People Reveal The Strangest Proverbs That Always Confused Them
The English language is finicky to the uninitiated. Just think hard about the words "heart," beard," and "heard," and try not to get too angry. Sometimes, though, our metaphors and phrasings can be a bit infuriating when you try to understand their meaning. Some meanings are probably lost to time. Reddit user, r/suchSuAg, asked the following to find out the most confusing and infuriating proverbs:
What proverb or saying has never made sense to you?
When In Rome...Wait, What?
"Its all Greek to me".
I'm greek- for years I thought it meant, "makes sense".
You Would Think It'd Be Sticky
"The proof is in the pudding"
I always loved that saying, even though I don't usually say... I think it's kinda funny/weird
What Happens When Proverbs Contradict One Another
If winners never quit...
And quitters never win...
Then whose bright idea was it to quit while you're ahead.
Those Crazy Aussies...
"We're not here to f-ck spiders" heard this one from some Aussies when backpacking.
I always use it now but have no clue what it really means.
"You guys want another beer?" "Well we're not here to f-ck spiders!"
And we drank...
When The Phrase Contradicts Itself
"Slept like a baby" to describe a good night's sleep.
Have you ever met a baby? They're atrocious sleepers.
How Would That Even Work In The Bathroom?
A guy I worked with used to tell people they talked like a man with a paper asshole.
Also never knew what it meant but loved it.
Logically, This Makes The Most Sense
"Drive it like you stole it."
You mean 5 under the speed limit obeying all laws to avoid getting noticed?
Witches With A Serious Skin Condition
My mum breaks out "it's as (insert word here) as a witch's tit" on the regular. She'll switch between "it's as dry as a witch's tit" in summer, "I'm as dry as a witch's tit" when thirsty, "it's as cold as a witch's tit" or "it's as hot as a witch's tit".
I don't know what witches she's been hanging around with but she knows their tits well.
Even The Welsh Do It
"Putting the violin in the roof" = Welsh saying meaning "giving up"
"Over the dishes" = another Welsh saying meaning "over the top"
Mind you, I'm not surprised coming from the country who refer to a microwave as a "popty-ping"...
This Paints A Depressing Love Life
"All's fair in love and war."
My exes would disagree with the former. The Geneva Conventions would disagree with the latter.
There's Definitely A Good Scar Story Here
"A barking dog never bites"
.... unfortunately I know for a fact thats not true
More Animal Cruelty
There's more than one way to skin a cat.
What the f-ck? Who came up with this? Why would you skin a cat to begin with?
Clearly, They've Never Met Mr. Ed
Straight from the horse's mouth.
Horses don't talk.
The phrase originated in horse racing. People were constantly trying to figure out which horse was going to win, and bandying tips from more and more informed sources: "I heard it from the stableboy/I heard it from the trainer/I heard it from the jockey that such and such horse is going to win."
The best source is obviously the horse itself, thus "Straight from the horses mouth."
Another Saying Contradicting Itself
"Needless to say" followed by saying the thing that's needless to say.
Ever Hear Of Amputation?
"What doesn't kill you makes your stronger"
A stroke may not kill you but you sure as hell won't be stronger after it.
Why Not Save Ten?
"A stitch in time saves nine".
I get it now. but for the longest time I didn't understand how or why anyone would apply a stitch to time. Time is a concept, not a tangible thing that you can physically mend with needle and thread. Also....who the hell is "nine" and why would stitching time save them.
Then I realized the adage was saying, euphemistically:
"one stitch in something which needs repair will prevent future degradation of the item in question, which would require more repair later."
My way of saying it is catchier...just sayin'
Turns Out, Money Isn't The Root Of All Evil
Money can't buy happiness
you ever seen anyone sad on a jetski?
What The Devil Does On His Own Time Is His Own Business
"The devil is beating his wife" an old saying for when it rains while the sun is shining.
I find this expression soo creepy.
And The Worst-Best Proverb Is...
"You've made your bed. Now you have to lie in it."
But.... I just made it, though.
H/T: Reddit
But we should also be prepared and ready to ask the right questions to have a leg up on the competition.
"What is THE best question to ask on a job interview?"
A company's history or information about a past employee were suggested subjects appropriate for questioning.
Prior Knowledge
"When you were interviewing here, what would you have liked to know before you joined?"
"This worked for me. I asked my interviewer a question about how she had personally dealt with a company policy she had just explained. She bragged about her stellar adherence to the policy. I nodded my approval. I got the job."
A Previous Employee
"One that has always gone over well for me:"
"What were some qualities that the previous employee in this role brought to the job that you would like to see carried forward?"
"Another good thing to do is research the company you are interviewing with and you can ask things about what they may be involved in or you could drop that while reading about the company, you wondered this."
Hypothetical questions were suggested as helpful examples of inquiry.
Indicators Of How Companies Treat Employees
"A question that landed me a job once was: 'If I asked your direct reports about your management style, what do you think they'd tell me?' Stumped a hiring manager and he emailed me personally to tell me about it, no one ever asked him that question but got the job.
"In my current interviews I'm asking 'what did your company do for its employees during [the virus] to improve their day to day, work life balance, etc.' and I ask 'Is there anything your company adopted during [the virus] that they plan to keep post [the virus]?"
"These questions give a lot of insight into whether a company treated their employees well."
Past Performance & Adjustments
"If we were currently sitting in my 1 year review, what would I have done in this year for you to say I excelled in my role?"
"If I could snap my finger right now and change anything about your job or the company, what would it be and why?"
The following questions about a prospective company may not be answered from initial digging on their website.
Measure Of Success & Career Trajectories
"How is success measured in this role?"
"What are some possible career trajectories within the company that could stem from this position?"
Being A Solution
"Ask them what is the biggest problem you can solve for them in your first six months with the company. Similar to 'don't think of a purple hippo,' this forces them to imagine you succeeding in the position."
Simply The Best
"Who is your best employee and why is he/she the best?"
"You will then face 2 situations mostly:"
"panicking CEO who can't answer you 'Bob who works 17 hours a day for a slice of bread' so the fear in their faces must be a big nono for you"
"entusiast CEO who actually follow their business and can tell you who is an added value for the company and why."
– ThePiz91
My experiences with job interviews are different than others seeking work in office environments.
Having had a years-long career as a dancer, my "interview" was the dance audition, where hopefuls dance in small groups of people at a time after learning a routine and then awaiting their fate after the panel evaluates their performances.
The question I may or may not have asked in such a scenario earlier in my career was: "Did I make the cut?"
I did not make the cut. And I learned never to ask that again.
I remember the worst date I ever had. My biggest regret is that I stayed for the entire thing. I should've left as soon as I realized this was not going well, which was basically at hello. But he was paying so I drank, a lot. I'll keep names and dates to myself to protect the innocent.
0/10
Big Brother Reaction GIF by Big Brother After DarkGiphy"Went to brewery, date said I had hairy arms and that meant I was horny, said "you look really awful in this light" and then tried to dig out of that hole by saying in his native language that was a term of endearment long term couples said to each other. 0/10 did not date again."
Lucky 13?
"My wife wanted to plan our 13th wedding anniversary. I was excited because usually, I plan it. She bought us some new disc golf discs and after a quick supper, we went to play. We hadn't played in forever. We were laughing and I had a great time. She served me with divorce papers and told me that the date was a test to see if she still had feelings for me. I also learned that she was having an affair that started well before our anniversary."
- rmorlock
Two Hours from Home
"Not necessarily a date but a person I was dating invited me to his parent's house for the afternoon. He wanted to introduce me to them and show me the house he grew up in. I thought it was super sweet and had no problems going. He was also in the middle of moving and needed to pick up a few things, so it really didn't seem that unusual."
"Yeah, we got there and it was awful. His entire family was there. They traveled from hours away too. This was not just meeting the parents, it was meeting the ENTIRE family. Even worse? At some point, this idiot told his parents that he had proposed. We had been dating TWO months. I spent the entire afternoon dumbfounded and just playing along."
"We were two hours from home and I had no cell service, no way to leave at all. We ended up spending the afternoon brainstorming wedding ideas and planning an Alaskan honeymoon that his parents planned to gift us. His brother even called to say congratulations! We drove back to his apartment in silence. When we got there, I got in my car and left, didn't even bother grabbing my stuff. Weirdest experience ever. I have no idea how he broke it to his parents that we weren't getting married."
You're Cut Off!
"Got set up on a blind date once between mutual friends. She shows up to the restaurant already a little tipsy, orders multiple appetizers and only takes like one or two bites from each one. Then she proceeds to order 3 or 4 more drinks and is visibly drunk at this point. She gets up and says she's going to the bathroom and staggers off. About 15-20 minutes go by so I try to call her several times but no answer."
"Finally I decide to pay the check and just leave. About 2 hours later I'm sitting at home and I get a call from an unknown number. It's the police department. She was picked up on a DUI on her way home after she ditched me and gave the cops my number to see if I could go bail her out!"
- mox44ah
Sorry?
Bbc Three Idk GIF by BBCGiphy"Well, I gave this answer on a different topic, but it ties in with this. We were out on a date, we had been seeing each other for a while, close to a year maybe. She gets a phone call. Suddenly she looks destroyed. Her fiancé had just died in a motorcycle accident."
What in the world? I mean how can we ever expect to pair off with the dating pool being inundated with liars and nut jobs? I'm going to delete my apps.
Girl, Bye.
Sassy Beyonce GIFGiphy"Had a girl openly flirt with the bartender in front of me. She says she wasn't. But handing him her own phone and asking for his contact info in front of her date seems like it to me."
Crazy!
"Came out from a movie, late at night, and date's Camaro was stolen. Apparently, he called his WIFE (that I did not know he had) and let her know where he was and what happened. She showed up and realized he was on a date! She started chasing ME around the parking lot telling me she was going to kill me. Saved by the cops who showed up just in time to take the auto theft report."
Hey Mom
"Met a girl at a country bar one night in my 20s. We were both pretty drunk but hit it off pretty good. Ended up getting her number and we agreed we'd go on a real date. Fast forward to the date, she gets in my vehicle and... she looks almost identical to my mom. I was mortified. I was polite and we went for lunch where I found out she also had a boyfriend she "wasn't sure if she was into". Never talked to her again."
- SgtGo
Liars...
"When I was in college many years ago, before the advancement of cell phones and social media, I was chatting with a girl I met on a BBS who lived on Long Island, NY. I was 18 at the time, but lied and said I was 22 because she said she was 25. We spent a few weeks emailing each other, as well as calling each other."
"We even exchanged pics. When we finally met up, things blew up. Turns out we both lied about our ages: She was really 33, and lied because she thought she looked younger. She admitted she sent a college photo to me. We still had dinner together, but it was awkward as hell. We never spoke again."
Doubles
Kill Me Now Season 1 GIF by FriendsGiphy"It was a double date. She was more interested talking to the other girl throughout the whole thing. Found out later from the other guy that his girl cheated on him with my date."
Ummm... I think I'm just going to stay single. That is a handful of crazy. Why can't people just be honest? I swear the search for love warps people's brains. Be careful out there people.
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