Why drown worms when the fish ain’t biting?

American English has many colloquial idioms which cannot be taken literally, phrases which may on first hearing seem bizarre or inane. Some common examples: “That coffee’s too hot to drink,” means, “Your idea is too bold to achieve general acceptance.” “New laces on the same old cleats,” refers to an attempt to reinvigorate anything tired or worn-out with only superficial changes. Finally, here is an exchange in which two speakers opine on an absent third party’s lack of intellectual acuity: “That fella is about one demigod short of a pantheon.” “Yup. That Greyhound don’t go all the way to Topeka.”