"You've got a geranium in your cranium."

— Lederer, Esther [Ann Landers] (1918-2002)


Date
April 15, 1971
Metaphor
"You've got a geranium in your cranium."
Metaphor in Context
The pathetic one in the family is you. [...] Get some counseling, mother. You've got a geranium in your cranium.
Provenance
Reading Molly Young, "Wisdom Dispensed With Slaps and Puns: A Sprightly History of Advice-Giving," New York Times Book Review (June 1, 2018). <Link to NYTimes.com>
Citation
Lederer, Esther [Ann Landers], "You've Got a Geranium in Your Cranium," Dixon Evening Telegraph (April 15, 1971).

Quoted in Jessica Weisberg, Asking for a Friend: Three Centuries of Advice on Life, Love, Money, and Other Burning Questions from a Nation Obsessed (New York: Hachette, 2018).
Date of Entry
06/04/2018

The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.