The subconscious is an amazing resource. All the adages, the rules and guidelines, explanations and stern warnings by parents that had always been thought to go into one ear and out the other of their offspring, in fact in my case hunkered down in my S.C., becoming like a savings account, or bonds with a maturity date (which latter I finally achieved in my 30's), a treasure-trove of rules to live by that I could draw on in times of stress, panic or frustration in later years:"This too shall pass", "Mind over matter, dear"
These especially carried my mother through to an impressive 105, she lived them, but there were many others, ones that I was not even aware of absorbing till magically - when the need arose - they were there. By word and by deed, mom's mantra on integrity, honesty and kindness, being true to oneself and all that good stuff, guided us. And continues to guide us (with a few adaptations and concessions to the world we now live in!)
Now to finish the title: "........ comes around", and the little thrill of pleasure I feel when I hear my daughter use the same admonishment or turn-of-phrase that I had used to her 50 years ago. That I'd thought had fallen on deaf ears. Tch, tch, ye of little faith .....
Now to finish the title: "........ comes around", and the little thrill of pleasure I feel when I hear my daughter use the same admonishment or turn-of-phrase that I had used to her 50 years ago. That I'd thought had fallen on deaf ears. Tch, tch, ye of little faith .....
This is lovely! I increasingly find, as people move away (geographically) from their parents and grandparents, that they mis-remember and mis-say old expressions. They sort of remember what they were told when they were little, but without the repetition over time as adults.... Almost fell off my chair the time a colleague said that something had to be "bitten in the butt!" I explained that it's "bite it in the BUD," not "butt" (and asked him what he thought it would mean to say it the way he did!). Anyway, I run into this all the time -- people mis-stating glorious old cliches or adages -- like a long-distance game of "telephone," without the original speaker there to correct what's come out wrong the other end....
ReplyDeleteMaybe your colleague's interpretation isn't that far off, Jennifer! "Bite, or Nip in the bud" means loosely to stop before going any further, and certainly things would come to a screeching halt if his words were taken literally! Tee-hee -
ReplyDelete"If you don't nip that in the bud, it's likely to come back and bite you in the butt!!"
ReplyDeleteThat's what the lady next door says - about 80 years old and sparky. Or you could look it up
http://www.brainyquote.com/
http://www.quotationspage.com/searchhelp.html
http://www.quotationspage.com/qotd.html ( humour )
http://www.thinkexist.com/
http://www.yuni.com/
http://www.quotegarden.com/
Many thanks for all the great links on quotations, Opit, and for heads-up on the nip-in-the-bud one. I stand corrected!
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