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October 11, 2016
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A committee is a life form with six or more legs and no brain”

American science-fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein wrote in Time Enough for Love: The Lives of Lazarus Long (1973): "A committee is a life form with six or more legs and no brain." The…

October 11, 2016
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A committee is twelve people doing the work of one”

Arthur Bloch's Murphy's Law Book Three: Wrong Reasons Why Things Go More! (1982) included: "Kennedy's Comment on CommitteesA committee is twelve people doing the work of…

January 3, 2026
Radio/Television

“A company using fake cream has to label it ‘Kreme.’ Fake cheese has to be spelled ‘Cheez.’ Why don’t they make Fox call it ‘Nooz’?”

"A company using fake cream has to label it 'Kreme.' Fake cheese has to be spelled 'Cheez.' Why don’t they make Fox call it 'Nooz'?" is a saying that has…

July 24, 2019
Work/Businesses

“A compliment is verbal sunshine”

"A compliment is verbal sunshine" is a saying that has been printed on many images. The saying has been credited to American professional comedy writer Robert Orben since at least 1988,…

October 30, 2012
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A compromise is a deal in which two people get what neither of them wanted”

"A compromise is a deal in which two people get what neither of them wanted" is a jocular statement showing that a compromise makes neither party totally happy. "A compromise is an…

December 9, 2019
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet

“A computer keyboard is a word piano”

A computer keyboard has been compared to piano. "RT @mamasanta computer keyboard my word piano" was posted on Twitter by Kathy Uyen Nguyen on October 28, 2009. "A computer keyboard…

May 24, 2017
Sports/Games

“A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing”

"A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing" is a jocular one-line saying about chess that has been printed on many images. Philips told the joke in Emo…

February 15, 2026
Food/Drink

“A concept: eating fresh fruit on a balcony in Greece during the golden hour with little or no clothing on, hair tied in a bun, wine in my glass, the beach close by”

"A concept: eating fresh fruit on a balcony in Greece during the golden hour with little or no clothing on, hair tied in a bun, wine in my glass, the beach close by" was posted on Tumblr…

November 10, 2015
Work/Businesses

“A conference is just an admission that you want somebody to join you in your troubles”

American cowboy, humorist and actor Will Rogers (1879-1935) wrote in his newspaper column published on July 21, 1932: "A conference is just an admission that you want somebody to join you in…

August 18, 2010
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A conservative is a man who is too cowardly to fight and too fat to run”

"A conservative is a man who is too cowardly to fight, and too fat to run" is a witticism from Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915), writing in his magazine, The Philistine, in 1903. The quip has…

December 12, 2015
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A conservative is a man who worships a dead radical”

Entry in progress -- B.P. Google BooksBulletinVolume 8, Issues 11-181926Pg. 266: "A conservative is a man who worships a dead radical." — John Simpson, president of the Farmers'…

December 12, 2015
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A conservative is someone who believes in reform. But not now”

Comedian and social satirist Mort Sahl said in 1958 that a conservative Republican is one "who doesn't believe anything should be tried for the first time," and a liberal Republican…

December 7, 2009
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A conservative is someone who makes no changes and consults his grandmother when in doubt”

"A conservative is someone who makes no changes and consults his grandmother when in doubt" is often credited to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), but there is no evidence that…

December 6, 2009
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A conservative man is a man who just sits and thinks, mostly sits”

"A conservative man is a man who just sits and thinks, mostly sits" is a saying that has been attributed to Woodrow Wilson and that has been printed on many images. Woodrow Wilson…

December 29, 2024
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A conspiracy theorist is just someone who fact-checks professional liars”

"A CONSPIRACY THEORIST IS JUST SOMEONE WHO FACT-CHECKS PROFESSIONAL LIARS" (shown on an image) was posted on Facebook by Truth Theory on August 21, 2024. "A CONSPIRACY THEORIST IS…

June 15, 2020
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“A conspiracy theorist walks into a bar…” (bar joke)

"A guy walks into a bar..." is a typical form of what has been called the "bar joke." A conspiracy theorist version is: "A conspiracy theorist walks into a bar... Or so the…

February 22, 2025
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A conspiracy theory is a truth, attacked by a chorus of liars”

"A conspiracy theory is a truth, attacked by a chorus of liars" is a saying that has been printed on several images. That is, the conspirators are the chorus of liars. "A conspiracy…

February 12, 2010
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A consultant is someone who borrows your watch to tell you the time, and then keeps the watch”

"A consultant is someone who borrows your watch to tell you the time, and then keeps the watch" is a popular saying among people who aren't fond of consultants. Advertising executive…

July 26, 2014
Work/Businesses

“A consultant is someone who lives out of town”

"Consultant" is often defined as someone who lives out of town -- or at least 50 or 100 miles away. The consultant is called in, says the obvious, and then leaves. “A consultant is…

October 26, 2012
Work/Businesses

“A consultant is someone who saves his client almost enough to pay his fee”

"A consultant is someone who saves his client almost enough to pay his fee" is a jocular saying that has been attributed to Arnold H. Glasgow, an American psychiatrist, since at least…

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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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