The ‘Wisdom Of The Ages’ May Not Be That Wise

Or… Perhaps we should understand more about the glib phrases that we trot out so very frequently.

TL;DR¹

There are so many examples of idioms, proverbs, or phrases that are used today as simple one sentence that provides seemingly deep insight into the philosophy of life.

However the “full” version of the idiom has almost the opposite meaning as the common version. The examples listed on this page may surprise you:
- Curiosity killed the cat
- The road not taken
- Great minds think alike
- Blood is thicker than water
- Jack of all trades
- Birds of a feather
- The early bird catches the worm
- When one door closes another door opens
- My country, right or wrong
- Carpe diem
- The customer is always right

Some Examples

Curiosity killed the cat

People use this phrase when they want to remind others or themselves that curiosity isn’t always a good thing, and it is generally used in a pejorative sense that people should mind their own business.

“Curiosity killed the cat,
But satisfaction brought it back.”

However, the additional sentence here softens the attitude, into one of having a thirst for knowledge sated after finding out the information.