Better to zip lip

A masters in English literature, my friend never tires of using idioms at the drop of a hat.
After a heated debate last week, he hit back at me saying: “You are bent on creating a storm in a teacup.”
“I am not,” I replied.
“Fine words butter no parsnips,” he replied. I had to check out from Google that it actually meant talking is easy, but talking is not action.
“Why are you angry? In a debate, you have to listen to the other person’s point of view,” I tried to pacify him.
“Don’t judge a book by the cover. Look deeper,” he said.
Fed up of his idiomatic jargon, I bid adieu promising to meet him in a day or two. And meet I did. Only this time, I saw a punch mark on his face.
What happened?
“It’s that stupid Joe,” he replied. “During an argument I told him ‘beggars cannot be choosers,’ and he assaulted me.”
Why?
“He thought I was calling him a beggar.”

RR/Sept.24, 2008