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17 Mar 15 - 03:15 PM (#3694869) Subject: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: GUEST,Dave the Gnome My mother often said "Better out than in". I found that untrue when arrested at the age of 18... More seriously. Things like "Your face will stick like that if the wind changes" or "A whistling woman and a crowing hen will bring the devil out of his den" are obviously untrue but someone once believed them. Going on a step, will people in years to come think we were stupid for believing half the things we do? Or did? Thinking of the latest change about eggs and butter not being bad for you after all. Or rats spreading plague. Will things like that becore the folklore of the next century? Worth a chat? |
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17 Mar 15 - 04:03 PM (#3694877) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: GUEST,Tunesmith I've heard the following saying used, when somebody is learning a new skill ( to play a musical instrument, for example): "It's just as easy to do it right as wrong". Well, that is not true!!! It takes a lot more concentration and patience to do it right! |
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17 Mar 15 - 05:45 PM (#3694900) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: Thompson The first step is half the journey… NOT! |
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17 Mar 15 - 06:22 PM (#3694905) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: Marje "There's nothing either right or wrong but thinking makes it so" was one of my mother's many gnomic utterances. Some of them were advice that I could have done without, too: "Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever," and "Neither a borrower nor a lender be" were two I totally refused to accept. Marje |
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17 Mar 15 - 06:48 PM (#3694913) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: Joe_F A dog, a wife, and a walnut tree: The more you beat them, the better they'll be. (Hard to imagine anything untruer than that.) |
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17 Mar 15 - 08:05 PM (#3694929) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: Doug Chadwick "It's too cold to snow" Antarctica is the coldest place on earth and it's covered in the stuff. DC |
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17 Mar 15 - 08:18 PM (#3694931) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: Steve Shaw Doug, there is just a tiny element of truth in that. When it's really cold, as under an intense winter anticyclone, the descending air will ensure that no precipitation falls. Another thing is that very cold air can hold little water vapour. There isn't much potential for significant snowfall. Generally, in cold weather when it snows, it's a warm front between cold air ahead and warmer air behind that causes the disturbance that would produce the heaviest snow. In many cases snow falls most heavily when the weather is about to warm up (and the snow then turns to rain). Finally, the reason Antarctica is covered in deep snow (mostly ice, in fact) is that the rate of melting/sublimation is much slower even than the accumulation of the relatively light snowfall. |
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17 Mar 15 - 08:23 PM (#3694934) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: Steve Shaw Eat your crust - it'll put hairs on your chest. And we all know what'll give you hairy palms... |
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17 Mar 15 - 08:36 PM (#3694936) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: Steve Shaw If you sit on a cold wall you'll get piles. |
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17 Mar 15 - 08:48 PM (#3694937) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: Steve Shaw ... the rate of melting/sublimation is much slower even than the accumulation of the relatively light snowfall. "...has been much slower, at least until recently..." might have been more accurate, sadly. |
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17 Mar 15 - 09:13 PM (#3694939) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: FreddyHeadey Doug - what Steve Shaw said - And I love it that Kipling was pointing it out a hundred and something years ago in Our Fathers Of Old & sung by Peter Bellamy "Pat as a sum in division it goes - (Every herb had a planet bespoke) - Who but Venus should govern the Rose ? Who but Jupiter own the Oak ? ....Half their remedies cured you dead - Most of their teaching was quite untrue - "Look at the stars when a patient is ill (Dirt has nothing to do with disease), Bleed and blister as much as you will, Blister and bleed him as oft as you please." Whence enormous and manifold Errors were made by our fathers of old. ...If it be certain, as Galen says - And sage Hippocrates holds as much - "That those afflicted by doubts and dismays Are mightily helped by a dead man's touch," Then be good to us, stars above ! Then be good to us, herbs below ! We are afflicted by what we can prove, We are distracted by what we know. So - ah, so! Down from your heaven or up from your mould, ... Send us the hearts of our fathers of old ! |
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17 Mar 15 - 09:29 PM (#3694941) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: Bee-dubya-ell A bird in the hand might actually be worth two in the bush, but what the hell's a bird worth anyway? If it's an edible bird like a chicken, it's probably going to be in a chicken coop, not a bush. And, anyway, a bird in the hand is apt to shit on your coat sleeve, so leave the damned thing in the bush where it belongs. |
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17 Mar 15 - 09:33 PM (#3694945) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: Tattie Bogle One of my mother-in-law's many quaint beliefs - "Never look over a baby's head or his/her eyes will get stuck" - this presumes said baby is lying flat and you have come into view from above its head, so are effectively looking at him/her upside down. |
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18 Mar 15 - 04:19 AM (#3694972) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: Musket My Gran would insist on only seeing a new moon from outside. She thought it would be bad luck to see it through a window. I suppose most of the sayings here are encapsulating superstition. A bit like coveting your neighbours missus and adultery. You won't burn in hell really, although your shirts might get shredded with bacon scissors and scattered on the front lawn. "Sitting on cold surfaces gives you piles." It doesn't. Although it does make men more fertile if your love spuds are in contact too. There is a "saying" among guitarists that ground nut oil is better than lemon oil for cleaning and preserving fret boards. Really? All I found was I caught a certain alleged greyhound licking my bloody guitar. |
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18 Mar 15 - 09:37 AM (#3695014) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: Vic Smith Here's an old saying that it is very difficult to dispute:- When Oak and Ash be out in May, |
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18 Mar 15 - 10:37 AM (#3695025) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: GUEST,leeneia The saying in the physical fitness industry, "No pain; no gain." That's wrong. I took a course of aerobic dance with an orthopedic nurse for a while, and she used to bounce around the studio shouting, "If it hurts, quit!" I think she had the more intelligent approach. Now the physical fitness industry seems to prefer to tell victims to "work through the pain." I guess it sounds like Zen and sells better. (I don't mean that EVERYBODY that goes to the gym is a victim. But if you are getting injured and they still push you, then you are.) |
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18 Mar 15 - 11:11 AM (#3695035) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: Uncle_DaveO Leeneia, I find it good to go with this version of that saying: "No pain----no pain." Dave Oesterreich |
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18 Mar 15 - 06:18 PM (#3695152) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: Joe_F "If it hurts, quit" is the kind of advice that might be called dangerously sensible. |
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18 Mar 15 - 07:54 PM (#3695163) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: Bee-dubya-ell Sitting on cold surfaces doesn't give you hemorrhoids, it gives you polaroids. |
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18 Mar 15 - 08:57 PM (#3695170) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: LadyJean You can do anything you set your mind to. Well, I suppose you can, but probably not very well. |
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18 Mar 15 - 11:17 PM (#3695189) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: JennieG I grew up being told that eating my crusts would give me curly hair...... .....still waiting....... |
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18 Mar 15 - 11:34 PM (#3695192) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: GUEST,Janet When I was a teenager and had my period my mother used to say, "When you are unwell (referring to having my period) do not eat anything or drink anything cold." "It will make you feel worse and upset your stomach if you do." She always referred to having your period as being "Unwell." Ladies: Did any of your mother's said anything similar? |
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19 Mar 15 - 01:21 AM (#3695196) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: GUEST,Dave Hunt A bird in the hand makes it difficult to blow the nose. People who live in glasshouses should undress in the dark. Too many brothels spoil the cook. A rolling stone gathers momentum. 'A stitch in time saves nine' said the mother of eight as she sewed her husbands pyjamas up. Too many cooks indicates a union. |
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19 Mar 15 - 03:18 AM (#3695203) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: GUEST "All being well and tuppence in the kitty", as my Mum used to say. Not true!!!! Age 7, and all was not well when next door's cat scratched the hell out of my arms and face while I was trying to shove pennies up it's bum. You live and learn... |
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19 Mar 15 - 04:35 AM (#3695216) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: Mr Red "Neither a borrower nor a lender be" Well! We borrowed from Bill Shakespear and we borrowed, and we borrowed, and we............. still do. And when I was courting we held a family baby and playfully showed it itself in a mirror. The grandmother went spare "Don't show a baby its reflection until it is a year old". GF (daughter of GM) & I never heard that one! years later a SO came up with one about "back luck passing on the stairs", now I can see the logic in that, especially on badly lit stairs &/or carrying stuff. Especially in days of yore when carrying a candle wearing a flammable nightdress etc. |
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19 Mar 15 - 04:57 AM (#3695221) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: Tattie Bogle Janet's story reminds me of one my Mum used to tell, when, as a fairly new teacher, one of her pupils complained of a "headache". My Mum assumed she meant she was "unwell" and gave her a sanitary pad. She later saw the girl wearing the pad across her forehead! Lesson: don't assume that euphemisms are being used! |
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19 Mar 15 - 06:19 AM (#3695237) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: GUEST,silver Here's a harsh one from my grandparents: "A good man will fend for himself, and a bad one there's no point in helping." |
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19 Mar 15 - 07:51 AM (#3695245) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: GUEST Jennie "I grew up being told that eating my crusts would give me curly hair...... .....still waiting....... " Are you sure you're looking in the right place? |
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19 Mar 15 - 07:54 AM (#3695246) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: GUEST,DTM Carrots are good for your eyes because you never see rabbits wearing specs. A swan can break your arm. Does anybody actually know of someone who has had their arm broken by a swan? Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy wealthy & wise. Em, not if your missus is slipping out at midnight and whooping it up with her fancy man on your credit card. |
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19 Mar 15 - 08:04 AM (#3695247) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: GUEST,Midchuck "Early to rise and early to bed Makes a man healthy and wealthy and dead." - James Thurber |
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19 Mar 15 - 08:07 AM (#3695248) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: GUEST "Your cheque is in the post" - rarely true. |
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19 Mar 15 - 08:52 AM (#3695255) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: GUEST "He's in a meeting" |
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19 Mar 15 - 06:28 PM (#3695354) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: Joe_F Lightning never strikes twice in the same place. If you don't move, the bees won't sting you. Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever. |
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19 Mar 15 - 06:33 PM (#3695356) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: GUEST,Dave the Gnome He'll not get there any faster! Yes he will, Mother, he is doing 80 and I am doing 50... |
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20 Mar 15 - 04:24 AM (#3695402) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: Musket It tastes a bit like chocolate. |
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20 Mar 15 - 06:56 AM (#3695438) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: GUEST,Derrick Doctors and nurses who say "this will not hurt" Leave out one word "Me" |
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20 Mar 15 - 08:14 AM (#3695454) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: GUEST "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter". Yeh, right! Should have been called "WTF Is This S**t?" |
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20 Mar 15 - 10:10 AM (#3695485) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: GUEST,M The British comedian Jeremy Hardy refers to a product he terms "B*gger Me! It's Lard"... |
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20 Mar 15 - 10:58 AM (#3695497) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: meself "If you don't move, the bees won't sting you." I have always found this to be true, and have had many occasions to test it. Have others experienced the contrary? |
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20 Mar 15 - 12:43 PM (#3695533) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: Bill D "Have others experienced the contrary?" Oh sure! I was mowing the lawn and upset a bunch of bees that had burrowed near a tree. Maybe they objected to the noise. I stopped as they swarmed out, and I guess they liked an easy target.....THEN I ran like hell. Got 7-8 good stings. |
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20 Mar 15 - 01:14 PM (#3695541) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: The Sandman walnut trees do fruit bettrer when the ends of the branches are whipped, or have sticks thrown at them. |
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20 Mar 15 - 01:26 PM (#3695546) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: Joe_F There are also sayings that are not false, but "vacuously true" (as logicians say): true only because they include an impossible condition: If you put salt on a bird's tail, it cannot fly away. If you kiss the very tip of your elbow, you will change sex. |
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20 Mar 15 - 02:58 PM (#3695565) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: GUEST,Dave the Gnome I put salt on a chickens tail only yesterday and it didn't fly away. Mind you, it had been roasting in the oven for 90 minutes... You can also kiss the tip if your elbow if you are either double jointed or cut your arm off. Not sure how that helps to change sex though... |
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20 Mar 15 - 05:35 PM (#3695611) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: GUEST,Guest As brown as a berry? To tell you the truth? |
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20 Mar 15 - 06:54 PM (#3695623) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: GUEST,Guest of Guest You mean like: You can lead GNU to wisdom...... |
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20 Mar 15 - 07:51 PM (#3695637) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: GUEST Not so much sayings as things people use to qualify what they are about to say; these particularly make me cringe: I don't mean to nag, but..... Not being one to criticise, but.... I'm not a racist, but..... I'm not homophobic, but..... |
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20 Mar 15 - 09:58 PM (#3695645) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: LadyJean Anger and scolding are a mark of affection. I used to work for a woman who gave me merry Hell every spring because her daughters didn't come home for Passover, which was not my fault. I think she was fonder of her daughters than me. But I was a safer target. |
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21 Mar 15 - 05:27 AM (#3695681) Subject: RE: Folklore: Untrue sayings From: Mr Red quoter 1 - "sarcasm is the lowest form of wit" quoter 2 "but the highest form of quoter 1" not so much untrue as destined to be countered, so unusable. Sorry Oscar. |