I'm in the penalty box.

I'm in the penalty box at work.

Or so a co-worker told me. It's a hockey metaphor, where guys who are temporarily rule-challenged get the adult version of a "time out" for 2 minutes, 4 minutes, or the rest of the game, depending on the infraction.

It's a metaphor, so like all metaphors, it breaks down at some point.

Hockey players generally get stuck in the penalty box for "unsporting behavior or intentional, dangerous disregard of the rules". I'm "in the box" not for breaking the rules, but for blowing the whistle when it looked like the rules weren't being followed.

Also, in the sport, while a player is in the penalty box, the player is out of the game, and the team can't sub a replacement. In my situation, it's basically been one long day for the last week and a half, so I don't even get the rest period generally afforded the penalty box.

Plus, I suspect my penalty box has a trap door that leads to an incinerator.

Pretty crappy metaphor.

And you can't tell from the picture, but I actually have monstrously large feet.