I've been hearing some really stupid sayings lately. Share yours and explain!


"It will be the last place you look!"
Well duh!! Once you find it you stop looking!!

Lol good topic idea!

"Early bird gets the worm"
Worm catching is best late at night or after rain, not early morning lol.

Thanks Bunny!

"You can't have your cake and eat it too"
I don't know what it means but it's stupid because you can.

"beggars can't be choosers"

It's insulting, true or not, and usually said to people who arent beggars and have the opportunity to choose if they try.

"Curiosity kills the cat"

No it does not. Lack of awareness, knowledge and caution kill the cat!

This one always gets me.
(Said over the phone  after I have answered) "It's me." Well yeah. . And if I answer a phone who else is it going to be.
Ryder13
 

'Don't look a gift horse in the mouth' - if the horse is a gift I'm gunna want to check its teeth 

Kimberley (02:41pm Wed, Apr 21, 2010)

Thanks Bunny!

"You can't have your cake and eat it too"
I don't know what it means but it's stupid because you can.

You can? That's amazing. I always thought that once you have eaten your cake you don't have it anymore. Unless you count having it in your stomach as having it. So how do you eat a cake and have it at the one and same time?

My favorite is not a saying. It's a question.

"Are you asleep?"

Now if the person being asked is actually asleep, what kind of answer is expected?

I don't like "Third time's a charm" and "Curiosity is the first step to hell".

Haffina (10:04pm Thu, Dec  6, 2012)

'Don't look a gift horse in the mouth' - if the horse is a gift I'm gunna want to check its teeth 

Lol!

I don't mind this saying at all. I don't think most people seem to know what it means any more, though, so it's rather outdated and can be confusing for some.

Haha. These are good ones! I'm uber-aware of cliches and cliched-saying in my writing and I try to chop it out immediately just because they irk me.

"In for a penny, in for a pound" is my contribution. No. Sometimes, you can invest and penny and be done with it.

Victor Leigh (10:16pm Thu, Dec  6, 2012)

Kimberley (02:41pm Wed, Apr 21, 2010)

Thanks Bunny!

"You can't have your cake and eat it too"
I don't know what it means but it's stupid because you can.

You can? That's amazing. I always thought that once you have eaten your cake you don't have it anymore. Unless you count having it in your stomach as having it. So how do you eat a cake and have it at the one and same time?

My favorite is not a saying. It's a question.

"Are you asleep?"

Now if the person being asked is actually asleep, what kind of answer is expected?

If you've eaten it then you had it at one point.


"It will be the last place you look" - because you stop looking...duh lol.

Victor Leigh (10:16pm Thu, Dec  6, 2012)

You can? That's amazing. I always thought that once you have eaten your cake you don't have it anymore. Unless you count having it in your stomach as having it. So how do you eat a cake and have it at the one and same time?

Somewhere I heard that the original saying was just the opposite - "You can't eat your cake and have it too" - that actually makes a lot more sense.

Quote

My favorite is not a saying. It's a question.

"Are you asleep?"

Now if the person being asked is actually asleep, what kind of answer is expected?

AARRGH! My roomie does that to me a lot - drives me crazy.

I went to a funeral last week and there was no shortage of stupid sayings ...

• "Don't they look natural?"
• "They're at peace now" - how the frig do YOU know?!?
• "It's all in God's hands" - well, He better never try out for wide-receiver then ...
• "That's life" - no, that's death.

Ryder13 (08:07pm Thu, Dec  6, 2012)

This one always gets me.
(Said over the phone  after I have answered) "It's me." Well yeah. . And if I answer a phone who else is it going to be.
Ryder13
 

On the same topic, I hate it when I answer the phone - and this happens once a week at least - and the person on the other end says,

'Oh, you're in, then!'

My response is always, 'Actually, I went out an hour ago. This is a recorded message.'

Another one that gets me is when things are going badly and someone says

'Never mind, tomorrow is another day.'

I know that - I have a calendar,while the person who just said it must have a First Class Degree in Stating the Obvious.

Sandra Piddock (10:23am Wed, Jan 16, 2013)

On the same topic, I hate it when I answer the phone - and this happens once a week at least - and the person on the other end says,

'Oh, you're in, then!'

My response is always, 'Actually, I went out an hour ago. This is a recorded message.'

Another one that gets me is when things are going badly and someone says

'Never mind, tomorrow is another day.'

I know that - I have a calendar,while the person who just said it must have a First Class Degree in Stating the Obvious.

Actually on this one I am guilty as charged, but at least I acknowledge this by saying "to state the obvious, you are now home." Good one.
Ryder13

I am so guilty of using some of these sayings lol. I guess it depends on the situation. Sometimes a saying like this just fits right into the conversation. I especially like "Every dog has its day". I know what it means but I am not really sure on how to explain it. If anyone has a good explanation for me, please let me know.

This one goes back a few years and I have no idea what is actually behind it. 
Some might not even know this one at all . Or what it is supposed to mean.
"  . . .  and Bob's your uncle."  I know this is not current but I just came across it, first time
in a long time. I guess I would consider it to fit as being a bit on the dumb saying side of things.
Ryder13

I've never heard that one, Ryder, so I looked it up. It actually has its own Wikipedia article to explain it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob's_your_uncle

It definitely makes more sense to someone who is British than an American.

Perhaps this thread title should be "Figures of Speech Which Sound Stupid if You Take Them Literally."    I am really feeling old, and torn between trying to explain the sayings and wondering whether the impetus to do so means I'm missing the point. (It does, doesn't it?)

At any rate, one of my favorite stupid-on-the-surface sayings is "cat fur to make kitten britches"; my family, naturally, uses it wrong.

QuirkyJessi (06:13pm Fri, Apr 12, 2013)

I've never heard that one, Ryder, so I looked it up. It actually has its own Wikipedia article to explain it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob's_your_uncle

It definitely makes more sense to someone who is British than an American.

Interesting. I didn't know about that site and I didn't know about the Prime Minister background to it.
I btw do have a bit of a Brit background and heritage. It is also a saying that I haven't heard used in a while, other than by me for no reason other than it amuses me.
Ryder13

I can't believe nobody has yet mentioned the awful "I could care less". The expression is "I couldn't care less". By saying you could, you're implying you care at least a tiny bit, whereas "couldn't" means you don't give a damn at all and couldn't give less of one if you tried. It really irritates me! (Was about to write "gets my goat" there, and then I realised that is also a stupid saying.)

Wow there are a lot of stupid phrases we say aren't there?

This kind of reminds of Cracked's 4 Wise Proverbs That Need to Be Revised for the Modern World.

But my contribution is: "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."

The moon is closer than the stars...

I'm sure that's really poetic if the world really did work like a children's book illustration, but it's one of those times where I must recommend saying what you mean. "Plan to do something great, and act like it will actually happen. Even if the great thing doesn't happen, you would have accomplished something good." Okay, maybe that's too prosaic.

Right now, I feel like the saying "No man is an island." is plain stupid. But since I'm feeling really alone and sad right now, that might be the reason. Hopefully, tomorrow, I'd have a different mindset about it.

"It is what it is"

Really? I thought it would be something else. Well you learn something new every day.

Oh geez...yeah...I have heard a LOT of sayings over the years that just always sounded so stupid...and they STILL keep being said even after I point out their stupidity.

"Crazier than a bedbug"-while bedbugs are disgusting, nasty, filthy little things I don't think they are actually insane.

"What goes up must come down"-No shit sherlock...gravity works.

Often heard at funerals..."Well, at least he/she was ready to go and aren't suffering now." Ready to go WHERE? Of course they aren't suffering...the body is DEAD.

Oh...and one that just annoys me to no end..."FUCK ME A-RUNNIN'!" Oooookay...I just don't even know what to say to that one.

There are lots more...but I don't have time or patience to write them all. 

The phrase "I am feeling some kind of way"  annoys the heck out of me. Not only is it completely non descriptive , it is just plain ignorant. Unless you are numb you will always be feeling something, please choose an adjective that fits the set of emotions you are currently experiencing.

Just hearing that one 12NDN made my blood boil ha ha. WTF sort of comment is that?!

  This was an entertaining and informative thread.

 I had quite a few chuckles bubble up along the way.

  I know this isn't a saying and is simply a completely dumb question, but as I just had the dubious honor of hearing it asked of me not more than an hour ago, I am compelled to share.

 The initial question was, "Do you know what time it is?"

 I asked this of my soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend so I could reset my watch.

  Her response was,  "What, do you mean right now...?" 

Roll on snare drum. Curtains.

Ryder13 (08:07pm Thu, Dec  6, 2012)

This one always gets me.
(Said over the phone  after I have answered) "It's me." Well yeah. . And if I answer a phone who else is it going to be.
Ryder13

I totally get you! Another stupid thing related to this is when the person on the other line is the one asking "who is this?"

Wow.