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Folk Sayings!  Bits of Wisdom !

7/6/2017

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America, a melting pot of many cultures, has many different folk sayings. These spoken phrases were used to educate, to teach behavior and pass wisdom down from one generation to the next.
I remember when I was very young and asked my father could I go to a friend's house to play and he answered "not enough to tell it," ( No! ) Another saying used in my family was when food was about to spoil, "that is about to go off."  
Here are a few of folk sayings.  You may be surprised at how many you have heard  and some are still used today. 
  • Don’t jump out of the frying pan into the fire.
  • Ah shucks, cows eat shucks.
  • Waste not, want not.
  • If you mess with fire you will get burned.
  • Waste makes want.
  • Early bird gets the worm.
  • Early to bed, early to rise will make you healthy, wealthy and wise.
  • You look peaked.
  • A good man is worth his salt.
  • Not worth six bits with a hole in it.
  • Not worth two hoots in a hollow.
  • That is a left handed complement.
  • Left foot of fellowship.
  • As quick as a wink.
  • Let sleeping dogs lie.
  • You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
  • Straight as an arrow.
  • Crooked as a snake.
  • He is a snake in the grass.
  • He speaks with a forked tongue.
  • The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.
  • Can’t never could do anything.
  • Eating high on the hog.
  • Use it or lose it.
  • He is still wet behind the ears.
  • A fool and his money are soon parted.
  • He is not worth a hoot and a hollow.
  • He knows which side his bread is buttered on.
  • Not worth a hill of beans.
  • He wouldn’t hit a lick at a  snake.
  • Time waits for no man.
  • He has got ants in his pants.
  • Idle mind is the devils work shop.
  • Keep your nose to the grind stone.
  • You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
  • You can’t make a silk purse out of a sows ear.
  • One brick shy of a load.
  • Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
  • He has lost all his marbles.
  • He came through smelling like a rose.
  • He was drunk as a skunk.
  • A watched pot never boils.
  • Loose lips sink ships.
  • The grass always looks greener on the other side.
  • Beggars can’t be choosey.
  • Flat as a fritter.
  • Fast  as lighting.
  • A flash in a pan.
  • If the shoe fits, wear it.
  • Won it hands down.
  • Don’t kill the goose that laid the golden egg.
  • Shake a leg.
  • Rolling stones gather no moss.
  • Clothes make a man.
  • Every cloud has a silver lining.
  • Don’t cry over spilled milk.
  • Last one there is a rotten egg.
  • One good turn deserves another.
  • If you lay down with dogs you will rise up with fleas.
  • A soft answer turns away wrath.
  • Be sure your sins will find you out.
  • Too many irons in the fire.
  • More than you can shake a stick at.
  • Get your ducks in a row.
  • Come on slowpoke.
  • The hurried I go the be hinder I get.
  • Put your best foot forward.
  • Don’t be too quick on the draw.
  • That is the straw that broke the camel’s back.
  • I’ve come to the end of my rope.
  • He talks as smooth as butter.
  • Knife so dull it wont cut hot butter.
  • He who hesitates is last.
  • Good management is better than good income.
  • A penny saved is a penny earned.
  • Idleness rusts the mind.
  • A man is judged by the company he keeps.
  • A friend to everyone is a friend to nobody.
  • A clean conscience makes a soft pillow.
  • A good deed is never lost.
  • A false friend and a shadow stay only while the sun shines.
  • A false friend is worse than an open enemy.
  • A good neighbor, a found treasure!
  • A person who gets wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package.
  • A dollar waiting on a dime.
  • Turn your hat around.
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