Questions tagged [popular-refrains]
A saying is something that is said, notable in one respect or another, to be "a pithy expression of wisdom or truth."
337
questions
3
votes
5
answers
451
views
A word or a phrase for aphorism-like rules?
I'm writing something about sets "life rules" like The Rules - The Way of The Cycling Disciple. I want to relate a proposed "set of rules" to existing "rules/sets of rules&...
1
vote
2
answers
79
views
An idiom or a saying like "give a dog a bone" or "throw someone a crumb"
This expression is often used to describe situations where someone is given a small reward or token gesture to keep them content, while the larger, more significant prize or benefit is kept hidden or ...
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
69
views
Idiom for modeling after the wrong thing?
Person A: "If X can do this, so can I."
Person B: "Well, [insert idiom]."
In this situation X is someone who should not be emulated or treated as a role model. For example, X may ...
- 17
1
vote
3
answers
72
views
Is “out of sorts” in The Proverbs of John Heywood?
The origin of the popular saying out of sorts is still unclear, but the more common theory states that the expression comes from the world of printing where “sorts” was used to refer to boxes of ...
- 65.7k
0
votes
1
answer
51
views
What's a saying for "talking bad in someone's ear"
There's a saying I'm thinking of. Let's say I worked on your car and you were happy with it. Then your friend told you that the work was dissatisfactory and making up things to change your opinion, as ...
- 11
2
votes
1
answer
56
views
A phrase/expression/saying for coming in an already-stablished situation and so accept it for granted [duplicate]
You become a member of a particular society/community, and there are certain norms/conventions/lifestyles in that community which you take for granted and don’t question. Sometimes they are ...
- 3,181
36
votes
7
answers
8k
views
What does "darkest Africa" refer to?
Many times in my life, I have heard phrases such as "in darkest Africa...", seemingly to refer to somewhere in Africa. It is never explained, and appears to be considered so obvious as to ...
- 369
-1
votes
2
answers
76
views
Common saying in English when someone is being scolded for not doing their part or being lazy
I'm simply reaching out with a query in regards to common English saying. For life of me, I'm unable to recall the entire phrase people typically use when stating a fact about someone, who is not ...
0
votes
1
answer
27
views
Closest saying for "If you don't busy yourself doing something constructive, you'll find yourself doing something destructive"
In Arabic and Hebrew there is a saying that roughly translates to the title. What is the closest saying in English, if any.
- 951
0
votes
2
answers
317
views
Where does the saying "My house is my castle" come from?
This wiki page seems to state that this phrase was concocted by Edward Coke, but I don't understand what meaning he implied in it. It looks to me that the meaning was quite negative - almost like &...
- 8,940
1
vote
1
answer
101
views
What exactly are "beasts that perish"?
Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly ...
2
votes
1
answer
70
views
Was "Get in, jump in, if you can't get in, throw your money in" once a common saying?
My great grandmother had a saying:
Get in, jump in, if you can't get in, throw your money in.
I've never heard anyone else use it but somehow I always had the feeling that she got it from somewhere. ...
- 21
0
votes
0
answers
41
views
Saying or expression about modesty [duplicate]
I am looking for a saying or expression in English that is equivalent to "what is an ant that you want to make a meal from?" meaning that, I dont consider myself that important to make such ...
- 1
2
votes
2
answers
232
views
Which saying means to sell a part as the whole?
I'm looking for an English (or foreign saying often used in English) which mean that it is made to believe that part of a thing can achieve what the whole thing only can achieve.
Examples :
To sell a ...
- 147
1
vote
3
answers
1k
views
What is an idiom for making a situation worse in your efforts to make a different one better? [duplicate]
Maybe it doesn't exist, but I feel like there's an idiom for a situation where, in an effort to solve one issue, you exacerbate or create a second related issue, probably directly.
Out of the frying ...
- 11
1
vote
1
answer
184
views
A word meaning both masturbating and consoling oneself?
In Chinese, 自慰 means '(of a person, genderless) to masturbate', and it also means 'to console oneself'.
I took it as an extension of 'God helps whose who help themselves' for a certain period of time.
...
- 121
0
votes
0
answers
17
views
Saying, proverb, phrase for the idea of Absurdity of concentrating on pointless, over-the-top pleasantries than subject that matters the most [duplicate]
We have newly appointed 75+ power-hog manager (old school but in pejorative sense), affected by second childhood and treated like a lame duck (too good to do anything productive).
He is infatuated by ...
- 3,064
0
votes
0
answers
108
views
Is there a saying in English similar to Croatian "Mate-matematika, ljuta je k'o paprika!" (meaning "I don't like maths!")?
Is there a saying in English similar to Croatian "Mate-matematika, ljuta je k'o paprika!"? The Croatian phrase literally translates to "Ma-ma-maths, it is as hot as chili-pepper!" (...
- 229
1
vote
1
answer
80
views
English equivalent of "send the demon to fill a wicker basket with water" [closed]
In Catalan language, there is a popular refrain that talks about someone meeting a demon, and the demon offer the person to perform any tasks they want them to do, which the demon will gladly do for ...
- 4,401
1
vote
1
answer
50
views
What is the name of the literary technique for this?
So the common adage is "The apple never falls far from the tree."
So what would you call: "Sometimes the apple falls very far from the tree."
It points out an exception to the rule....
- 11
-2
votes
2
answers
244
views
Why has everyone started saying "it is what it is"? And what does it mean?
Few expressions anger me more than "it is what it is". It sounds so incredibly dumb to me. And I keep hearing it lately, from all kinds of people:
Any sentence goes here. It is what it is.
...
- 13
3
votes
2
answers
1k
views
What does the expression "in with the loaves, out with the fairy cakes" mean?
In this recent news article I noted the following quote, attributed to a Cornish fisherman:
Another fisher, David Bliss, added: “It’s a bit stupid isn’t it, let’s be honest. They’ve gone in with the ...
- 233
0
votes
2
answers
72
views
What is a clever saying that means, 'It's impossible to stop natural phenomena? [closed]
What is a popular-refrain that means it is pointless to try and stop a naturally occuring phenomenon?
23
votes
9
answers
16k
views
You have the watches, but we have the time
This quote is associated with the Taliban in reference to the US occupation of Afghanistan.
I understand the metaphorical meaning of the quote — i.e. the point that it makes.
But I am intrigued by the ...
- 6,438
-2
votes
3
answers
296
views
Is "green ones" not slang for money? [closed]
I wish I could bring in some green ones.
I cannot bring in the green ones.
I'm making tons of the green ones.
Are these proper English/American English sentences? Can you use "green ones" ...
15
votes
15
answers
3k
views
A saying similar to "playing whack-a-mole"
My wife is looking for a phrase or saying in English that is similar to...
Lo urgente no deja tiempo para lo importante
...which means "Urgent matters do not leave time for what is really ...
1
vote
3
answers
69
views
Does "don't cry over lost Bitcoins" really work? [closed]
There's the old saying:
Don't cry over spilled milk!
Its meaning, AFAIK, is that you should not cry/be sad/get hung up over losing something trivial which can easily be replaced. If you spill some ...
- 11
-1
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What is the original version of these two popular idioms? [duplicate]
When I was but a young lad, I often heard the following saying;
If “ifs”and “ands” were pots and pans, we would never do the dishes.
There is also another similar saying;
If ‘ifs” and “buts” were ...
- 59
0
votes
1
answer
521
views
What does the saying, "I don't like to eat what I can't swallow" mean?
My friend said this to me in regards to his girlfriend being older than he is. I don't understand what the saying means.
3
votes
2
answers
507
views
Does English have a version of "pouring water on a goose"?
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/verkan
Det där har lika mycket verkan som att hälla vatten på en gås.
That has as much effect as pouring water on a goose.
It means that something is futile or ...
- 31
0
votes
1
answer
183
views
Idioms: Exploiting/Taking Advantage of Others (negative connotation) [duplicate]
Could you please give me an idiom, proverb, or saying that describes someone who exploits and take advantage of others?
An idiomatic expression that has a negative connotation.
Or maybe to say that ...
9
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Which phrase attributed to the “cat-o'-nine tails” is the most credible?
In one of many online articles professing the origin of well-known and popular English sayings, I was particularly struck by the one related to "Cat got your tongue". The author writes
...
- 88.5k
4
votes
1
answer
4k
views
"Everything's coming up X"?
I've heard several Americans say "everything's coming up X". Sometimes, it's a person's name, and sometimes, it can be anything.
Example: https://youtu.be/ivW7z3wGAl8?t=175
Everything was ...
- 41
2
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What is the meaning of the "narrow" road/path metaphor?
All my life, I've regularly heard phrases such as:
Walk on the narrow road, never steering off into Hell! Don't listen to the Devil trying to lure you into his dark path!
This, to me, metaphorically ...
2
votes
1
answer
774
views
A literary idiom/expression that means someone is worthless or express about this imagery ( he is not equal to stitch on the sole)
I have to translate a poem from Arabic into English, so I need an equivalent expression to Arabic imagery.
- 61
1
vote
0
answers
482
views
What is origin of the phrase "as gay as cheese"?
A little while back, I was trying to find an old Hitchcock anthology story that turned out to be Joan Aiken's "As Gay as Cheese" where the eponymous phrase is one of many that the main ...
- 1,379
0
votes
1
answer
107
views
fantasy and reality sayings
You should never act out a fantasy because the reality never matches up.
Is this a famous saying (especially about sexual fantasies)? Or is there any sayings or quotes similar to this?
I read this in ...
- 1
4
votes
4
answers
139
views
Looking for a descriptive word(s)) to describe digest/summation/pocket culture
I am looking for a generic word(s) to describe summary digest cultural of modern society. (or a Neologism)
A word(s) for culture that describes "Take what is useful, discard what is useless"
...
- 182
0
votes
1
answer
625
views
What should I use when I want to say "without further ado"
I have just read another post on here which taught me that the phrase "without further ado" is misused often. Most of the time, I suspect people say it (including me, before now) to mean "without ...
- 119
-1
votes
1
answer
275
views
Origin of saying 'Thank Buddha it's Tuesday'
What is the origin of the saying 'Thank Buddha it's Tuesday.'?
- 17
0
votes
0
answers
75
views
When was the term "All lives matter" first used and what was it meant?
These days these two terms "Black lives matter" and "All lives matter" are in the centre of the discussion.
Although, it is understood what "All lives matter" in context of "black lives matter", Can ...
- 17
6
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Origin of the saying "God must love the poor because he made so many of them"
The saying "God must love the poor [or the common people or the plain people] because he made so many of them" falls somewhere between a proverb and a famous quotation, but its origins are rather ...
- 158k
4
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Word for when something makes something else seems smaller in a relative manner
I'm trying to think of a word that is somehow alluding me.
Imagine two people are speaking loudly, but then a third person begins shouting even louder. The third persons voice has made the other two ...
- 151
0
votes
0
answers
30
views
How to say grief delayed for good cause?
What words, or phrases, are related to grieving having been deferred, but not disparaged, for a worthy reason?
Bonus points for folklore references.
===
I was thinking of something along the lines ...
- 101
1
vote
2
answers
1k
views
What does "run for the hills" really refer to?
I know that it means "run for your lives", but why would running to the hills be a good idea to hide? Aren't the hills the easiest place for the enemy to spot the peasants/people who "run for the ...
- 19
0
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Quote similar to "the pen is mightier than the sword"
I'm looking for a quote that is similar to "the pen is mightier than the sword", which is commonly credited to Edward George Bulwer-Lytton. The quote should state the same thing, namely, that words ...
- 13
2
votes
0
answers
84
views
Is there a word for when you tell show something and it doesn't work?
E.g. "This hasn't been working all day", and then when you show it, it works
- 21
11
votes
9
answers
3k
views
What's an idiom to express the idea "the correcter stands corrected"
I'm quite confident there is a short and to-the-point idiom to express the idea of someone who is an 'expert' in his field, suddenly is found in a situation where he is ignorant.
Something that would ...
- 113
0
votes
1
answer
2k
views
The old-money rich "don't buy their own furniture?"
I've heard it said of the old-money wealthy that they "don't buy their own furniture."
Is the implication that the family has so many heirlooms, and perhaps of superior quality to modern goods, that ...
- 103
0
votes
1
answer
381
views
Where does the concept of "big brother sees you" come from? [closed]
I don't mean the metaphor "big brother" or "Big Brother" as in the government or other powerful entity.
I mean the original meaning of "big brother sees you".
I am a big brother. Or was. I never ...
- 1