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December 6, 2010
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A fine is a tax for doing wrong; a tax is a fine for doing okay”

A popular anti-tax saying (showing how taxes penalize success) is: "A fine is a tax you have to pay for doing wrong. A tax is a fine you have to pay for doing okay." The saying has been…

November 18, 2011
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A fool and his money are soon elected”

"A fool and his money are soon parted" is a popular English proverb that dates to the 1500s. An American version is "a fool and his money are soon elected," meaning that money…

May 22, 2012
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A foolish faith in authority is the enemy of the truth”

"A foolish faith in authority is the enemy of the truth" is a quote from physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955) that has been popular in the 2000s, especially among political groups (such…

September 6, 2013
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A friend is someone who knows all about you but likes you anyway”

"A friend is someone who knows all about you but likes you anyway" is a popular saying that has been printed on many posters. The saying was written by an unknown ten-year-old schoolboy…

October 4, 2014
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach”

President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) gave a campaign speech at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on November 1, 1940: "It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans…

December 10, 2009
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth” (Kinsley gaffe)

"A 'gaffe' is the opposite of a 'lie': It's when a politician tells the truth," wrote political pundit Michael Kinsley in 1984. It's become known as…

November 1, 2013
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A gathering of baboons is called a congress”

"A group of baboons is called a congress" is a "fact" that became popular on the Internet by about 1999. A group of baboons is usually called a "troop" and a large…

June 17, 2020
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A good number of my friends are racist. Precisely zero—and that is a good number”

"A good number" often implies "a lot," but this is not always the case. This joke was posted on Reddit -- Jokes on June 16, 2020: "A good number of my friends are racist.…

October 19, 2018
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A good percentage of my friends are Nazis. That percentage is zero”

"A good percentage of my friends" usually means a high percentage, but this is not always the case. A joke was posted on Twitter by Perri Cassie on August 16, 2017: "A good…

August 22, 2022
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A government that forces you to account to them for the way you spend your money, but…”

"A government that forces you to account to them for the way you spend YOUR money, but refuses to be accountable to you for how they spend YOUR money, should be immediately replaced" is a…

August 23, 2020
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A gun in the hand beats a cop on the phone”

"A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone" is a pro-gun saying that has been printed on many images. The form is similar to the proverb "a bird in the hand is worth two in…

August 23, 2020
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone”

"A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone" is a pro-gun saying that has been printed on many images. The form is similar to the proverb "a bird in the hand is worth two in…

August 23, 2020
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A gun in the hand is better than two cops on the phone”

"A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone" is a pro-gun saying that has been printed on many images. The form is similar to the proverb "a bird in the hand is worth two in…

August 23, 2020
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A gun in the hand is worth more than the entire police force on the phone”

"A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone" is a pro-gun saying that has been printed on many images. The form is similar to the proverb "a bird in the hand is worth two in…

August 23, 2020
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A gun in the hand is worth the entire police force on the phone”

"A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone" is a pro-gun saying that has been printed on many images. The form is similar to the proverb "a bird in the hand is worth two in…

June 19, 2022
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A gun is like a beer cooler: It should be fully loaded before use and completely empty after”

"A gun is like a beer cooler: It should be fully loaded before use and completely empty after" is a saying that has been printed on many images. "A #gun is like a #beer cooler ... it…

November 3, 2012
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A half-truth is a whole lie”

"A half-truth is a whole lie" is a popular proverb that's been directed at newspapers and politicians since at least the 1880s and 1890s. "This half truth is tantamount to a…

November 14, 2010
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A hand up, not a handout”

"A hand up, not a handout" is a political saying, most popular with conservatives. Government handouts are often associated with income redistribution from earners to non-earners. "A…

January 25, 2023
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A harmless man is not a good man. A good man is a very, very dangerous man…”

"A harmless man is not a good man. A good man is a very, very dangerous man who has it under voluntary control" is a saying that has been printed on many images. Canadian psychologist,…

September 25, 2012
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A harp is a piano after taxes”

"A harp is a (grand) piano after taxes" is a jocular statement that has been included in many collections of one-line sayings about taxes. The saying has also been printed on T-shirts.…

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BARRY POPIK is a contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary, Dictionary of American Regional English, Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Yale Book of Quotations and Dictionary of Modern Proverbs. Since 1990 he has also been a regular contributor to Gerald Cohen's Comments on Etymology.

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