Infinite Jest: Idioms 3 key examples

Marathe is trying to say that he and his people have "bigger fish to fry." That is, the medical attaché isn't a big enough deal for the A.F.R. to care about. However, English is not Marathe's first language. He attempts to sound fluent by making use of an idiom, but he ends up leaning on synonyms ("seafood," not fish, and "cook," not fry") that call attention to his unfamiliarity with the language. Not only that, but they also make the idiom itself seem rather silly, especially in a conversation about covert political operations. Why would Steeply and Marathe talk about targets for assassination as "fish to fry" anyway? It starts to sound like nonsense.

This bit of nonsense humor in a moment that ought to be serious foreshadows the twist that comes about by the end of the novel. As it turns out, Orin is the one who has started sending copies of The Entertainment out to people. Orin single-handedly turns his father's film into "samizdat," or media deemed so dangerous by the state that it is forbidden. The O.U.S., A.F.R., and other high-up government and terrorist organizations spend an amazing amount of time and resources on a plot that turns out to be a prank. Marathe and Steeply both may have "bigger fish to fry," but the most important fish of all turns out to be a mid-tier football player with a chip on his shoulder.

Ingersoll is playing on the United States motto, "E Pluribus Unum." A rough translation of this Latin phrase, "united we stand," has slipped into American idiom. However, the phrase really translates to "out of many, one." Ingersoll reverses it, essentially saying, "out of one, many." He means that all the E.T.A. students make up a unified team at matches, but behind this united front is a collection of individuals all competing with each other for the highest rank and the best chance of a professional tennis career.

This parody of the United States motto also functions as a snide remark about the U.S. and O.N.A.N. Mario's Interdependence Day film suggests that the official seal of the United States has been updated. Where it once depicted an eagle holding a banner with "E Pluribus Unum" printed on it, it now depicts an eagle with a maple leaf in its mouth. The "one nation out of many" that once existed has devolved into one nation that is eating another. What's more, all the characters in the book seem to have their own personal interests that they prioritize over any collective interests. Patriotism and teamwork, Ingersoll suggests, are things of the past.

Gately and other newcomers to AA want more than anything to be free from addiction. Gately is suspicious about the way the program promises freedom through faith. Participants are encouraged to have faith not only in a vaguely defined "higher power," but also in the process itself and the older people who have been through it. Gately never quite settles into the idea of a higher power. It also feels strange to him to trust strangers simply because they say they know how to help him. Gately is a bit of a folksy character, and so a paraphrased idiom ("When I say jump, you say how high") helps him wrap his head around his feelings. If these older men say "jump" and Gately just complies, is he not simply submitting to another form of control? It does not make sense to him that this kind of submission could make him "free."

And yet, it does free him. By following AA, even the parts he isn't sure about, Gately is able to quit using substances for the first time in his life. His ability to form healthy human connections is entirely transformed. This personal experience is evidence enough for him to keep trusting the process without thinking too much about it. The novel, on the other hand, can't quite seem to put down the paradox. It portrays AA in a mostly positive light, but it remains skeptical that the program isn't itself just as limiting as addiction.