Coming to Grips with Slippery Concepts
Dear Fellow Earthlings, There is an English language expression "slippery as an eel". The expression is typically used to describe a person who is crafty enough that kee cannot be brought to justice for illegal dealings. "That drug lord is slippery as an eel (as he continues to elude police)."
Eels are done a dishonor by the expression, for their slipperiness when we try to pick them up with our hands is a mechanism that has evolved as part of their instinct to survive. It is Ironic that such a totally natural behavior should be used as the basis for an idiom that generally carries a negative connotation.
It is we humans who are "slippery" here, as we decimate eel populations in so many ways: outright fishing, destruction of shark populations (It seems some species of eels feed on shark eggs during their larval stage), the construction of dams (that interrupt eels' life cycles), and general pollution of the oceans and rivers where eels have lived from time immemorial. What eels eat during their life cycle has long puzzled fishermen and researchers. Also, how eels navigate and how they interact socially eludes us. The only things humans have been able to do well is to interrupt eels' life styles -- and decimate their populations as a result.
The whole life cycle of the most famous types of eels, the Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica) -- traditionally popular as a major food in Japan -- and the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) -- a delicacy in many European countries -- have been studied extensively. In fact, there are various names applied to eels as they go through the cycle of their slippery lives: leptocephalus, glass eel, elver, yellow eel, and finally silver eel. The very fact that the eel goes through so many metamorphoses durings its life makes researching this elusive creature a "slippery" procedure. Researchers in Japan, China, Denmark, and many other countries are slowly unraveling the mysteries of eels. The Japanese idea of working with bottom feeder catfish and making their flesh taste like that of the eelmay afford some succor to the Japanese love for eel as a food and the European penchant for eels as a delicacy. After all we do eat "fake food" quite often, don't we? Are "nuggets" food? Is ice cream food?. In the interest of saving eels I just hope that eel reseachers can do something. We should try to be content with eating "imitation eel" (provided that it is healthful!!) and move on with life. Otherwise, as Leonardo DiCaprio in his role as Jack Dawson did at the end of the 1997 movie "Titanic", the eels will surely just slip away into oblivion! For more details about the situation of eels,I suggest you read the article "Slippery Business" by Richard Schweid to get you started down the slippery path of eel research!, Steve Walker Earthsaver and Jingles Creator
© 2013 Steve Walker, The Jingles-The Japan Foundation for English Pronunciation, Summit Enterprises.