they Are getting even. But done to worry about a thing their tomatoes Are probably just Dandy. Anyway the new Tomato rots More slowly. That a the breakthrough. You wont have to refrigerate to Patocs anymore. You  Able to store your tomatoes Down under the sink with the potatoes and onions and the a a off and the toilet plunger where you will of course forget about them until they finally rot nine months later and the smell is so bad you have to sell the House. I done to have a problem with genetically altering a Tomato. Scientists can do what they want to food. If it amuses them let Mem give a potato breast implants. But what happens when they Start doing this to people then you get into a tremendous ethical problem. We d All agree that it would be Nice to isolate the Gene for ear hair a particularly for your Uncle Vic who seems to be growing Vidalia onions in there. And sure everybody would want to genetically alter Neil Youngs voice so it does no to sound like 1,700 cats being roasted on a  what if scientists could genetically alter your relatives As they drove to your House for thanksgiving dinner so that they a turn into oncoming traffic and be crushed into Smithereens thereby sparing you the annual agony of your aunt Evelyn getting drunk As a rat and accusing your Uncle Phil of a making Moo Fly poo Fly with the coat Check girl at Sardis two Days after we were married would that be morally acceptable getting rid of your relatives that Way is that what science should be doing on the other hand consider Haw much Turkey you a have. Left Over and now with genetically altered tomatoes that done Trot you could be eating club sandwiches. Through easter. Moving on to the virus that ate Britain according to a Reuter Story 10 people in England and Wales have already died this year from a flesh eating bacterium that continues to baffle doctors. Having been to England my question would be Why Are they sure its a virus might it not be English cooking i Hope i done to sound like an alarmist when i confess that a a flesh eating virus that causes gangrene Quot scares me out of my pants up until now the Only thing that scared me about England was Freddie and the dreamers but the scariest scientific discovery All week was the Black Hole the Hubble space Telescope sent Back pictures of it. Though i might remind you something of the history of the Hubble which did not work at All when it was first sent into space and made the United states a laughingstock because it Cost $300 billion to manufacture a and we May As Well have sent a giant orbiting Fez dispenser into space. So has it occurred to anyone that these pictures of the Black Hole its sending Back might just be Black because some Bozo forgot to take the Lens Cap off my first thoughts upon hearing of the Black Hole were a. A 1. Is it coming Here 2. Will it get Here before my songs bar Mitzvah because what a the Point of booking a band 3. If not who cares i mean be honest. Finding out  giant pulsing hungry awful gobbling meat eating Black Hole 60  Kaj illion Light years away is very interesting but is it As important As Cal Ripkens Streak besides do you eve r get the feeling that t he scientists who Tell us about the Black Hole done to really know what they Are talking about and Are basically making stuff up As they go along they Tell us that inside a Black Hole Normal time and space come to a halt and the known jaws of physics do not apply. How do they know that next they will inform us that inside a Black Hole toilets flush up and women have names like a Arnold Quot this particular Black Hole is a in the heart of the giant Galaxy ms7, More than 50 million Light years away in the Constellation  the giant Galaxy a m87, is it close to q45 or j30? at 50 million Light years away you 11 excuse me if i done to Start hoarding bread. A Quot so pass me one of them genetically altered Beers with the breast implants and let s watch the orioles game. Cre<h0t$syrcical9 i i i a % Page 20 sunday june 5, 199