Published on 12, July, 2020
My head is a repository of all the old sayings my mum used when I was little and they stuck.
I only ever hear people my age (50+) using these now.
It's a shame if their use disappears completely.
I'd be curious to know whether any of the younger members of the forum know/use these.
Please share any you know.
There is a lot of wisdom in these.
A few that spring to mind immediately.
A stitch in time saves nine.
He who hesitates is lost.
Look before you leap.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Jack of all trades, master of none
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained
Out of the frying pan, into the fire
Youth is wasted on the young
Kill two birds with one stone.
A bad workman blames his tools
A fool and his money are soon parted
Honesty is the best policy
Absence makes the heart grow fonder
Careless talk costs lives
Don't rob Peter to pay Paul
Sad that I missed it before your change of heart.....I'm assuming it was in the vein of Isperg's 'school of puerility' as below ?!
I think that that expression was first used in the Second World War:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_propaganda_during_World_War_II#Careless_talk
Also "Keep Mum".
Confucious he say:
Man who go to sleep with itchy bum, wake up with smelly finger!
Sorry, couldn't resist.
I've not heard that one before either
I always heard: an apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Deleted because it isnt technically a proverb
Clenched fists can't shake hands
I haven't heard that before.
I thought you were going to say 'ants in your pants' which my mum + nan used to say if I couldn't sit still.
When I was at my Grans the other day I kept standing up because I didn't feel like sitting and my Gran said am I standing up to grow, which I'm not sure if that's an old fashioned saying but thought it sounded like one.
You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink.
When the only tool you have is a hammer everything takes on the aspect of a nail.
Once a fool knows he is a fool, he is no longer a fool.
Penny wise, pound foolish.
Own not, lest ye be owned.
"He makes his own wind" - An aviation saying that means a person overcontrols the aeroplane (or events) such that the aeroplane appears subject to gusts of wind, that are not actually there.
"If in doubt, give it a clout" - An old T.V. engineers wisdom, from when that actually worked..
Newer sayings I like include:
Annoyed? She "had a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp"
Was the job difficult? It was like poking butter up a porcupines bum with a hot needle..
And my own, "The guy who sold you that item, did he have a telescope in his front room?"
I've never heard that one, interesting
The US ones say, "Polish here, shine there!"
Thanks!
Granted
But I work in a library. May I have special dispensation please?
Neither a borrower nor lender be.
Ben
Measure twice, cut once.
I said to my husband this morning:
'You could talk until the cows come home'.
Then thought about the rather nice image from a rural past that this conjurs up.
That show makes met think of my late Dad. Who was a big fan.
Careless talk costs lives is from the war.
I love hearing all these old sayings, theyre the ones I grew up hearing from my mom and my gran
My gran always used to talk about things looking like "the wreck of the Hespiris" if they were messy, I think that was a ship
I always remember her referring to the "wild woman of Borneo" as well