Contradictory Sayings

[SF0751]

In thread1256-1178437, the subject has turned to the meanings of sayings and phrases. This reminds me of something I've always found interesting - well-known sayings that appear to contradict each other. Two of my favorite pairs are:

"Good things come to those who wait." vs. "He who hesitates is lost."
"Many hands make light work." vs. "Too many cooks spoil the broth."

Can anyone add to this list?

Susan
"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."
- Herm Albright (1876 - 1944)

 

[r937]

I always thought that "I could care less" was just plain wrong.

possibly so, but it is in common usage


much like "cheap at half the price" and "cheap at twice the price", it's a corruption, but the fact that so many people say it means that the correct version ("could not care less") has not supplanted the corruption

and i find "I could care less" more pleasing to use, as it comes with a very healthy dose of implied sarcasm

contradiction? not really

r937.com | rudy.ca

 

[jsaxe]

Limey,

Would that be a teakettle or a tin cup for the "T"?

And for that matter, is the "r" in the "A" pronounced?

I've been wondering about that for quite a while, if not von kopf bis fus...

jsaxe

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Hunter S. Thompson (R.I.P. Doc)

 

[BoxHead]

Oh, Dave. that's quite a s-t-r-e-t-c-h!

Now that I'm limber...

Perhaps the depth and sincerity of his affection has elevated him above the level of all the heels who would feign affection for a woman...

or perhaps it means simply that it is over as far as his head is concerned and his feet will propel him down a fated path no matter what logic and reason would suggest...

or that he is so full of affection that he can no longer sit or lie down but must stand at attention in deference to the object of his affection...

or, maybe we've just mangled one more phrase to mean something other than what is actually said.

When all is said and done, all I can say is that for all intensive purposes, I could care less (of course, I'm no rocket surgeon so I could be wrong).


John





When Galileo theorized that Aristotle's view of the Universe contained errors, he was labeled a fool.
It wasn't until he proved it that he was called dangerous.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

jsaxe,

Would that be a teakettle or a tin cup for the "T"?
Actually neither. I was going for the more anatomically correct usage. I have often heard the Teakettle alternative, but the "Tin Cup" one was usually "Tea Cup".

And yes, I always pronounce the "r" to make sure there's no mistaking whether it's an anatomical or animal reference.

[Cheers]

 

[r937]

... intensive purposes"

another frequently mangled phrase, eh



r937.com | rudy.ca

 

[Trevoke]

Out of all these, I love SamBones' first one the best!

(beware of the Greeks, and never look a gift horse...)
It's just so appropriate!

"That time in Seattle... was a nightmare. I came out of it dead broke, without a house, without anything except a girlfriend and a knowledge of UNIX."
"Well, that's something," Avi says. "Normally those two are mutually exclusive."
-- Neal Stephenson, "Cryptonomicon"

 

[BoxHead]

r937,

You caught me.

I've heard 'intensive purposes' come out of the mouths of some pretty intelligent people. One of them even tried to convince me it was what he meant.

I used to use the phrase, "When all is said and done..." quite a bit until my brother objected to it saying that when all is said and done I should stop talking, but I never did.

Never actually heard the phrase "rocket surgeon" except in fun, but I did once hear someone confess to not being a "Brain Scientist". Same brother told him it was redundant.




When Galileo theorized that Aristotle's view of the Universe contained errors, he was labeled a fool.
It wasn't until he proved it that he was called dangerous.

 

[CajunCenturion]

Despite the actual wording of the phrase, one could argue that for 'intensive purposes' such and such applies, but for 'relaxed purposes' it doesn't apply.

--------------
Good Luck
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[PaulTEG]

For all intents and purposes", no ...?

Spend an hour a week on CPAN, helps cure all known programming ailments ;-)

 

[SamBones]

When all is said and done, there's a lot more said than done!"

I used to know a guy who worked for the Jet Propulsion Laboratories in Pasadena. He was an engineer responsible for designing propulsion systems for space vehicles. I used to love to say "What?!? Are you some kind of rocket scientist?" at every opportunity. Of course I was very far from the first person to say that to him. But it was funny anyway.

 

[jebenson]

I have a friend who works for NASA in Houston, and he tells me that one of the favorite running jokes there is, "Come on folks, it's not rocket science! Oh, wait,yes it is...."

I used to rock and roll every night and party every day. Then it was every other day. Now I'm lucky if I can find 30 minutes a week in which to get funky. - Homer Simpson

 

[IknowMe]

Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Well which is it?

 

[SamBones]

If sorrow is sweet, wouldn't that make him a masochist?

 

[Turkbear]

Hi,
Probably --
( what does a sadist do to a masochist?... Nothing!)

Actually Sweet and Sorrow are not as contradictory as, say, Jumbo Shrimp is... it is not a true Oxymoron..







To Paraphrase:"The Help you get is proportional to the Help you give.."

 

[IknowMe]

okay, okay how about

"The best things in life are free" <> "You get what you pay for"

 

[IknowMe]

And yes, I always pronounce the "r" to make sure there's no mistaking whether it's an anatomical or animal reference.

Laughing at myself, took CorBlimeyLimey mentioning an animal to realize how anyone could get an 'r' out of the 'A'.

God Bless the USA

 

[SamBones]

A thing of beauty is a joy forever <-> All things must pass

A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link <-> There's strength in numbers

Money talks <-> Talk is cheap

Ok, here's a triple...

Blood is thicker than water <->
Water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink <->
I vant to drink your blood (Count Dracula)

Ok, so on the last one I sacrificed accuracy in the name of comedy, but I'm sure there must be some good "triples" lurking out there. Anyone?

 

[CRilliterate]

I vant to drink your blood (Count Dracula)-
I dont vant to drink blood (Discount Dracula)


I am using Windows XP, Crystal Reports 9.0 with SQL Server

 

[IknowMe]

While at a small gambling town a few hours from my home I was reminded of a pair commonly used while playing cards. When offered the deck of cards to cut people were saying either "Thin to win" or "Thick's the trick" and cutting correspondingly (contradictory sayings for sure). Then the rest of the group restated the same saying.

Not sure how widespread these two are but I've known them since I started Gambling (21 years is the legal age in US).

From this point on, and now that we know both phrases, which will we choose when the situation arises?

Based on the following people have a tendancy towards one but definatley use whichever benefits their current situation.

Everyone used the statement supposed to bring luck based on where the responsible party cut the cards (thin when cut near the top and vice versa), but when presented their turn to cut they stuck with their "favorite" statement without fail, some thick some thin.

So despite the fact they knew/used both, they had a predisposition to stick with one or the other exclusively when offered the cut. Of course when the contradictory cut was made they used the other saying.

Personally a "Thin to win kinda guy", but then again so is my father.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

When it comes to gambling I have my own saying;
"Abstain to Gain"

Except of course for the weekly lottery ticket, but that's not gambling ... that's an investment 'cause I know I'm going to win ... next time.

[Cheers]