Odd Expressions

[48thStreetCustom]

I always took it as a positive. I read into it that the sooner you deal with the reality of the situation (rather than complaining about it) the sooner you can get about dealing with that reality. This, of course, doesn't apply in situations that are blatantly unjust.

Let's say I get in the car to go to work and I'm running late AND need to stop for gas. I can a) complain about it and drive like a maniac trying to make up late and gas pump time or b) realize that "it is what it is" and that you're going to be a few minutes late. Call work. Get gas. Go on with your day.

I once had a woman dump me by telling me she banged someone else and "it is what it is." It was pretty cold.

 

[Lagado]

"Grasp the nettle."

To tackle a difficulty boldly.

I can think of better expressions of encouragement. No one likes being stung by stinging nettles.

 

[Ostie]

My dad had a lot of odd expressions that he got from my grandfather, like “You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear”. And someone didn’t just trip and fall, they went “ass over apple cart” And many times he told me I was “like a bull in a china shop”.

A lady that I used to work with was fond of saying “You can lead a duck up the stairs, but you can’t make it use the handrail”.

 

[Guild B301]

“You can lead a horse to water,
But, you can’t make him drink.”

A metaphor for trying to force things to happen, which you have no control over.
But, also a true statement- if you’ve ever worked with horses.

 

[Krisfield]

G'day Mate = Hello

Chur Bro = Thank you

 

[Lagado]

"Cast pearls before swine."

Offer something valuable or good to someone who does not know its value.

 

[Jeremy Crockett]

And many times he told me I was “like a bull in a china shop”.

"Bull in a China shop" is one of my favorites. I've used it to describe my youngest daughter on more than one occasion.

 

[dwm74]

"Feel the flow, Happy."

at the 0:27 mark...

 

[dwm74]

"Bull in a China shop" is one of my favorites. I've used it to describe my youngest daughter on more than one occasion.

Also used frequently to describe my son's pitbull. He'd moved back home a few months ago and while his dog, a 70lb pittie, is the friendliest, most playful and happiest dog I've ever seen, he literally is a 'bull in a china shop' if there ever was one. He still thinks he's a puppy, and tries to squeeze into places and spaces he's long since outgrown. When he wags his tail it's so powerful he knocks things over or it stings like a whip against anybody's legs that are within striking distance.

 

[Copperhead]

Burn the hatchet at both ends.

 

[Lagado]

"The devil will find work for idle hands to do."

 

[FilterFunk]

"The devil will find work for idle hands to do."

View attachment 3970888

I've heard a few variations of this.

The idle mind is the devil's workshop (or playground or laboratory).

Idle hands are the devil's workshop.

 

[Tom Bomb]

'An undisciplined mind is the devil's playground's another, according to Tom Keneally.​

 

[Tom Bomb]

'By the seat of your pants.' — flying a plane in a straight line by using your derrière as a spirit-level.

'Coasting' — navigating a boat without any navigation skills, using a coast as a landmark.

​

 

[Tom Bomb]

'How come?' — Tarzan, in a pickle, was known to have asked this question, once or twice. The detail is now lost to us but it's understood that Jane may have sometimes come to the rescue, depending.

​

 

[kesslari]

I've heard a few variations of this.

The idle mind is the devil's workshop (or playground or laboratory).

Idle hands are the devil's workshop.

We dog lovers say "Idle snouts are the devil's playground."

 

[kesslari]

"He could sell ice chests to Eskimos"

 

[FilterFunk]

 

[Michedelic]

"He could sell ice chests to Eskimos"

Or “selling snow”. Also “he could sell a(list an unpleasant part of a rodent’s anatomy here)for a wedding ring”.
“Taking coals to Newcastle” is a distant British equivalent.