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30 Wise Old Sayings That Have Totally Lost Their Meaning In The Contemporary World, As Shared By Folks In This Online Group
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 Well, some are simply outdated, not keeping up with the rapid development of mankind in recent decades, some are even harmful, because public morality has changed significantly, and some are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
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#2
"It's always in the last place you look"
Well of course it is. Why would you continue looking once you've found it
#4
"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.
#5
"Age brings wisdom"
We have an congress, senate, and a bunch of aging baby boomers that prove that wrong.
#6
“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
#7
“Winners never cheat and cheaters never win.”
Yeah, b******t. Cheaters almost always win.
#12
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.
#13
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.
#14
"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.
#16
"An Apple a day keeps the doctor away." No matter how many I shoved up my butt I still had to get a colonoscopy
#22
“Pull yourself up by your bootstraps”
- it’s meant as an ironic/satirical phrase, because it refers to an act which is literally impossible
#23
"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.
#28
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.
#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.
#30
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)
What do you think ?
TheDivineMsM 2 years ago
Don't judge a book by it's cover. C**p. I'm gonna judge the heck out of that cover!
GirlFriday 2 years ago
That is the only purpose of the book cover is so that judgement can be made.
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censorshipsucks 2 years ago
Maybe they mean pecking at it and taking small bites?
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Kenny Clemons 2 years ago
My mother-in-law, that I loved very much, used to say, " you catch more flies with honey than with viniger". Well, who the F**? wants flies?
Notyomama 2 years ago
I've always thought about this one to mean, if you are nice to people, they will be more willing to help you out or go above and beyond for you. If you are nasty to them, you are going to get the least from them they "have" to give. Which is true for myself. Sweet? I will get you taken care of the best, fastest, and most generous way I can. A*****e? Your appointment will be 2 weeks out etc.
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the aftermath is secondary™ 2 years ago
“birds of a feather flock together” was originally “birds of a feather flock together before the cat comes.” it was actually a warning about fair-weather friends, not about people with similar personalities.
Jason Marin 2 years ago
"There's someone out there for everyone." One said by my dad was, "Suffering's good for the soul."
Susan Atkinson 2 years ago
I'm sorry you have to go through that Kate. 😔 The human race is losing.
TheDivineMsM 2 years ago
Don't judge a book by it's cover. C**p. I'm gonna judge the heck out of that cover!
GirlFriday 2 years ago
That is the only purpose of the book cover is so that judgement can be made.
Load More Replies... censorshipsucks 2 years ago
Maybe they mean pecking at it and taking small bites?
Load More Replies... Kenny Clemons 2 years ago
My mother-in-law, that I loved very much, used to say, " you catch more flies with honey than with viniger". Well, who the F**? wants flies?
Notyomama 2 years ago
I've always thought about this one to mean, if you are nice to people, they will be more willing to help you out or go above and beyond for you. If you are nasty to them, you are going to get the least from them they "have" to give. Which is true for myself. Sweet? I will get you taken care of the best, fastest, and most generous way I can. A*****e? Your appointment will be 2 weeks out etc.
Load More Replies... the aftermath is secondary™ 2 years ago
“birds of a feather flock together” was originally “birds of a feather flock together before the cat comes.” it was actually a warning about fair-weather friends, not about people with similar personalities.
Jason Marin 2 years ago
"There's someone out there for everyone." One said by my dad was, "Suffering's good for the soul."
Susan Atkinson 2 years ago
I'm sorry you have to go through that Kate. 😔 The human race is losing.
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