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Over the millennia of its existence, humanity has accumulated a huge amount of so-called "folk wisdom" - sayings, proverbs and various allegedly wise quotes. These are words that are intended - often in rhymed form - to reflect some kind of rule of conduct, or simply to calm an upset person.

They are passed down from generation to generation, remain in our subconscious, and we continue to pronounce them without even thinking - but how much do they even make sense? Well, some are simply outdated, not keeping up with the rapid development of mankind in recent decades, some are even harmful, because public morality has changed significantly, and some are just one big lie.

Do you want an example? Voila! You may have heard Thomas Edison's famous saying, "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." Beautiful and impressive, isn't it? On the other hand, this statement is true, perhaps, only to one person - Edison himself.

The fact is that the great inventor did not receive a fundamental education, but rather he had simply phenomenal perseverance and working capacity. As a result, where it was enough to simply make some scientific calculation, Edison compensated for everything with a banal enumeration of options manually. It worked for him, but it's far from a fact that it works for others.

Well, there is a very popular thread in the AskReddit community where the topic starter wonders "Which old saying is actually nonsense?" During the few months of its existence, the thread has been upvoted more than 35.4K times, and today it consists of nearly 16.6K comments, many of which hide a complete deconstruction of some element of that notorious "folk wisdom".

Bored Panda has made a list for you with the most popular comments of the original thread. Some of them we have heard hundreds of times in our lives, some you will first meet in this post - in any case, feel free now to scroll to the very end and if you do not find something that seems like complete nonsense to you, please write it in the comments.

More info: Reddit

#1

30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group "Money can't buy happiness."


Poverty can't buy anything.

Difficult-Tap-3277 , David Baron Report

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    #2

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group "It's always in the last place you look"

    Well of course it is. Why would you continue looking once you've found it

    callytoad , Qetesh Report

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    Caramello
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I always thought it should be phrased, "It'll be in the last place you would think to look." I once left my keys in the pantry, because I set them down to pick up something I needed.

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    #3

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group Good things happen to good people. Crock of s**t that is.

    Bhuygv-123 , Daniel Thornton Report

    #4

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group "looks don't matter"

    I've noticed that this is usually said by people who are attractive themselves. That's like someone born rich saying that money doesn't matter.

    RadiantHC , kitschkitten Report

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    Hill Branda
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I was an fat ugly kid and I'm now a fat, ugly adult. Trust me, looks matter. It has been made very clear to me over the years how much it matters. I've even been told on job interviews that I wasn't attractive enough for the job.

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    #5

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group "Age brings wisdom"

    We have an congress, senate, and a bunch of aging baby boomers that prove that wrong.

    CLWho83 , Csaba Török Report

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    #6

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group “Money is the root of all evil” is probably one of the most misquoted sayings out there. The actual quote is “for the love of money is the root of all evil” that changes the meaning behind the quote completely imo

    Jmclay681 , 401(K) 2012 Report

    #7

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group “Winners never cheat and cheaters never win.”

    Yeah, b******t. Cheaters almost always win.

    Reloaded9mm , J Yochem Report

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    Rod McCabe
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Look at a social devient, corrupt criminal like Trump. He even cheats himself.

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    #9

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group "Lions are king of the jungle" They don't live in the damn jungle.

    turbo2thousand406 , S.Brickman Report

    #10

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group Slept like a baby. Babies actually don't sleep well

    Bigbird_Elephant , Donnie Ray Jones Report

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    #11

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group "Everything happens for a reason."

    No. It. F*****g. Doesn't.

    Crazy_Fun_3455 , sylvar Report

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    Benita Valdez
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well there's a reason but it's not some grand existential reason or anything. The saying is true in the literal sense only.

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    #12

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group If at first you don't succeed try, try and try again.

    Don't follow that advice when dating. You will be branded as a stalker/creep.

    i-need-blinker-fluid , Jeremy Segrott Report

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    B.Nelson
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I use to have a t shirt that read, "if at first you don't succeed look in the trash for the instructions."

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    #13

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group Do something you love, and you'll never work a day in your life. B******t, now what used to bring my joy is misrable and I dont have a backup career.

    Suremayb , Susan Fitzgerald Report

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    Amy Taylor
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I love what I do for a living, I just don't love the long hours and stress.

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    #14

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."

    I did that for years, and I'm morbidly obese, lower middle class, and stupid as hell.

    stonesthrowaway24601 , chispita_666 Report

    #15

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group "You won't always have a calculator on you"

    IsakTS , Bill Smith Report

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    #16

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group "An Apple a day keeps the doctor away." No matter how many I shoved up my butt I still had to get a colonoscopy

    bluntrauma420 , Conall Report

    #17

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group The customer is always right

    Shutup_England , Green Mamba :)--< Report

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    Samuel Jacobs
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The phrase means that customers buying habits determines the market. They are always right, because they dictate what is popular

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    #19

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group Blood is thicker then water.. Always hated it , s***ty family members.

    BasicallyThatGuy1015 , Greg Walters Report

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    Szirra
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Originally it means the opposite: the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb

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    #20

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group What doesn't kill you make you stronger

    giggles________ , Michael Coghlan Report

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    Susan Atkinson
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Lies...when my son died it almost killed me. I wanted to die. I'm not nearly as strong as I was prior.

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    #22

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps”
    - it’s meant as an ironic/satirical phrase, because it refers to an act which is literally impossible

    ChimpskyBRC , Eric.Ray Report

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    RafCo (he/him)
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Whenever I hear a libertarian say things like "there's no such thing as a victim of circumstance" I want to punch them. Say that to the millions of homeless children in the world. Yes, because you were born with wealth and privilege, therefore we all were.

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    #23

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group "A jack of all trades is a master of none". Only because no one ever user uses the full quote, so it's useless in this form.

    nLedd , Jonny Hunter Report

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    Ripley
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The full quote is “a jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.” Basically to mean that being able to do a lot of things moderately well may be better than only being able to do one thing very well.

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    #24

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group “This too shall pass”
    Uhh not if it’s herpes? Unless you mean pass it on

    LeftOnDead , Tom Shockey Report

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    Basil Ignatov
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is actually a saying that DOES have some merit: Anything you experience will end. Pain, joy, suffering, family and yourself will end. This is to remind us to cherish the wanted experiences and that anything undesirable will untimately pass from the present to the past. Even LIFE will pass if life is undesirable.

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    #25

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me

    Fi11a , Kaarina Dillabough Report

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    #27

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group Slow and steady wins the race… yet I always lose the kahoot

    daanimas , surtr Report

    #28

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group My grandmother used to say, "That man is as worthless as a one legged man at an a*s kickin'."

    Well, I worked at a mental facility. One day I saw a one legged man absolutely destroy another dude. Popped him in the head with his crutch, then pitched forward and just stomped on him with his one leg.

    Spodson Report

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    GirlFriday
    Community Member
    Premium
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The saying is "Busier than a one-legged man in an a*s-kicking contest." The meaning was that you were at a disadvantage in some way, usually by not having the proper tools, training, or team and still trying to reach the goal.

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    #29

    Boys pick on you because they love you.
    This hurts me more then you (when a parent is spanking a child)
    Don't play the victim.
    All bad for many reasons.

    Myattet Report

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    Lia Salvatore
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    this hurts me more than u? well then for you what's it like, the damn Cruciatus Curse? sorry, im a potterhead.

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    #30

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group Feed a cold, starve a fever.

    Just eat nutritious, easy to digest foods when you're sick (and stay hydrated)..

    edit: Holy cow this comment blew up! Thanks for the awards!

    As for the people who are telling me my version is incorrect, I can tell you that its the one I heard growing up, and the internet seems to confirm that it is indeed a saying (though starve a cold, feed a fever also seems to be a thing)

    hyren82 , DC Central Kitchen Report

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    GirlFriday
    Community Member
    Premium
    2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    According to my grandmother's aunt and family healer, "feed a cold, starve a fever" was a neighborly thing. When you heard someone is sick with a cold, just had a baby, had a bad back, etc., you would take food to your neighbor to help ease the burden, but if they had a fever (think small pox, the plague, contagious disease of some sort), you stayed away from their home - hence "starved the fever." She was 105 when she passed away in 2017.

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    #31

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

    That’s also the definition of practice.

    EDIT: Alright, I get it everyone. I oversimplified practice.

    billygrumples , Jukka Zitting Report

    #32

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group "Practice Makes Perfect"


    The real saying should be "Practice Makes Permanent." You can practice something the wrong way or practice something completely wrong altogether. No matter what it is, doing something over and over again solidifies it as a habit and you become stuck with whatever way you practiced it.

    Yes, practice makes perfect if you are practicing the thing PERFECTLY. but if you're doing any step wrong, it's not just PRACTICE that will fix it, it's being capable and aware enough to see the error and CHANGING your approach on the fly. Too many people are afraid of change and just charge through things thinking that they just need to be more aggressive when they really just need to stop, shift, and then practice the right way.

    anon , Martin Reynolds Report

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    #33

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group Only the good die young.

    LucyVialli , Shilad Sen Report

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    Amy Taylor
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My amazingly wonderful grandmother who was the kindest, most generous person I've known lived to be 95

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    #34

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group "Opposites attract". In romance, opposites tend to repel each other.

    Khrushnnedy , Enrico Report

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    Bouche Clay
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In romance novels, the strong loner hero and the self-sufficient female both agree they'd be horrible together, but always get married in the end. No one continues writing through until the divorce.

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    #35

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group If you’re married, never go to sleep angry.

    Sometimes situations are so volatile, there’s no way to interact without saying something that can’t be unsaid.

    dinardo , jeremyfoo Report

    #36

    "Children should be seen not heard"

    Klutzy_Prior Report

    #37

    Always listen and admire old people. My grandpa is a goddamn chainsmoker, i can't handle the smoke which releases from that thing

    GodXTerminatorYT Report

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    #39

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group It's all good in the hood.

    It is not.

    I_Use_Games , jackiembarr Report

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    Made You Look
    Community Member
    2 years ago

    This comment has been deleted.

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    #40

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group "Do what you love and the money will follow."

    Billiam201 , Kevin Dooley Report

    #42

    you can never be too careful

    anon Report

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    Katie Lutesinger
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You certainly can. My overly strong fear of taking too many risks has really held me back in life.

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    #43

    “If you love something, let it go. If it comes back, it was meant to be.”

    If you let something go, it was probably for a good reason. Better to move forward without it than to live in limbo.

    Edit to clarify that I’m not at all opposed to letting go. I’m opposed to assuming something is “meant to be” just because it keeps showing back up at your door.

    anon Report

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    #44

    'I before E except after C' is wrong more times than its right.

    zagreus9 Report

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    Carla Phillips
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There's more to the saying. The whole thing is "I before E, except after C or when sounded as A, as in neighbor and weigh. And weird is just weird.” even the whole saying has some exceptions though

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    #45

    "Love is blind"

    GamerGirl-07 Report

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    Bec
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    New love is blind, then you realize those quirks that were once charming are quite annoying

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    #46

    “You will find love when you least expect it.”

    Ermaquillz Report

    #47

    30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group It’s water under the fridge

    Dirt_Circuit , James Wyse Report