Pieces of Advice that Still Ring True Today

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These short pieces of advice that we use in the form of different phrases still ring true today. Some of these phrases are so time worn we have forgotten where they originated from and yet once in a while you will get to hear a new phrase and it will teach a lesson worth sharing.
It got me thinking about phrases, what they mean and where they come from because we use them without thought and they just make sense.
When I heard the expression “Even a fish wouldn’t get caught if he’d keep his mouth shut !” it made me curious as to where the phrase came from. Do you know where?

This short piece of advice comes from a book The Code of Silence that was written by Tim Shoemaker that made one of the top ten books for teens back in 2013. To be honest Im unsure if this is a phrase I would use all the time, but it was an eye opener to hear the phrase and to learn its meaning.

There are so many everyday phrases that we use and while they may be time worn, they are as relevant today as when they were created.

1. Cat Got Your Tongue?

pieces of advise cat got your tongue

 

Meaning: Something said when a person is at a loss for words
History: There are two possible sources for this common saying. The first refers to the cat-o’-nine-tails – a whip used by the English Navy for flogging. The whip caused so much pain that the victims were left speechless. The second refers to the practice of cutting out the tongues of liars and blasphemers and feeding them to cats.

 

2. An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure

short pieces advice BenjaminFranklin

 

This particular phrase was said by  Benjamin Franklin.
 I think it’s safe to say the w e all agree that  it’s  better to try to avoid problems in the first place, rather than trying to fix them once they arise. The question is why did Benjimin Franklin feel the need to say this short piece of advice to begin with?
 
The answer according to Daniel Kiel who wrote a paper  AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS WORTH A POUND OF CURE : REFRAMING THE DEBATE ABOUT LAW SCHOOL  AFFIRMATIVE ACTION Mr. Franklin had to convince the people of Philadelphia that creating a  group of people committed to firefighting was a good idea. wow!
 

3. Believe only half of what you see and NONE of what you hear!

 
short pieces of advise via Edgar Allan Poe
 
 
I know many people have their own interpretations to this saying, for myself I take it as  the information you  may find here is filtered by other people and their opnions and experiences.
Funny enough, some people think that it was Benjamin Franklin who said this but the reality is  that Edgar Allan Poe was the author of the saying..but its not an accurate saying…
    2) “Believe only half of what you see and nothing that you hear.” This quote is a Poe      quote, just not as he stated it. Found in his short story “The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether,” in the November 1845 issue of Graham’s Magazine, the statement is,  “Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see.” It is surprising the quote needed to be simplified to the form it is in today, when it was already quite simple to begin with. One definitely should pay attention to what Poe is saying. And it is probably best when reading supposed “Poe” quotes, to believe only half of what you see.


I think I could go on for hours on different phrases, their origins and its true they indeed are short pieces of advise that have been and will hopefully continue to be passed down generation to generation.


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