“All you need to run is a pair of shoes” (running adage)
"All you need to run is a (good) pair of shoes/sneakers/trainers" is a popular running adage. "All you really need to run is a good pair of shoes and socks" was cited in print…
Shooter’s Sandwich
A "shooter's sandwich" is a sandwich that an Englishman takes with him while he goes hunting (shooting). A loaf of bread is hollowed out and filled with meat, cheese and vegetables.…
Pentagram (Pentagon nickname)
The Pentagon is the five-sided building in Arlington, Virginia, that is the headquarters for the United States Department of Defense; the term "Pentagon" is often used metonymically for…
“A lot of people are in debt because they spend what their friends think they make”
"A lot of people are in debt because they spend what their friends think they make" is a jocular one-line saying that has been popular on Twitter. "Some people are in debt because…
“Ambition is putting a ladder against the sky”
"Ambition is putting a ladder against the sky" has been frequently cited as an American proverb and infrequently cited as an African-American proverb. The saying means that an ambitious…
“Eat on the run, forget about sleep, and change horses often”
"There's no time to rest when there's work to be done. Eat on the run, forget about sleep, and change horses often" is sometimes described as a Texas proverb or an old-time…
“Don’t worry about biting off more than you can chew—you have a big mouth”
"Don't worry about biting off more than you can chew. Your mouth is probably a whole lot bigger 'n you think" is sometimes described as a Texas proverb or an old-time cowboy…
“57 channels and nothing on” (television saying)
American singer/songwriter Bruce Springsteen wrote the song "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)" (1992), describing the lack of worthwhile programs on cable television. "500 channels…
“Everyone reads the false report and no one reads the correction”
"As the journalism adage goes, everyone reads the false report and no one reads the correction" was cited in print in July 2013. Newspapers, when they do publish corrections, usually…
“A gold mine is a hole in the ground with a liar on top”
"A gold mine is a hole in the ground with a liar standing on top of it" is a quotation of credited to Mark Twain, the pen name of author Samuel Langhorne Clemons (1835-1910). There is no…
“The two most important things about money are, to make it first, then make it last”
"The two most important things about money are, to make it first, then make it last" is a popular saying about money. "For, having to make it first, they had to make it last"…
“Restaurants where they wait on you hand and foot charge you an arm and a leg”
Something that "costs an arm and a leg" is something that is expensive. A place that caters to customers "hand and foot" is a place that satisfies all of its customers'…
“No one needs a vacation so much as the person who has just had one”
American author Elbert Hubbard (1855-1915) wrote in 1904: "Usually no man needs a vacation so much as the man who has just had one." Hubbard wrote again in The Cosmpolitan in February…
Dry Bar (alcohol-free bar)
A "dry bar" is a bar that does not serve alcoholic drinks -- the opposite of a "wet bar." Liverpool's Brink opened in 2011 and was the first modern dry bar in Britain.…
“Bureaucracy is the art of making the possible impossible”
"Politics is the art of the possible" ("Die Politik ist die Lehre vom Möglichen") is an 1867 quotation that has been credited to German statesman Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898).…
“Does comedy on television cause comedy in the streets?”
One argument about television is that it features too much sex and violence, and that this causes those problems on the streets. Television talk show host Dick Cavett was asked about violence on…
Golden Arches (McDonald’s nickname)
McDonald's fast found restaurants are known for the "golden arches" -- the yellow arches that decorated its early restaurants and the two yellow arches in the McDonald's letter…
“Disability is not inability” (“Disability does not mean inability”)
"Disability is not inability" (or "disability does not mean inability") is a popular saying about people with disabilities. "Disability does not mean inability" was…
“All money is both ‘hard’ and ‘easy’—hard to get and easy to spend”
"All money is both 'hard' and 'easy' -- hard to get and easy to spend" is a popular saying about money. "It (money -- ed.) is hard to get, and easy to spend"…
“Courage is the ladder on which all the other virtues mount”
Clare Boothe Luce (1903-1987), an American author and ambassador, addressed an IBM Golden Circle conference in Honolulu, Hawaii, on May 28, 1978: "Above all, he is courageous. Courage is the…