# The pithiest advice you ever got... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 30, 2017, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067 "2017-08-30T00:11:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2017, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067/141 "2017-09-13T05:43:55Z")
Fools names like fools faces always seen in public places…an axiom from somewhere ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2017, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067/142 "2017-09-13T14:47:50Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > 1. If a girl starts hitting on you, make sure you know exactly what she’s expecting as a result. I got a very similar bit of advice from a cab driver on my first trip to Vegas: “You are not better looking in Vegas. If you didn’t get hit on back home, anyone doing it here wants money” ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067/143 "2017-09-14T03:19:44Z")
Someone who knows me advised before a job interview, “Don’t say anything stupid.” I didn’t, still didn’t get the job, and have tossed that advice on the kitchen midden of history. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067/144 "2017-09-15T02:31:09Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Yeah, I saw that one in Ann Landers many years ago, but the age was more realistic - late 30s, I think. > > If someone was going to go back to school full-time for 4 years, getting a degree in their early 50s, that line becomes a really stupid answer to a complicated question. > > Say you’re 49, you’ll be 53 when you graduate, you’re hoping to retire at 65. If you had a free ride, including room and board, you’d still need to make 33% more after graduation, just to break even. If 4 years of college costs you $120K, then that’s 33% more + 10K/year. And you’d have to contend with a very real age bias in hiring for entry-level positions; you might have the devil of a time getting that first job in your new career at that age. Well, silly old me! I graduated with an AAS degree in Nursing at the age of 50. I went to a community college, and paid my own way without loans. Now I am an RN. I had no problem getting hired, so far I have been offered the job before I left the interview room on every interview I have had. It was worth every minute, and it was worth every dollar. ---
**Author:** ![Redcup121](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/67e7ee/32.png) [@Redcup121](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redcup121)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067/145 "2017-09-15T11:24:19Z")
“Fight every fight like you life is on the line, it just might be” My Grandpa He got bit in a bar fight in Mexico. The infection nearly killed him. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067/146 "2017-09-15T14:56:39Z")
> [@Redcup121](#): > > “Fight every fight like you life is on the line, it just might be” The most recent version of that one I’ve seen is Fight like you’re the third monkey on the ramp of Noah’s Ark and it’s starting to rain. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067/147 "2018-03-27T17:11:35Z")
Bumping this to reply to a couple of replies I missed, because why not: > [@Projammer](#): > > 120k is kind of a worst case scenario if you’re going to a private college. In state public universities are closer to 40k. > > [Cite](http://www.savingforcollege.com/tutorial101/the_real_cost_of_higher_education.php) > > There is also a real possibility that I’m misremembering the age from a 30 year old newspaper column. From your link: > [@](#): > > The figures above do not include other costs your child will incur as a college student, such as room and board, books, supplies, equipment, and transportation. These additional expenses can increase your child’s cost of attending college by a substantial amount. Just sayin’. > [@Cub\_Mistress](#): > > Well, silly old me! I graduated with an AAS degree in Nursing at the age of 50. I went to a community college, and paid my own way without loans. Now I am an RN. I had no problem getting hired, so far I have been offered the job before I left the interview room on every interview I have had. > > It was worth every minute, and it was worth every dollar. Saying that a given choice isn’t _automatically_ the right one - saying that it’s “a complicated question,” to quote myself, doesn’t mean it’s always the wrong one either. Different people in different situations at different times in their lives will come up with different answers to that are right for them to questions like these. Glad you found the answer that was right for you; that’s all that matters. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067/148 "2018-03-27T19:55:56Z")
Evolution didn’t design sex to be enjoyable. Evolution doesn’t give a rat’s ass if you enjoy sex. Evolution only cares that you think you are about to. (I think pithy advice is best when it might not have been obvious before you heard it, but suddenly is once you do.) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067/149 "2018-03-27T22:40:56Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > From my grandmother ------ never argue with crazy people. Since the thread has been bumped, I’ll just add this anecdote: my late father loved to argue though I hated it, so I used to entertain him in his dementia by arguing with him. He loved it and it gave my mother some much-needed time off. ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067/150 "2018-03-27T22:52:38Z")
Never trust a fart. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067/151 "2018-03-27T22:52:41Z")
Don’t try to reason with a 2yo or a drunk. ---
**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:** [March 27, 2018, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067/152 "2018-03-27T23:37:59Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Yeah, I saw that one in Ann Landers many years ago, but the age was more realistic - late 30s, I think. > > If someone was going to go back to school full-time for 4 years, getting a degree in their early 50s, that line becomes a really stupid answer to a complicated question. > > Say you’re 49, you’ll be 53 when you graduate, you’re hoping to retire at 65. If you had a free ride, including room and board, you’d still need to make 33% more after graduation, just to break even. If 4 years of college costs you $120K, then that’s 33% more + 10K/year. And you’d have to contend with a very real age bias in hiring for entry-level positions; you might have the devil of a time getting that first job in your new career at that age. A lot of people at 49/50 already have the job and what they want is the promotion or pay that they can’t get without the degree. And if you’re working for the right company/agency, they’ll reimburse you for the tuition. Other people just really want to learn about their subject or to get that degree to show their kids/grandkids that degrees are something that can be done. * * * Pithy saying: Farts will always be funny. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2018, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067/153 "2018-03-28T04:09:49Z")
A verbal agreement isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. (and) Don’t believe everything you think. ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2018, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067/154 "2018-03-28T08:38:37Z")
My father often said: Never get meat where you get your potatoes. Thanks Dad? ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2018, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067/155 "2018-03-28T12:00:31Z")
Sometimes the magic works. Sometimes it doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@MonkeyCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyCat)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2018, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067/156 "2018-03-28T19:35:12Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > First I had gto look up “pithy”, I was never sure exactly what it meant. It has two meanings: heavy and weighty, or soft and spongy. Not helpful. First, by accident, I clicked on Translate, and got Najczystszy in Polish. Equally unhelpful. > > OK: The glass is neither half-full nor half-empty – it is too big. Hadn’t heard this one before. I like it. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2018, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067/157 "2018-03-28T20:22:32Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Sometimes the magic works. Sometimes it doesn’t. Ding, ding, ding! I say this at least three times a week. But I have no idea if my wife likes horses… ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067/158 "2018-03-29T13:16:49Z")
When the reason for not doing something is 'It’s illegal," no other reason is necessary. ---
**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:** [March 29, 2018, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067/159 "2018-03-29T19:19:09Z")
> [@tvaetbjorn](#): > > Hadn’t heard this one before. I like it. I’ve heard it before and, sadly, it annoys me. As an engineer, I’d say that the glass has a safety factor of one. (It can handle an additional 100% of the volume of liquid in it.) ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067/160 "2018-03-29T19:45:15Z")
A couple from my dad. Anything not worth doing is not worth doing well (e.g. If you are writing something no one is going to read don’t waste a lot of time perfecting it) Never let anyone know you’re good at something you hate doing. (e.g. writing grant proposals.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pithiest-advice-you-ever-got/795067.md?page=9)