The aphorism tag has no wiki summary.
5
votes
1answer
318 views
Where does the phrase of “boredom punctuated by moments of terror” come from?
I have often seen war described as "interminable boredom punctuated by moments of terror," or some variant thereof. More recently, it seems that I have been hearing this phrase used to describe other ...
5
votes
7answers
278 views
Meaning of “Butter is Gold in the Morning, Silver at Noon, and Lead at Night.”
In his book A Complete Collection of Scottish Proverbs: Explain'd and Made Intelligible to the English (1721, http://books.google.com/books?id=BEgOAAAAQAAJ), James Kelly offers this interesting saying ...
5
votes
5answers
151 views
Phrase which describes falsely improving something
Is there an aphorism or proverb in English which describes attempting to improve something fundamentally flawed by dressing it with a lot of ornament?
13
votes
2answers
311 views
What is the name for the inverse of an aphorism
For example, given a common saying or sequence of words, like
A picture is worth a thousand words
One reverses the order and obtains
A word is worth a thousand pictures
Is there a name for ...
2
votes
4answers
503 views
Aphorism or not? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Difference between phrase and idiom
Is there a name for phrases which without context (cultural, historic, etc.) would not be understandable. Such as "This is not my ...
8
votes
6answers
342 views
Is there an aphorism for doing a self-defeating act?
Is there a witty turn of phrase that indicates one's performing an act that, in its doing, undermines, contravenes, or obviates itself?
This question relates to a similar idea, but I have it in my ...
4
votes
3answers
4k views
Origin of the phrase “third time's the charm” / “third time lucky”?
What would the origin of the saying "Third time's the charm" ? I've also heard it used as "third time lucky" ....Does anyone know if they are related ?
2
votes
3answers
5k views
“Money for rope” … meaning and derivation?
I was listening to John Lennon's song "Gimme Some Truth" just now, and in it there's a recurring line "money for rope."
I never thought about it much before, but it strikes me this has to be some ...
