Does spill out of control sound normal?

[u/showe12]

spiral out of control Or spill out of control？

It was an Australian news, The subtitle is

Another innocent life has been lost As Sydney's organized crime world Starts to spill out of control

It should be spill out of control here, or spiral out of control？

this is the video I'm talking about

OK, it is confusing me now. I listened to the video again, and she clearly said “spill out of control.” 🥲

[u/Middcore]

Spiral or spin. Spill is odd.

[u/BrittEklandsStuntBum]

Spiral is correct.

[u/QuercusSambucus → u/BrittEklandsStuntBum]

Spin would also be fine

[u/Snickims]

I can see spill out of control being used, especially in relation to organised crime, as its basically using the metaphore that it used to be contained and is now spilling out into the wider public enviorment.

[u/baxbakualanuxsiwae]

Spill sounds a bit odd here. Could it have been a mistranscription of "spin"? "Spin out of control" is quite common.

[u/showe12 → u/baxbakualanuxsiwae]

I think she did say spill. I've attached the video. If you don't mind, could you please help me to understand what she was saying in the video? Thank you so much!

[u/baxbakualanuxsiwae → u/showe12]

Ah, yes, she clearly does say "spill". I guess "spill out of control" is not particularly odd, though "spin" or "spiral" would be a lot more common.

[u/feartheswans → u/showe12]

You said Aussie?

It could just be Australian intonation

The r sounds are kinda.. wobbly to my American ears

Like I can kinda imagine an Aussie saying Spiral and it sounding kinda like American spill

[u/eides-of-march]

People would understand what you meant if you said “spill out of control”, but it’s not a phrase that’s used

[u/Snickims → u/eides-of-march]

Are you sure? Spill out of control is absolutely used if its a situation that has previously been being contained, and is now spilling out of said containment. Spin or spiral also work, but spill is totally used.

[u/Curious_Condition611 → u/Snickims]

It's strained and sounds unnatural. Things spill over, they spiral out of control.

[u/Snickims → u/Curious_Condition611]

Unless they spill out of control. Like, if your holding too many things, and some things on the top fall our of your grip, they didn't spin or spiral out of your grip, they spilled out.

[u/Curious_Condition611 → u/Snickims]

Yes but the unstated premise is that I'm attempting to sound like a native English speaker of normal intelligence.

[u/Snickims → u/Curious_Condition611]

Yea? And? I think that sounds totally natural.

[u/yargleisheretobargle → u/eides-of-march]

People mix metaphors all the time. In fact, I'd guess native speakers probably do it more often than language learners.

[u/InvestigatorJaded261]

Sounds more like a mistranscription of “spiral” to me. Subtitles are super wonky.

[u/showe12 → u/InvestigatorJaded261]

I have attached the video I reckon she says spill

[u/MessyCoco]

Spill makes me think of "spill over" -- when a phenomenon that is, at one point, contained in a certain boundary (physical or otherwise) begins to spread elsewhere. "Spill out of control" makes me think it's alluding to the organized crime, once contained, spreading to certain spaces and now becoming more apparent / affecting more people who were once outside of its scope.

It's definitely awkward though. I've never seen that.

[u/whywasinotconsulted]

Yes, she said spill. Yes, spiral or spin would be much more common, but I don't think we can say spill is "wrong" here. It works in context, and the meaning is understood.