My teacher just told that to me, as I kept looking at the clock waiting for break.
It is a good saying, but so old fashioned.
Just like "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" Don't be ungrateful when you receive a gift, Still good meaning, but so OLD.
I was just wondering if anyone knew some latter day sayings. By that I mean, sayings more fitting for our time, that may have the same meaning as those 2 do.
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
I don't see how the watched pot one is old fashioned. The gift horse one, though, yeah.
How about "When life gives you Ozzy, you shut up and you take your Ozzy."?
Posted by Dragon (Member # 3670) on :
A stitch in time saves nine? That one's pretty old and classic and really one relevant in the literal sense if you mend your own clothes. But the "do a little work now so you won't have to do a lot of work later" idea is still fitting.
Posted by Dragon (Member # 3670) on :
Hmm, on reading your question more closely I realized that you were asking for modern expressions, not other old ones that still make sense.
That's more tricky.
*thinking*
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
Pimpin' ain't easy.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
I don't know why the gift horse line is old fashioned, I still use it. People still buy and sell horses, and give them as gifts. You check a horses teeth if you wish to know how healthy they are. Its not as if horses are no longer applicable to today's society. I feel the same way about the boiling pot, people still boil fluids, and do so in pots. The phrases are fine, as they say,
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Posted by Puppy (Member # 6721) on :
quote:Its not as if horses are no longer applicable to today's society.
It's not that they don't apply. It's that the saying doesn't communicate properly to a lot of people because they don't automatically understand how it all fits together.
Your average person needs to have "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" explained to them, sometimes painstakingly, before they understand why it means what it means. When the saying was devised, the reason it caught on was the fact that you didn't have to explain it. When you said those words, everyone knew exactly what you meant. They didn't understand it because it was a popular saying ... it became a popular saying because they understood it.
It would be cool if we had more modern sayings that worked that way ... but proverbs aren't really in vogue. They don't catch on the way they once did.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
quote:Your average person needs to have "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" explained to them, sometimes painstakingly, before they understand why it means what it means.
Alright, I'm curious. I know what it means, but I have no idea why it means what it means. Anyone wanna explain?
Posted by Feer (Member # 9846) on :
If you were to tell the horse one to any random person off the street, would the understand what it means? Most people today don't sell horses, and have no idea what it means. It was used so long ago, my grandfather you to say it to me.
As far as the pot one goes, its not so unused, but old none the less. Still useful today, but I'm looking for "Newage" sayings.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
Puppy: That makes sense.
I think quotes, blurbs, and especially catch phrases have replaced proverbs in society.
I can't come up with a saying that would be understood even in American society as conveying the same message as gift horse.
edit: Vonk, I explained it mostly in my post previous to this one. If you were given a horse by somebody, by checking the teeth you are looking to see how healthy the horse is and therefore insulting the giver by suggesting they might have given you a shoddy horse.
It would be akin to being given a car and then asking the giver how many miles are already on it. You are suggesting the car in of itself is not a fine gift.
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
A horse's teeth grow as they age, so an older (and thus less useful) horse is going to have bigger teeth. Checking the teeth is one of the parts of buying a horse, but if someone gives you a horse, you should just accept the gift.
Posted by Feer (Member # 9846) on :
quote:Originally posted by vonk:
quote:Your average person needs to have "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" explained to them, sometimes painstakingly, before they understand why it means what it means.
Alright, I'm curious. I know what it means, but I have no idea why it means what it means. Anyone wanna explain?
Someone told me you can tell the horses health by looking in to its mouth. I don't know if its true but only explination I've heard
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
Maybe "don't question a good thing" or some sort of variation? Sounds familiar to me, and google sure got a lot of hits, but it's probably a pretty common theme.
Edit: oh, thanks! That makes sense.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
"Beggars can't be choosers."
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
Horse teeth do grow, but they also get bigger holes in the middle of them, like little recessions, that's what the vet is actually checking, not the size. The depth.
Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :
Well of course you don't check what's wrong with the gift when you get it; you wait until you're alone! Common decency. ^_^
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
quote:Originally posted by MrSquicky: How about "When life gives you Ozzy, you shut up and you take your Ozzy."?
I've seen the quote from 3rd Rock From the Sun as "when life gives you lemons, just shut up and eat the damn lemons."
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
My aunt is a fan of "When life hands you lemons, stick 'em in your bra."
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
When life gives you lemons, throw them at the head of the person from whom you requested oranges in the first place.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by dkw: My aunt is a fan of "When life hands you lemons, stick 'em in your bra."
Tiffany and I both cracked up upon reading that. I don't like the original incarnation of the lemon phrase. Nobody can say where you got the sugar for the lemonade from.
Posted by SoaPiNuReYe (Member # 9144) on :
MightyCow won this thread long ago.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Don't kick a gift car in the tires.
Posted by MidnightBlue (Member # 6146) on :
But how many people actually kick the tires of a car these days? And of the people who do, how many actually know what they're checking for?
Posted by DSH (Member # 741) on :
quote:Originally posted by MidnightBlue: But how many people actually kick the tires of a car these days? And of the people who do, how many actually know what they're checking for?
Most people are aware that it's supposed to have something to do with checking the car's condition.
Posted by Dead_Horse (Member # 3027) on :
Knowing people who drive trucks and school buses...
They tell me they kick the tires on the axles that have dual wheels to see if they are flat, as they can't tell by looking if the other tire is still full. Then they laugh at people who kick tires in the front axle or a car.
Posted by Perplexity'sDaughter (Member # 9668) on :
"Cat fur makes good kitten britches."
I have no idea what that means, I only remember my grandmother saying it to me as a kid whenever I asked too many questions. Hmmm....
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
"Pink Gatorade: What to make when life gives you pink gators."
[ May 12, 2007, 12:45 AM: Message edited by: Tatiana ]
Posted by Celaeno (Member # 8562) on :
Wow, and I always assumed the gift horse adage was referencing the Trojan war and the wooden horse.
Posted by porcelain girl (Member # 1080) on :
I have always thought the same thing, Celaeno!
Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
If it were about the Trojan horse, shouldn't it be "Make freaking SURE you look a gift horse in the mouth"?
Beware Greeks bearing gifts.
Posted by Tarrsk (Member # 332) on :
Modern variant on the "gift horse" saying: "Don't try to turn Secret Santa into Yankee Swap just because you got a pair of mittens, after dropping 400 smackers on an iPod for the temp."
Actually, just about anything Michael does on "The Office" could be used as a cautionary proverb.
"Don't place your heated George Foreman grill next to your bed and then go back to sleep."
"Don't try to convince your opponent to take back his call after you've already gone all in."
Posted by porcelain girl (Member # 1080) on :
I don't see how the "watched pot" proverb is out of fashion- don't people still boil water?
I boil water just about every day.
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
quote:Originally posted by rivka: Don't kick a gift car in the tires.
This is a pretty dead reference, at least to my generation (I'm 23). I didn't understand it until a year ago, when I looked it up on urban dictionary because I saw the phrase "no tire kickers" in used car ads a few times. It was much harder to figure out what "no tire kickers" meant than it was to figure out "never look a gift horse in the mouth."
Other irrelevant ones:
"Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater." "A miss is as good as a mile." "Close, but no cigar." "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." "Don't upset the apple cart." "Feed a cold, starve a fever."
Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
I live by "Feed a cold, starve a fever." It is too relevant. Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Hunter S. Thompson
When I read that growing up, I just thought it was a cool phrase and remembered it without really thinking about it. But then I noticed the menagerie of assorted weirdos/criminals/idiots/bimbos/etc who frantically cash in on any weirdness in their lives, via books, movies, going on Oprah, what have you. And yea, the wisdom of the Duke was made apparent.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
eros, the fact that you think those are dead indicate that you have had a pretty limited life, and/or are ignorant. People still bathe infants, collect eggs and apples, etc.
*disdainful sniff* Then again, you don't even know what tire kicking is for!
Posted by Qaz (Member # 10298) on :
I coulnd't think of many that were clearly more modern. Maybe it's just that we already have sayings for most principles we want, so "don't kick a gift car in the tires" or "one bug fix at design time prevents nine during coding" just aren't needed.
Don't kick my tires unless you're going to take me for a ride.
Power grows from the barrel of a gun. (Mao)
One nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day.
The Peter Principle: that employees are promoted until they reach a job at which they're incompetent
Don't get your honey where you get your money.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
For some reason, people like to kick the tires of my husband's wheelchair. He'll tell them "It's not for sale."
How about "A Miss is as good as a Mister".
Posted by Dragon (Member # 3670) on :
Who would kick a wheelchair? That's so odd!
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Lots of people. They'll be talking to him, and kind of lightly tap the wheels with their toes. They also like to stroke the chrome. It's like they've got some kind of weird wheelchair fetish, or something.
People are odd. I know; I'm a person, and have been for years now.
Posted by Liz B (Member # 8238) on :
Never go up against a Sicilian when death is on the line.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by Liz B: Never go up against a Sicilian when death is on the line.
See that one had potential validity for about 5 seconds and then he dropped dead thus disproving his saying.
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