“A horse fell on her when she was a kid, and she hasn’t taken an aspirin yet.” (Metaphor)
Arty, the more humorous of the two brothers, describes a literal event that happened to Grandma as a child, but then puts a comical and metaphorical spin on his account to connect it to Grandma's peculiarities and personality quirks. When she was young, Grandma suffered an injury from a horse at a political rally in Germany, which has left her with a limp. As Arty describes it, a horse "fell on her," and she "hasn't taken an aspirin yet." In this instance, he isn't literally suggesting that she hasn't taken an aspirin, but using the image as a metaphor for the ways that Grandma is so mean-spirited and unhappy. She has refused to make herself feel better, and instead stews in her pain.
"I am the crybaby" (Metaphor)
When Grandma is mean to Eddie, he defiantly talks back to her, saying, "You're right, Momma. I am the weak one. I am the crybaby." Ever since he was little, Eddie has been perceived as the sensitive one, in a household where showing emotion was frowned upon. Now, as an adult, he is no longer a baby, but Eddie uses this metaphor of himself as a "crybaby" to show this self-awareness about how his mother perceives him. In invoking this image now, he suggests to his mother that he doesn't take it very seriously, and that he doesn't feel bad about his own sensitivities.
"She's got marbles rolling around up there" (Metaphor)
Jay uses this metaphor to describe Aunt Bella in the very first scene of the play. The suggestion that she has "marbles rolling around" in her head alludes to the fact that she's cognitively limited, and in the boys' perception, a little crazy. The turn of phrase suggests that Bella's mind is a little unpredictable.
"You're a Child" (Metaphor)
In their fight when Bella returns home after staying at Gert's for a while, Grandma tells her that she is a child, that the doctors said there was nothing wrong with her but that she is a child. We know that Bella is 35 years old, a full-grown woman, so this statement serves as a metaphor to describe Bella's mental condition and her limitations. While Bella might feel and look like a woman, her mind is underdeveloped, and she cannot take on adult responsibilities in the way that she desires. The metaphor of childhood is most effective in explaining Bella's particular handicaps.
"Dirty laundry" (Metaphor)
Referring to what's in his mysterious black bag, Uncle Louie tells Arty and Jay, "It's just laundry. Dirty laundry. That's all, boys." In this instance, he is deflecting telling them what's actually in the bag, but the phrase "dirty laundry" refers to private and sensitive matters, not literal laundry.
