I tend to use the analogy of a knife a lot, whether in writing or in conversation. I refer to some things as “stabbing” or “cutting” someone, and I sometimes say things like,

it would help if you put the knife down

and

if you’re trying to give me a helping hand, it would help if there wasn’t a knife in it.

Perhaps it’s a reflection of the knife-related crime that plagued the news in recent times, and people screaming “shank shank shank” on music tracks – particularly when I was still living near one of the most notorious (and probably mythical) crime hotspots. I found it intriguing that murderers had turned to stabbing and cutting people, rather than other creative forms of killing such as shooting or poisoning.
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