tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3829599.post108261095849962308..comments2024-01-28T00:20:40.933-08:00Comments on Agoraphilia: If You Turn the Gun on Yourself, Do You Have to Shoot It?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3829599.post-68948989882303968312010-03-10T21:01:27.741-08:002010-03-10T21:01:27.741-08:00I have admittedly no objective, quantifiable evide...I have admittedly no objective, quantifiable evidence to back this up, but I suspect it may have to do with the verb <i>to turn on</i> as in:<br /><br />He trained the dog to attack intruders, but it turned on him instead.<br /><br />The usage seems comparable as some sort of object used as weapon which then backfires/turns on its owner/wielder. The gun example is, of course, different, because the gun-wielder turns the gun on himself willingly (not through some sort of desperate bid for autonomy on the gun's part), but the phrase seems to me to contain the same idea as the treacherous dog above. This may also in part explain why so many usages of "turn the gun on oneself" implies that the gun was actually fired; in the dog example, the dog didn't just threaten its owner but attacked him as well.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02254445118367160647noreply@blogger.com