Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    As the Old Saying Goes...: A List of Proverbs, Idioms & Expressions
    As the Old Saying Goes...: A List of Proverbs, Idioms & Expressions
    As the Old Saying Goes...: A List of Proverbs, Idioms & Expressions
    Ebook180 pages1 hour

    As the Old Saying Goes...: A List of Proverbs, Idioms & Expressions

    By Nicholas Nicholas

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    A light hearted and informative book on the origins of everyday sayings.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBookBaby
    Release dateNov 2, 2015
    ISBN9781682224816
    As the Old Saying Goes...: A List of Proverbs, Idioms & Expressions

    Related to As the Old Saying Goes...

    Related ebooks

    Curiosities & Wonders For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      I Am Taught By Towels

      Sep 19, 2018

      It’s impressive how educational hand-drying the dishes can be. Almost without knowing it, one may absorb a range of more or less useful information as the cutlery gets drier and the dishcloth damper. I am thinking in particular of two literary dish t

      3 min read

    • Article

      Five Non-Fiction Books for Writers in an Emergency

      Jul 14, 2017

      I read non-fiction books that I thought might indirectly tell me something about fiction, even though they were really about something else. The post Five Non-Fiction Books for Writers in an Emergency appeared first on The Millions.

      5 min read

    • Article

      The fantastic Mr Fox

      Dec 3, 2019

      Fast away the old year passes’, so the lyrics from an old Christmas carol go. And over 150 years later, it’s still true. In keeping with this sentiment, I thought it might be apposite to address some of the various questions that the fox shooter ofte

      3 min read

    • Article

      Service We’re Pleased To Be Of

      Sep 1, 2021

      Service We’re Pleased To Be Of
      6 min read

    • Article

      Fairy Census 2

      Jan 25, 2024

      Fairy Census 2
      20 min read

    • Article

      Learning To Live With Our Neighbours

      Aug 10, 2022

      THE world evolves and changes at different rates. In recent times, the changes have been shattering for so many creatures living on the earth. Witness the Covid pandemic; the Ukraine war and its ramifications globally; and, maybe the most important,

      4 min read

    • Article

      Fair Dinkum!

      Oct 5, 2023

      Fair Dinkum!
      5 min read

    • Article

      In The Beginning

      Nov 13, 2021

      In The Beginning
      4 min read

    • Article

      When Mollusks Fall in Love

      Nov 16, 2017

      Outside of gothic works of fiction set in Transylvania, we rarely read of enduring friendships that have been initiated by a bite. But that is exactly how nature writers Sy Montgomery and Elizabeth Marshall Thomas—the two extraordinary, quirky, and i

      9 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Mar 22, 2021

      by Tangaroa Walker Penguin — $38 Don’t read this book — or at least its introduction — if you don’t think you’ll be entertained by the killing of a cow when a car hits one and farcical complications ensue. As the title of that section indicates, “Far

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Village Explainer

      Jan 8, 2020

      The Village Explainer
      5 min read

    • Article

      Kids, Go Catch a Raccoon

      Sep 11, 2017

      Kids, Go Catch a Raccoon
      5 min read

    • Article

      Saviours Of Old New Zild

      Mar 20, 2022

      Saviours Of Old New Zild
      3 min read

    • Article

      Shaking off Late-Summer Hebetude

      Sep 7, 2017

      I’m not normally much of a napper. But something about these late-summer Sunday afternoons has made it seem more appealing than usual to stretch out for a few minutes – just a few, really – on the living room sofa. I may not even fall asleep. Except

      2 min read

    • Article

      Getting The Pricker

      Feb 6, 2022

      Getting The Pricker
      2 min read

    • Article

      How the Lark Got Her Crest

      May 30, 2023

      How the Lark Got Her Crest
      15 min read

    • Article

      Bosker Days

      Mar 22, 2021

      What happened to all the jokers? If your first thought is Batman, then my point is made. I was thinking of those jokers, of that joker over there. The word that is used to mean men in a way that is slightly jocular, gently contemptuous. It’s a long t

      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for As the Old Saying Goes...

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      As the Old Saying Goes... - Nicholas Nicholas

      As The Old Saying Goes… Copyright © 2014 by Nicholas D. Nicholas. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

      FIRST EDITION

      Designed by Nicholas Nicholas

      ISBN: 978-1-68222-480-9 (PRINT)

      ISBN: 978-1-68222-481-6 (EBOOK)

      Dedication

      This is book is dedicated to my mom, who always told me there’s nothing to it, but to do it!, my grandma, who said most of these expressions to me growing up and my sister, the one that made me reach for more in life.

      Table of Contents

      Cover

      Title

      Copyright

      Table of Contents

      As The Old Saying Goes...

      Dedication

      Introduction

      Format

      Animals

      Weather

      The Body

      Money

      Food

      Time

      Talk

      Objects

      Movement

      Effort

      And The Rest...

      Quick Hits

      References

      Introduction

      Growing up, my life has been bombarded with one saying after another. My mother, grandparents, sister, teachers and many visiting friends and relatives of my parents. It was like, What the hell does this mean? (ex: a penny saved is a penny earned) WHAT ELSE COULD IT BE?!! This was only the beginning of a lifetime of these wonderful quotes, idioms, wise sayings and friendly tales of advice. They would just spurt one at me and leave me to ponder What?.. Why?.. Okay…. It was like a quest to find out why did they say that to me and how does it apply to me? I am sure you to will have heard many of these sayings and have said to yourself, Okay… but what exactly does that mean?

      Well here we go… I have put together some of the most repeated sayings that were thrown at me and broke down their meanings, origin and anything else of interest I could gather about them. I have found it to be an interesting journey and have even delighted and mystified some of the people who have spurted these words of wisdom to me throughout life. So, it is with a great deal of pride and love that I present you their true or intended meanings.

      Enjoy!

      Nicholas D. Nicholas

      Format

      The Phrase

      Definition

      Origin/History/Explanation

      Simple Meaning (SM)

      Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth:

      Do not unappreciatively question a gift or handout too closely.

      A gift horse is a horse that is a gift. When given a horse, it was considered bad manners to check its teeth. Horses’ gums recede as they age making their teeth appear longer.

      This saying can be traced back to St. Jerome who referred to it as a common saying in his introductory remarks to the Epistle to the Ephesians in his translation of the New Testament: Equi donati dentes non inspiciuntur; loosely translated means: A given horse’s teeth are not inspected.

      SM: Appreciate what is given (advice, gifts, etc…)

      Coming straight from the horse’s mouth:

      From an authoritative or dependable source.

      A 20th century phrase, in horse racing circles tips on which horse is a likely winner circulate amongst punters. The most trusted authorities are considered to be those in closest touch with the recent form of the horse, that is, stable lads, trainers etc. The phrase is supposed to indicate one step better than even that inner circle, which is the horse itself.

      SM: Information straight from the source (person)

      You can lead a horse to water, but can’t make

      him drink:

      Plainly put, you can offer someone opportunity, advice and/or assistance, but can’t force them to take it.

      This age-old saying probably originated in the 12th Century. Linguistic scholars claim to have first found the horse and water metaphor in Old English Homilies, a volume dated 1175 A.D. In this context, the proverb read as follows:

      Who can give water to the horse that will not drink of its own accord?

      SM: You can’t force opportunity or change on a person

      Don’t put the cart

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1