# Idioms/Proverbs/Sayings That Don't Make Sense **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 25, 2013, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243 "2013-10-25T20:47:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243/121 "2013-11-01T06:33:51Z")
English used to have a strong distinction between “will” and “shall.” The former (“will”) conveyed intention, while the latter (“shall”) merely indicated futurity. So if you wanted to say that you intended to do something, you would say, “I will do it,” while if you wanted to say only that you were going to do something, you would say, “I shall do it.” This distinction has largely fallen out of the language, but when it was written, “I shall not want” meant, “in the future I shall be free from desire.” In context it means, “The Lord will provide for me, so that I won’t want for anything.” ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243/122 "2013-11-01T11:13:13Z")
> [@ruh-roh](#): > > When somebody believes something is beyond the need for discussion they say it “is a moot point”, > yet the definition of “moot” is just the opposite… “subject to debate, dispute, or uncertainty, and typically not admitting of a final decision”. I’m with the dictionary definition: I may be the only person that the dictionary agrees with… ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243/123 "2013-11-01T14:51:27Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I’ve always thought the point of this is that you shouldn’t risk what you have for a bigger prize that might not pay off. Presumably the bird you have in your hand is alive and unhurt, and would presumably fly away if you shift your attention (and hand) to catching the two that are in the bush. Not necessarily still alive, simply that by putting down what you have to go chase what you do not have, you may lose the thing you already have. All it takes is someone else stealing your bird, or even a dog or cat finding it. > [@](#): > > And like most proverbs it seems to have its opposite–nothing ventured nothing gained. (Or nothing venture nothing have.) I’m not sure those are direct opposites. I suppose there is some equivalence in the essense of risk in both cases. I think the difference is that in the second, the risk has some direct utility in acquiring the gain, whereas in the first the risk is unnecessary or not required. I mean, yes, you have to empty your hands to go try to chase the two in the bush, but setting the bird down doesn’t in itself help capture more birds. I guess both statements are related to the concept of relative worth versus risk assessment. What you already have should be valued more than what could be, but what could be could be a big enough risk to offset even that larger value. Hmm. ---
**Author:** ![Micahd02](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce73a5/32.png) [@Micahd02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Micahd02)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243/124 "2013-11-01T15:50:44Z")
> [@spazurek](#): > > One that always bugs me: “I could care less” to mean “I don’t care”. This actually started out as “I couldn’t care less” (we said it all the time when I was a teenager in the Bay Area of California, in 1968, and even earlier when I lived up in Oregon. We were definitely mouthy brats, back then. Now I’m a mouthy 59 year old. But I’m with you. This is one modification of English that just bugs the snot out of me. ---
**Author:** ![jsutter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@jsutter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsutter)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243/125 "2013-11-01T16:19:46Z")
> [@Micahd02](#): > > But I’m with you. This is one modification of English that just bugs the snot out of me. Now, blow! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RearEchelon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RearEchelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RearEchelon)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2013, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243/126 "2013-11-03T23:41:19Z")
> [@spazurek](#): > > One that always bugs me: “I could care less” to mean “I don’t care”. That’s because it’s properly “I **couldn’t** care less.” Most people just get it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243/127 "2013-11-06T23:26:10Z")
“Liar, liar, pants on fire!” Does anyone know the origin of this? If it was “… your nose is growing!” it would at least have a clear story reference. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243/128 "2013-11-07T00:12:45Z")
> [@Trans Fat Og](#): > > “Liar, liar, pants on fire!” > > Does anyone know the origin of this? If it was “… your nose is growing!” it would at least have a clear story reference. Some girl I knew ~30 years ago would instead say “liar, liar, pass on fire” claiming it meant someone caught in a lie should be forced to walk on hot coals or something of that sort (hmmm… maybe in Hell?). Whether that’s the original and somehow it got corrupted to pants on fire, or if she was just a nut (totally possible with that family) I couldn’t tell you. Speaking of fire “where there’s smoke there’s fire”. No, in fact, if there’s fire, there’s often less smoke than when the fire is put out. For instance, flaming candle rarely produces smoke, but when you blow it out, hey there’s the smoke! ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243/129 "2013-11-07T01:28:09Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Due to an improptu experiment brought to us courtesy of **Yllaria** , I can inform you that the size of a chunk of sausage that’s able to go up one’s nose is larger than the researchers had previously believed possible. Ouch! Should I ask if it was worth the pain? (Although it took me a minute to understand because my first thought was, “they were halving sausage in place of cake?”) ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243/130 "2013-11-07T03:13:27Z")
> [@Trans Fat Og](#): > > “Liar, liar, pants on fire!” > > Does anyone know the origin of this? There are numerous web pages claiming that it’s a paraphrase of two lines of a poem called “The Liar” by William Blake. [Here](http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100424202531AAk6ilr), for example. I don’t think Blake ever wrote such a poem. It looks to me like someone, as a joke, wrote a poem that’s sort of in the style of Blake, and that a bunch of people took it as real. I also think the “pants on fire” saying precedes the fake-Blake poem. I suspect that “pants on fire” was created on a playground decades ago, and it stuck because it sounds good, not because it makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243/131 "2013-11-07T03:27:04Z")
“Mom’s the word” ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243/132 "2013-11-07T03:32:37Z")
> [@JohnClay](#): > > “Mom’s the word” Am I being whooshed? The expression is, “mum’s the word.” “Mum” meaning “mute,” not “mother.” ---
**Author:** ![Anchor\_s\_Away](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9d8465/32.png) [@Anchor\_s\_Away](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anchor_s_Away)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243/133 "2013-11-08T00:16:18Z")
Maybe only eat part of it. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243/134 "2013-11-08T14:57:47Z")
“To boot” meaning something good. I learned this when I was 11 and wrote a poem about Duran Duran. (Hey, I was 11.) I said the lyrics were “nothing to boot”, meaning nothing to stomp on or whatever. My teacher explained that the phrase “to boot” means that it’s “also good”. That made no sense whatsoever to me. Still doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243/135 "2013-11-08T16:41:15Z")
“To boot” is a phrase that means “in addition” or “as well”. From [the phrase finder](http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/385450.html) > [@](#): > > **Meaning** > Moreover; in addition to. > **Origin** > This term has nothing to do with footwear. The ‘boot’ is thought to be a derivative of the earlier ‘bat’ meaning ‘good or useful’. This is also the root of the word ‘better’. > > Forms of ‘to boot’ in Old English date from around 1000AD. Robert Manning of Brunne included a version of it in _Langtoft’s Chronicle_, 1330: > \*“A hundreth knyghtes mo… and four hundreth to bote, squieres of gode aray.” \* I can see why that is confusing. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243/136 "2013-11-08T17:39:39Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Ouch! Should I ask if it was worth the pain? (Although it took me a minute to understand because my first thought was, “they were halving sausage in place of cake?”) Well, it didn’t hurt, but it was one of those experiences which get filed under “although interesting in a sick kind of way, shall not recommend to others”. At least frankfurters are soft… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![lemaypower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc8723/32.png) [@lemaypower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lemaypower)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243/137 "2015-04-13T21:32:27Z")
Taking candy from a baby does not seem that easy to me. At minimum, you’ll probably get a good crying fit (as easy as giving candy to a baby would seem to make more sense). Can anyone shed some light on this? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243/138 "2015-04-15T07:47:32Z")
Babies aren’t particularly strong. The point isn’t that the baby won’t make a fuss, the point is that you get the candy and can mock the baby, or leave at your discretion. With the candy. I think it might be a reference as taking candy from a kid kind of bullying thing. One kid tries to take candy from another kid, it’s much easier the greater the size difference and the amount of intimidation or force imbalance you have. I, personally, don’t think I want candy that’s been drooled all over by a baby. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243/139 "2015-04-15T11:59:23Z")
> [@lemaypower](#): > > Taking candy from a baby does not seem that easy to me. Are you kidding? From what I understand, one good, hard shake and they’re outa commission. If I want baby’s candy, it’s mine. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243/140 "2015-04-15T14:06:48Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > “Look before you leap” doesn’t make sense because “He who hesitates is lost”. Ah, the motto of the Tates Compass Company: **“He Who Has a Tates Is Lost”.** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-proverbs-sayings-that-dont-make-sense/672243.md?page=8)