Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.

05 Dec 13 - 10:10 AM (#3581730)
Subject: Folklore: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: Jim Dixon

I want to hear as many proverbs, sayings, slogans, rules of thumb, clichés, catch phrases, mnemonics, etc., as you can think of—that rhyme.

(A British friend once asked me if America has anything like Cockney rhyming slang. I told him no. The closest thing I could think of was a few proverbs that rhyme. That's not at all the same thing, I know, but it got me thinking: how much do we use rhyme in our popular speech?)

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05 Dec 13 - 11:00 AM (#3581737)
Subject: RE: Folklore: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: Jeri

A stitch in time saves nine.
My way or the highway.
Might for right... oops, that's Camelot, I think.
Red sky at morning, sailors take warning, red sky at night, sailors' delight.
Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite.
See you later, alligator. Not for a while, crocodile.

Some aren't proverbs, but just rhymey mnemonic things.

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05 Dec 13 - 12:12 PM (#3581752)
Subject: RE: Folklore: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

There are many, these are some common ones-

Leaves (leaflets) three, let it be.
There's many a slip between the cup and the lip.
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker.
Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses.

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05 Dec 13 - 12:50 PM (#3581756)
Subject: RE: Folklore: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: meself

(That last, of course, from Dorothy Parker).

Here's one: Righty tighty; lefty,loosey.

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05 Dec 13 - 12:53 PM (#3581757)
Subject: RE: Folklore: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: meself

See yuh; wouldn't want to be yuh.

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05 Dec 13 - 12:58 PM (#3581761)
Subject: RE: Folklore: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: meself

Gimme, gimme, never gets;
Don't you know your manners yet.

Liar, liar, pants on fire;
[So-and-so] (mumble, mumble) the telephone wire.

[So-and-so], [So-and-so], how disgraceful,
Get your elbows off the table!
This is not a horse's stable,
But a first-class dining table.

K-I-S-S-I-N-G, etc.

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05 Dec 13 - 01:00 PM (#3581763)
Subject: RE: Folklore: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: meself

And I have a vague memory of being tormented to this one:

Shakespeare,
Kick in the rear,
Twist on the ear -
Happy New Year!

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05 Dec 13 - 01:12 PM (#3581769)
Subject: RE: Folklore: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: GUEST,Eliza

No pain, no gain
Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the bugs bite.
boys with their toys
the brain drain
a big wig
pay and display
nit wit

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05 Dec 13 - 02:50 PM (#3581796)
Subject: RE: Folklore: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

Poe's poetry-

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary-
Doesn't fit the category, but it came to mind.

Don't take the car, if it isn't far.

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05 Dec 13 - 02:59 PM (#3581799)
Subject: RE: Folklore: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: meself

Easy-peasy.

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05 Dec 13 - 03:03 PM (#3581800)
Subject: RE: Folklore: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: meself

Take a chill pill.

Loosey-goosey.

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06 Dec 13 - 03:49 AM (#3581933)
Subject: RE: Folklore: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: GUEST,eldergirl on another computer

a Milligan one:
String
Is a very important thing.
rope is thicker
but string is quicker.

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06 Dec 13 - 02:03 PM (#3582106)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: Jim Dixon

In college, the science students used to refer to the other non-science subjects as artsy-fartsy and religion and philosophy particularly as airy-fairy.

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06 Dec 13 - 02:18 PM (#3582110)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: Jim Dixon

Hanging out in a bar once, one of my friends got up pee, and came back to find someone else sitting on his stool. He was told the rule is: Shuffle your feet, lose your seat.

It sounds more authoritative when it rhymes. It seems less likely that the speaker made it up on the spot. Therefore it's not just his opinion; it's part of folklore, so a lot of people must agree on it.

Moral: if you want to make up a rule, make it rhyme.

In this case, the guy who lost his seat took it with good humor. I still don't know whether it's a well-known proverb. I only heard it once.

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06 Dec 13 - 03:34 PM (#3582141)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: meself

Cf. Finders, keepers; Losers, weepers.

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06 Dec 13 - 03:48 PM (#3582144)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: Firecat

Early to bed,
Early to rise,
Makes you healthy,
Wealthy and wise.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

In it to win it.

If you wish to live and thrive,
Let a spider run alive.

See a penny,
Pick it up,
All day long,
You'll have good luck,
If you give it to a friend,
Then your luck will never end.

Star light,
Star bright,
First star I've seen tonight
I wish I may,
I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight.

Learn as you earn. (This was a saying for apprenticeship courses and jobs that offered on-the-job training)

One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret never to be told,
Eight's a letter,
Nine's a kiss (or a wish),
Ten's a bird you must not miss.

Rain, rain, go away,
Come again another day.

It's raining, it's pouring,
The old man is snoring,
He went to bed,
And bumped his head,
And couldn't get up in the morning.

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07 Dec 13 - 03:36 AM (#3582261)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: Young Buchan

Use it or lose it.

A platitude taught to all Hearies trying to learn British Sign Language, but probably applicable to anyone learning any new language.

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07 Dec 13 - 04:02 AM (#3582264)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: GUEST,Grishka

Rhyming rules gull the fools.

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16 Jun 19 - 09:54 PM (#3996737)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: GUEST

When in town, windows down
Cut towards your chum & not towards your thumb
Pitter patter, let's get at er!

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16 Jun 19 - 10:28 PM (#3996740)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: Joe_F

Good night, sleep tight, wake up bright by morning light to do what's right with all your might.

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17 Jun 19 - 09:30 AM (#3996779)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: meself

That version is a little more pious than the one we grew up with:

Good night, sleep tight;
Don't let the bed-bugs bite -
And if they bite, squeeze them tight -
Good night!

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17 Jun 19 - 09:57 AM (#3996782)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: GUEST,HiLo

Argy- bargy

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17 Jun 19 - 10:34 AM (#3996785)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: GUEST,Sol

Clunk Click - every trip.
The Bees knees
Having a heid like a stairheid
Hells bells

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17 Jun 19 - 03:18 PM (#3996824)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: WalkaboutsVerse

I heard this from a park ranger on the BBC's CountryFile last weekend:

Dead wood is dead good (for moss, ferns, insects, etc).

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18 Jun 19 - 03:27 AM (#3996871)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: Mr Red

go with flow
race with the pace
walk the talk

from Yorkshire:   if you do owt for nowt do it for the sen

one from my mother, which repeats and has 5 sibilant consonant rhymes:

handsome is, as handsome does

and one from grandma advising my sister on choosing a husband - it has repetition as a form of rhyme (or form of anaphora if you prefer):

winter 'em, summer 'em, and winter 'em again


my mantras are: run with the pun
& in reference to such puns: if ain't hurting it ain't working

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18 Jun 19 - 09:27 AM (#3996901)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: meself

Happy wife, happy life.

No pain, no gain.

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18 Jun 19 - 10:39 AM (#3996915)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: GUEST,Dave Sunshine

See a penny,
Pick it up,
All day long,
You'll have


a penny in your pocket!.

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18 Jun 19 - 11:01 AM (#3996918)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: GUEST,Dave Sunshine

A bird in the hand.. makes it difficult to blow the nose
People who live in glasshouses...should undress in the dark
A rolling stone gathers...momentum
Rome wasn't built on a day ...it just looks like that
The squeaky wheel gets...on your nerves
When the going gets tough, the tough....go shopping
Too many cooks ...indicates a union
Too many brothels spoil the cook
Don't put all your Basques in one exit

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18 Jun 19 - 12:19 PM (#3996936)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: leeneia

different strokes for different folks

Be sure to diff'rent, not different.

April showers bring May flowers.

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18 Jun 19 - 12:43 PM (#3996937)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: Doug Chadwick

Advice from my driving instructor as to whether it's safe to make a manoeuvre:

          "If in doubt, hang about."

Nearly fifty years on, I find myself repeating out loud when the situation arises.

DC

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18 Jun 19 - 12:52 PM (#3996938)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: Mrrzy

Does Waste Not Want Not count? More alliterative...

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18 Jun 19 - 02:33 PM (#3996953)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: WalkaboutsVerse

No pain, no gain (from Meself) or

No pain - refrain?!

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18 Jun 19 - 10:24 PM (#3996996)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: Joe_F

When in danger or in doubt,
Run in circles, scream and shout.

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19 Jun 19 - 03:17 PM (#3997066)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: Mrrzy

See a penny, let it lie
You will want before you die

Is the second verse of the penny thing, or was where and when I grew up. There was no share-y verse.

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19 Jun 19 - 03:38 PM (#3997069)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: Jos

I heard a version that went:
'See a pin and pick it up ...'

I will (nearly) always pick up coins, even a penny, in spite of a friend long ago who said she was too proud to pick up a small coin. They can add up to several pounds a year (so a free beer).
But recently I have been finding far fewer coins lying about. Are people needing to be more careful these days, and either not dropping them, or stooping to pick them up themselves?

As for picking up a pin - I probably wouldn't bother.

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19 Jun 19 - 06:31 PM (#3997079)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: Joe_F

It seems to take me about 5 s to pick up a penny. That corresponds to a wage of $7.20/h. WIWAL that was a living wage.

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20 Jun 19 - 03:33 AM (#3997108)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: Mr Red

Are people needing to be more careful these days, and either not dropping them,

Or it is the cashless society which has spawned the phrase - ironically &/or mendaciously:

splash the cash or the alternative can't pay, won't pay

And one from my apprenticeship days when begging cigarettes - which were soooooo cool (?) crash the ash

And there is the electricity generating rush to phase out coal (other Trumpish policies are available) dash for gas

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20 Jun 19 - 01:42 PM (#3997156)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: Felipa

oddly enough, "you snooze, you lose," was not a familiar saying to me when I heard of this dog:https://collooneywhippets.weebly.com/snooze-you-lose.html

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20 Jun 19 - 01:46 PM (#3997158)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: Felipa

I've met a sister of his, the lovely "Golly Miss Molly".

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20 Jun 19 - 03:01 PM (#3997174)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: meself

Walk the walk, and talk the talk (or variations thereof).

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20 Jun 19 - 03:38 PM (#3997181)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: WalkaboutsVerse

There's a few about golf, such as "Drive for show/put for dough", in my song - "Lingolf"

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20 Jun 19 - 05:12 PM (#3997190)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: meself

Money talks, bullshit walks - or is it vice versa?

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21 Jun 19 - 01:17 PM (#3997267)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: Mrrzy

What is the advice about how to drink? Beer before liquor, never sicker?

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25 Jun 19 - 05:09 AM (#3997757)
Subject: RE: Rhyming Proverbs: 'You snooze, you lose,' etc.
From: Nigel Parsons

Or, on the matter of density:
A pint's a pound the world around (US)

Unfortunately not true in UK (and elsewhere) because:
A pint of water weighs a pound and a quarter.

US have a small pint of 16 fluid ounces (16 ounces = one pint). A UK pint is 20 fluid ounces.

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