# What are your favorite........Cliches, Expressions, Adages, Mottos, Quotes, Proverbs, Idioms...



## CindyLouWho (Nov 24, 2017)

What are your favorite or most widely used sayings (Cliches, Expressions, Mottos, Quotes, Proverbs.......)

Example: "*Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody is watching"*

* "Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today"
 
"Actions speak louder than words".......*


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## Pappy (Nov 24, 2017)

If it ain’t broke...don’t fix it.
Wait five minutes and the weather will change.


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## Camper6 (Nov 24, 2017)

"What goes around come around"?

I don't believe it however.  Someone steals something from you.  You never get it back. At least not in one piece.


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## Camper6 (Nov 24, 2017)

Pappy said:


> If it ain’t broke...don’t fix it.
> Wait five minutes and the weather will change.



Your signature line.

You are talking about two miracles here.  One the suggestion and the other the result.

How to tell you are getting old.

"You come home at the same time you used to go out".


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## HazyDavey (Nov 25, 2017)

"Did I just say that out loud?"


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## rkunsaw (Nov 25, 2017)

Don't put off 'til tomorrow what you can put off 'til next week.


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## jujube (Nov 25, 2017)

"God must love fools......he created enough of them."


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## Goldilocks (Nov 25, 2017)

What wine goes best with a Happy Meal???


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## Capt Lightning (Nov 25, 2017)

" _here's tae us_; _wha's like us_? _Damn few_ and they're aw deid"


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## SeaBreeze (Nov 25, 2017)




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## Ruthanne (Nov 26, 2017)




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## 911 (Dec 5, 2017)

"If AH's were airplanes, this place would be an airport." 
"Put your hands up and don't move until I tell you to."
"Crime doesn't pay." 
"Money can't buy happiness, but it's more comfortable to cry in a Rolls Royce then on a bicycle." 
"I'm so poor, I can't even pay attention." (Found this one on the internet.)


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## MarkinPhx (Dec 9, 2017)

"The dog would have caught the rabbit if he hadn't stopped to pee"


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## Aunt Bea (Dec 9, 2017)

You can never change the facts but you can always change your attitude!


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## Manatee (Jan 26, 2018)

I'm fixing to ................................


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## Seeker (Feb 8, 2018)

That's the pot calling the kettle black.

Keep your words soft and sweet you might have to eat them one day.


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## retiredtraveler (Feb 8, 2018)

coulda'....woulda'....shoulda'...............


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## Olivia (Feb 8, 2018)

Can't win for losing.


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## Falcon (Feb 8, 2018)

Hope your chute always opens  after you pull the rip cord.


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## TonyK (Apr 4, 2018)

The only real problem is what to do next.
If you wants to win, you does your best.


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## helenbacque (Apr 4, 2018)

A closed mouth gathers no feet.


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## helenbacque (Apr 7, 2018)

And one more - "Don't send your ducks to eagle school."


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## HipGnosis (Apr 10, 2018)

Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned

HipG


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## Falcon (Apr 10, 2018)

There are old pilots  and  there  are  bold pilots

  But there  are no  old bold pilots.


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## twinkles (Apr 10, 2018)

what ever turns your crank


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## Capt Lightning (Apr 12, 2018)

It's six and half a dozen   (doesn't matter one way or the other).
A face like a Lurgan spade (looking dejected or miserable)


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## Shalimar (Apr 12, 2018)

Captain Hard Done By. A person who always feels sorry for themselves.


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## JaniceM (Apr 14, 2018)

An individual who always wants to be in charge of everything:  _Mr.-Billy-Runnin'-Things.  _


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## RadishRose (Apr 15, 2018)

That's the way the mop flops.


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## Capt Lightning (Apr 15, 2018)

Ca canny  (tread carefully)
In a fankle (tangled)
She's a wee stoater ( she's very attractive)


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## john19485 (Apr 15, 2018)

Kiss my grits


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## wvnewbie (Apr 15, 2018)

When asked: "_How you doin' today?"_"  *I'm still above ground!*


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## ancient mariner (Apr 20, 2018)

It's six of one and half a dozen of the other.
When told the price of something, Old Mack says:" Cheap at half the price"  Huh?
It ain't over till the fat lady sings.  Still don't get it.
It is what it is.  double huh?
S--T happens.


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## Radrook (Apr 20, 2018)

Can't recall who said it but:

-----------------------------------------------
*Don't urinate on my shoes and tell me it's raining.*


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## JaniceM (Apr 20, 2018)

Radrook said:


> Can't recall who said it but:
> 
> -----------------------------------------------
> *Don't urinate on my shoes and tell me it's raining.*



Reminds me of a sign that said WELCOME TO OUR OOL.  THERE'S NO P IN IT- PLEASE KEEP IT THAT WAY!


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## Radrook (Apr 20, 2018)

JaniceM said:


> Reminds me of a sign that said WELCOME TO OUR OOL.  THERE'S NO P IN IT- PLEASE KEEP IT THAT WAY!



LOL! That's hilarious and makes perfect sense! Thanks!


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## Hapiguy (Feb 23, 2021)

In life.....
     Sometimes you're the bug....
           and Sometimes you're the windshield....


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## RadishRose (Feb 24, 2021)

The mills of the gods grind slowly but they grind exceedingly fine.


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## Pappy (Feb 24, 2021)

WW2 motto:
Loose lips, sink ships.


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## Pappy (Feb 24, 2021)

When you come to the fork in the road..take it.


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## J.B Books (Feb 24, 2021)

*
We hang petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.
~Aesop, Greek slave & fable author

Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed
by those who are dumber.
~Plato, ancient Greek Philosopher

Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where
there is no river.
~Nikita Khrushchev, Russian Soviet politician

When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President;  I'm
beginning to believe it.
~Quoted in 'Clarence Darrow for the Defense' by Irving Stone.

Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, go
out and buy some more tunnel.
~John Quinton, American actor/writer

Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds
from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other.
~Oscar Ameringer, "the Mark Twain of American Socialism."

I offered my opponents a deal: "if they stop telling lies about me, I will
stop telling the truth about them".
~Adlai Stevenson, campaign speech, 1952..

A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for his country.
~Texas Guinan. 19th century American businessman

I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be
left to the politicians.
~Charles de Gaulle, French general & politician

Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city, it might be better to
change the locks.
~Doug Larson (English middle-distance runner who won gold medals at the 1924
Olympic Games in Paris, 1902-1981)

You’re just damned lucky you don’t get all the Government you’ve paid for
~Will Rogers - “The Cowboy Philosopher”*


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## win231 (Feb 24, 2021)

Age is a high price to pay for maturity.


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## Pinky (Feb 24, 2021)

What goes around, comes around.
Karma will get him.
Been there, done that.


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## funsearcher! (Feb 24, 2021)

It's a process, not an event.


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## Sassycakes (Feb 24, 2021)

*"Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them and you have their shoes.”*
*

 “I love being married. It’s so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.”


“I haven’t spoken to my wife in years. I didn’t want to interrupt her.”*
*Rodney Dangerfield said this and it cracked me up.*


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## Packerjohn (Feb 24, 2021)

1. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.
2. There is a limit to people's intelligence but no limit to their stupidity.


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## tbeltrans (Feb 24, 2021)

I like "The truth will out" because it is an incomplete sentence that doesn't really make sense, yet I have often heard people quote it from somewhere.  

"The truth will COME out" would make sense, or "The truth will eventually come out", or some variant that fits the original framework of the saying.

Tony


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## Gaer (Feb 24, 2021)

"To afffect the quality of the day;  this is the highest of arts!"


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## Murrmurr (Feb 24, 2021)

tbeltrans said:


> I like "The truth will out" because it is an incomplete sentence that doesn't really make sense, yet I have often heard people quote it from somewhere.
> 
> "The truth will COME out" would make sense, or "The truth will eventually come out", or some variant that fits the original framework of the saying.
> 
> Tony


I always figured it meant that the truth would out (expose) the liars.


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## Capt Lightning (Feb 24, 2021)

A very good piece of advice I was given for when someone asks you to do a piece of work..........
Never say "Yes, if...",  always say "No, unless.....".


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## tbeltrans (Feb 24, 2021)

Murrmurr said:


> I always figured it meant that the truth would out (expose) the liars.


Good point.  It is rather ambiguous such that we each come up with different interpretations, neither of which would be incorrect since they essentially mean the same thing (or at least similar).

Tony


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## Murrmurr (Feb 24, 2021)

tbeltrans said:


> Good point.  It is rather ambiguous such that we each come up with different interpretations, neither of which would be incorrect since they essentially mean the same thing (or at least similar).
> 
> Tony


A Fill in the Blank, make it your own quote.


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## tbeltrans (Feb 24, 2021)

Murrmurr said:


> A Fill in the Blank, make it your own quote.


Exactly!

Tony


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## HazyDavey (Feb 24, 2021)

If you don't ever mess up once in a while. Then you're not doing anything..


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## tbeltrans (Feb 24, 2021)

HazyDavey said:


> If you don't ever mess up once in a while. Then you're not doing anything..


Thanks!  I have been looking for an excuse for far too long...and now you have provided it. 

For the first time in my life, I am off the hook.    

Tony


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## Irwin (Feb 24, 2021)

Reboot, see if that fixes it.


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## Kathleen’s Place (Feb 25, 2021)

Lord luv a duck!!!


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## Don M. (Feb 25, 2021)

"You can't fix Stupid"   Proof of that can be seen every day on the news.


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## Chris P Bacon (Aug 28, 2021)

Smart people learn from everything and everyone. Average people learn from their experiences. Stupid people already have all the answers. 

- A smart person


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## funsearcher! (Aug 28, 2021)

It is what it is.
I trust that you will figure it out.


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## Bellbird (Aug 28, 2021)

It is what it is.


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## Chris P Bacon (Aug 28, 2021)

Bellbird said:


> It is what it is.


And it ain't what it is not.


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## MrPants (Aug 28, 2021)

“A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.”


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## Alligatorob (Aug 28, 2021)

_I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member._

Groucho Marx


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## palides2021 (Nov 10, 2021)

Here are some I remember, but there are more:

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
Actions speak louder than words.
All that glitters is not gold.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
A penny saved is a penny earned.


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## mellowyellow (Nov 10, 2021)

*The mouth speaks what the heart is full of. * I try to remember this when my family members are around.


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## oldpop (Nov 10, 2021)

If it ain't broke don't fix it.


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## jerry old (Nov 10, 2021)

I'm gonn'a get aholdt of you and brake some bones (censored)


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## Chris P Bacon (Nov 10, 2021)

You are a cruisin’ for a bruisin’!
I’m gonna box those ears for ya!
Don’t make me come (down, in, out, back, over) there!
I’ll give you to the count of three. One, two …

Those all seem kind of violent , I guess but they’re ones I recall.


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## Gary O' (Nov 10, 2021)

What are your favorite........Cliches, *Expressions*, Adages, Mottos, Quotes, Proverbs, Idioms...​
Going with expressions

Mom used this aaaaa lot;

*'DON'T MAKE ME COME BACK THERE!!'*



That expression made quite an impression

pretty much stuck in all us kid's heads


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## win231 (Nov 10, 2021)

JaniceM said:


> Reminds me of a sign that said WELCOME TO OUR OOL.  THERE'S NO P IN IT- PLEASE KEEP IT THAT WAY!


I also like:  _"We don't swim in your toilet.  Don't pee in our pool."_


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## win231 (Nov 10, 2021)

Hard work won't kill me.  But why take chances?


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## dseag2 (Nov 10, 2021)

Many great ones from WC Fields...

"I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to."
"I used to be indecisive.  Now I'm not so sure."
"Money will not buy happiness.  But it will let you be unhappy in nice places."
"I cook with wine.  Sometimes I even add it to the food."
"It ain't what they call you.  It's what you answer to."
"Start every day off with a smile and get it over with."
"Some people are born losers.  Others acquire the knack gradually."
"Scotch needs water like a fish needs a bicycle."
"A rich man is nothing but a poor man with money."

Some now not very politically correct, but he was the ultimate curmudgeon.


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## jerry old (Nov 11, 2021)

Amethyst1​ 
*                                                                                                                                                                                                            A farmer is aA  

A farmer outstanding in his field*

I surf old entries on SF, this entry of 2013 is one of the best post I've found, it certainly fits this thread.


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## win231 (Dec 13, 2021)

Accept blame for your mistakes - much like the cannibal who shows up late for dinner & gets the cold shoulder.


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## Ladybj (Dec 13, 2021)

"Learn not to make decisions out of fear or impulses, let your conscious dictate your life".

"People don't drink the sand because they are thirsty and can't find water, they drink
the sand because they don't know the difference".


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## dseag2 (Dec 13, 2021)

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt."

Abe Lincoln


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## JaniceM (Jul 10, 2022)

I made this up years ago because it seemed to accurately describe individuals, but it's become so much a part of my everyday speech I often forget I made it up til I get confused reactions from people:
*"Nicotine vultures."  *
You know, individuals who are constantly pestering you for cigarettes, and if they see somebody with a cigarette or a puff of smoke they swoop in like vultures...


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## Shalimar (Jul 10, 2022)

*“Whatever gets you through the night.”*


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## Paco Dennis (Jul 10, 2022)

"If it isn't one thing, it's another."


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## Chet (Jul 10, 2022)

Plan like you'll live forever. Live like you'll die tomorrow.


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## funsearcher! (Jul 10, 2022)

It is what it is.
Everybody's got something.
It's a process, not an event.


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## Shalimar (Jul 10, 2022)

“We are all under construction.”


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## Medusa (Jul 10, 2022)

Don't worry about what others are thinking about you... because they're not.


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## 911 (Jul 26, 2022)

Even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then.
If you can’t fight, run like the wind.
If I had a nickel for every spear of asparagus I ever ate, I would have a nickel.


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## Paco Dennis (Jul 26, 2022)

“*You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time*”


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## Pinky (Jul 26, 2022)

"It is what it is".


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## MountainRa (Jul 26, 2022)

Loneliness does not come from having no people about, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself.  Carl Jung


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## Alligatorob (Jul 26, 2022)

I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.

Groucho Marx


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## win231 (Jul 26, 2022)

Don't believe everything you hear; & half of what you see.


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## win231 (Jul 26, 2022)

The greatness of a nation can be judged by how it treats its animals.


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## win231 (Jul 26, 2022)

Right is right, even if nobody is doing it.
Wrong is wrong, even if everybody is doing it.


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## Alligatorob (Jul 26, 2022)

Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.

Albert Einstein


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## win231 (Jul 26, 2022)

If you avoid conflict to keep the peace, you start a war inside yourself.


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## Llynn (Jul 26, 2022)

“Don't take life so serious. It ain't nohow permanent.”  
  ―      Walt Kelly (spoken by Porkypine in the Pogo comic strip)


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## Bella (Jul 27, 2022)

All that glitters is not gold.

Any port in a storm.

Actions speak louder than words.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

As happy as a clam.

All dressed up and nowhere to go.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

All's fair in love and war.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder (for someone else. )

Bella


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## spectratg (Aug 6, 2022)

God willing and the creek don't rise!


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## DebraMae (Aug 6, 2022)

No matter where you go, there you are!


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## Bretrick (Aug 6, 2022)

I have always remembered this passage from Somerset Maugham's book - Of Human Bondage

“I have nothing but contempt for the people who despise money.
They are hypocrites or fools. Money is like a sixth sense without which you cannot make a complete use of the other five.
Without an adequate income half the possibilities of life are shut off.
The only thing to be careful about is that you do not pay more than a shilling for the shilling you earn.
You will hear people say that poverty is the best spur to the artist.
They have never felt the iron of it in their flesh.
They do not know how mean it makes you.
It exposes you to endless humiliation, it cuts your wings, it eats into your soul like a cancer.”


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## WheatenLover (Aug 6, 2022)

I often say to myself and to my Ubuntu computer, "If it isn't one thing, it's another."

But my favorite saying is "actions speak louder than words".


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## Ladybj (Aug 24, 2022)

win231 said:


> If you avoid conflict to keep the peace, you start a war inside yourself.


Win, I agree 101%.... yesssss!!!!  My hubby keep sooo much within and it shows.   I have to get it out in some form or fashion.. Counseling, dial a friend, etc..


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## spectratg (Aug 24, 2022)

Ladybj said:


> Win, I agree 101%.... yesssss!!!!  My hubby keep sooo much within and it shows.   I have to get it out in some form or fashion.. Counseling, dial a friend, etc..


Oh for Pete's sake.  Goodness gracious!


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## spectratg (Aug 24, 2022)

DebraMae said:


> No matter where you go, there you are!


Whatever floats your boat.


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## Been There (Aug 27, 2022)

“Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate.”
“Nothing is more noble, nothing is more venerable than loyalty.”


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## Alligatorob (Aug 27, 2022)

Been There said:


> enemies accumulate


I don't know about that one.  I have had few true enemies, but people who seemed like they might become one I always quickly distanced myself from.  All are long gone from my life.


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## Lewkat (Aug 27, 2022)

Live each day like it was your last.  One day, it will be.


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## Been There (Aug 27, 2022)

Alligatorob said:


> I don't know about that one.  I have had few true enemies, but people who seemed like they might become one I always quickly distanced myself from.  All are long gone from my life.


My Grandparents used to watch a comedian on TV every week. His name was Red Skelton. I was about 5 years old when I remember seeing him first. At the close of every show, he would say, “I don’t hate my enemies because I made them.” I asked Gramps what did that mean. He told me that someday I would understand.

We all have at least one enemy, we just may not know it. A person can be your enemy only because he or she is jealous of you. Maybe you got a new car, or a promotion or you have more friends. The simplest of things can make an enemy. If you ever served in a war, you had plenty of enemies. Each one wanted to kill you.


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## Knight (Aug 27, 2022)

Don't look at what you don't have, look at what you do have.


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## Pinky (Aug 27, 2022)

Hear no Evil, See no Evil, Speak no Evil.


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## Pinky (Aug 27, 2022)

What anyone thinks of me, is none of my business.


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## JaniceM (Aug 27, 2022)

Pinky said:


> What anyone thinks of me, is none of my business.


As I've heard that expression often around here, I thought it was a local thing.  
What occurred to me:  it really is, because what people think of someone often affects the way they treat the person.


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## Paco Dennis (Aug 27, 2022)




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## Paco Dennis (Aug 27, 2022)

JaniceM said:


> As I've heard that expression often around here, I thought it was a local thing.
> What occurred to me:  it really is, because what people think of someone often affects the way they treat the person.


I think @Tish said her grandmother told her this.  Great advice. We have enough "trouble" of our own, no need to GUESS what others think of us.


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## JaniceM (Aug 27, 2022)

Paco Dennis said:


> I think @Tish said her grandmother told her this.  Great advice. We have enough "trouble" of our own, no need to GUESS what others think of us.


That makes sense.


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## jimintoronto (Aug 27, 2022)

Wayne Gretzky   the best hockey player to ever lace up a pair of skates said......You will miss every shot, that you don't take. JimB.


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## JaniceM (Aug 27, 2022)

jimintoronto said:


> Wayne Gretzky   the best hockey player to ever lace up a pair of skates said......You will miss every shot, that you don't take. JimB.


That's a good one for sure!!


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## jimintoronto (Aug 28, 2022)

JaniceM said:


> That's a good one for sure!!


Sort of off topic but.......Wayne's Father Walter Gretzky used to sign autographs with " W . Gretzky " so every kid he met ( and he met thousands of people every year ) could say they had a Gretzky autograph. Walter Gretzky died last year, and his funeral in their home town of Brantford Ontario was attended by dozens of past and current NHL players. Walter was known in Canada as "Canada's Hockey Dad ", for his untiring efforts to promote and encourage our national sport.  Wayne learned to skate on the back yard rink that his Dad built in their back yard in Brantford. Walter was a lineman for Bell Canada for most of his working life. A nice friendly guy, who loved hockey.    JimB.


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## Paco Dennis (Aug 28, 2022)




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## Della (Aug 30, 2022)

My father told me this one when I was worried about something I was wearing to school.
"We wouldn't worry so much about what other's think of us if we knew how seldom they did."


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## RB-TX (Aug 30, 2022)

*If you rob Peter to pay Paul, you can count on 
Paul's support.

I might add that there are far too many Paul's.*


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## Paco Dennis (Aug 30, 2022)




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## Ladybj (Sep 1, 2022)

spectratg said:


> Oh for Pete's sake.  Goodness gracious!


Hmmmm... I'm a bit confused with your post.  The counseling and dial a friend..was me having a bit of humor.  My hubby is aware that he suppress his emotions.  It's neither right or wrong..it's just part of him.


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## spectratg (Sep 1, 2022)

Ladybj said:


> Hmmmm... I'm a bit confused with your post.  The counseling and dial a friend..was me having a bit of humor.  My hubby is aware that he suppress his emotions.  It's neither right or wrong..it's just part of him.


Hi Ladybj.  My post was in response to the thread of "favorite expressions."  It had nothing to do with you post which immediately preceded mine.


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## CarolfromTX (Oct 23, 2022)

He’s all hat and no cattle.


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## Remy (Oct 26, 2022)

Paco Dennis said:


> View attachment 236493


This seems to work for way too many people.


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## DebraMae (Oct 26, 2022)

Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Caught between a rock and a hard place.


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## Nemo2 (Nov 23, 2022)

J.B Books said:


> *A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for his country.
> ~Texas Guinan. 19th century American businessman*


Texas Guinan was a woman.


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## NorthernLight (Nov 23, 2022)

Yes, Texas Guinan coined the phrase, "butter and egg man," referring to someone who was in the dairy industry.


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