Does the Pope shit in the woods?

When asked if he wanted another beer, the speaker uttered the above response.  It is often said intentionally, as in the movie The Big Lebowski.  The Dude responds with this line when Jackie Treehorn offers him another White Russian.  It is a congruent conflation of “does a bear shit in the woods?” and “is the Pope Catholic?”, both expressions that describe the obvious.  There are many expressions in this vein, and I call that “idiom overload”,  when there are just too many sayings swirling around in the head that have the same meaning.  Another example of idiom overload is the many expressions describing one who is not very intelligent (e.g., “not the sharpest tool in the shed”, “not the brightest bulb in the chandelier”, etc).  Many thanks to Erin Powers for hearing this one and sending it in.

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