Strange sayings

[Karma168]

Are there any sayings/expressions where you live that you struggle to understand why it means what it does?

the expression "wouldn't say boo to a goose" meaning someone who is timid/shy is confusing to me. what does a goose have to do with being shy? :s

 

[Xojins]

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush". Doesn't really make sense to me.

 

[Jonluw]

This comes to mind.

 

[TenaciousTom]

A dutch saying is (translated): To make someone happy with a dead sparrow.
It means that you make someone excited about something that turns out to me worthless...

 

[Jonluw]

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush". Doesn't really make sense to me.

A bird in the hand is a bird that you have caught for sure.
You might have a chance of catching those two birds in the bush, but you shouldn't let go of the bird in your hand to do that.

 

[Cupid]

"I was as happy was, as Hattie was when Dick died." Hattie was happy as a pig in shit when Dick died..so this means you are VERY happy! Strange, but true!

 

[Xojins]

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush". Doesn't really make sense to me.

A bird in the hand is a bird that you have caught for sure.
You might have a chance of catching those two birds in the bush, but you shouldn't let go of the bird in your hand to do that.

I know what it means, it's just a weird saying that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me; why couldn't you try getting two birds? You don't have to let the one you have go. And why is a bird in your hand in the first place?

 

[Jonluw]

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush". Doesn't really make sense to me.

A bird in the hand is a bird that you have caught for sure.
You might have a chance of catching those two birds in the bush, but you shouldn't let go of the bird in your hand to do that.

I know what it means, it's just a weird saying that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me; why couldn't you try getting two birds? You don't have to let the one you have go. And why is a bird in your hand in the first place?

"A bird in your hand" implies that you have the bird for sure. You have managed to catch this bird. Do you not agree that it is better to have caught a bird for sure than to have the possibility to catch to others?

Ask yourself what situation you would rather be in:
The one where you're holding a tasty treat for dinner in your hand, or the one where two tasty, but very jumpy dinner-treats are hiding in a bush nearby?

Edit: We're not talking about a scenario where you have a bird in the hand and there are two in the bush. There are two different scenarios, and the saying is asking which one you'd rather be in.

 

[Xojins]

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush". Doesn't really make sense to me.

A bird in the hand is a bird that you have caught for sure.
You might have a chance of catching those two birds in the bush, but you shouldn't let go of the bird in your hand to do that.

I know what it means, it's just a weird saying that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me; why couldn't you try getting two birds? You don't have to let the one you have go. And why is a bird in your hand in the first place?

"A bird in your hand" implies that you have the bird for sure. You have managed to catch this bird. Do you not agree that it is better to have caught a bird for sure than to have the possibility to catch to others?

Ask yourself what situation you would rather be in:
The one where you're holding a tasty treat for dinner in your hand, or the one where two tasty, but very jumpy dinner-treats are hiding in a bush nearby?

Edit: We're not talking about a scenario where you have a bird in the hand and there are two in the bush. There are two different scenarios, and the saying is asking which one you'd rather be in.

Sigh, yes I know what this saying means, I know what it implies etc. My point was that it doesn't make sense to me because of what I said in my previous post.

 

[Rofl-Mayo]

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush". Doesn't really make sense to me.

Ninja'd. I don't know what it means either but it always bugs me when people say it.

 

[Jonluw]

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush". Doesn't really make sense to me.

A bird in the hand is a bird that you have caught for sure.
You might have a chance of catching those two birds in the bush, but you shouldn't let go of the bird in your hand to do that.

I know what it means, it's just a weird saying that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me; why couldn't you try getting two birds? You don't have to let the one you have go. And why is a bird in your hand in the first place?

"A bird in your hand" implies that you have the bird for sure. You have managed to catch this bird. Do you not agree that it is better to have caught a bird for sure than to have the possibility to catch to others?

Ask yourself what situation you would rather be in:
The one where you're holding a tasty treat for dinner in your hand, or the one where two tasty, but very jumpy dinner-treats are hiding in a bush nearby?

Edit: We're not talking about a scenario where you have a bird in the hand and there are two in the bush. There are two different scenarios, and the saying is asking which one you'd rather be in.

Sigh, yes I know what this saying means, I know what it implies etc. My point was that it doesn't make sense to me because of what I said in my previous post.

And I explained that your reason for it not making sense is faulty. You can't chase after the two birds in the bush without losing the bird in your hand.

The saying contains two different universes: One where you have a bird in you hand, and one where there are two in a nearby bush. You can't have both.

 

[demoman_chaos]

George Carlin covered this:

 

[Jedamethis]

I can't think of any...apart from strange things people say, like "Good gravy!" and other stuff like that...

No, wait, I got one. Pop goes the Weasel. What the hell is that supposed to mean?!

 

[Tilted_Logic]

"By the skin of your teeth". Meaning you just narrowly survived/escaped something. Always thought it was an..... odd phrase.

Oh and what about "You'll catch cold". If there was an 'a' in there it'd be fine, but without it... well it just sounds silly.

 

[bulldogftw]

Like trying to have one's cake and eat it

 

[Dr.Susse]

Don't change your horse mid stream.

Good advice but still strange.

 

[Deathsong17]

Like trying to have one's cake and eat it

Actually, the origional phrase was "eating your cake and having it too", but they somehow got mixed up.

 

[Deathsong17]

*Ignore this post, I was proving to The Escapist that I'm not a robot*

 

[Rathcoole]

The one I find amusing is when people use the phrase "they have more chiefs than indians". Not sure how common it is outside where I live but it aways makes me laugh. I have even caught myself using it a few times.

 

[bulldogftw]

Like trying to have one's cake and eat it

Actually, the origional phrase was "eating your cake and having it too", but they somehow got mixed up.

Thank you, i didn't know that