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April 18, 2019
Work/Businesses

“Sometimes we’re tested, not to show our weakness, but to discover our strength”

"Sometimes we're tested. Not to show our weaknesses, but to discover our strengths" (or “Sometimes we’re tested, not to show our weakness, but to discover our strength") is…

August 13, 2018
Work/Businesses

“Sometimes you have to choose between planting roots and growing wings”

"Sometimes you have to choose between planting roots and growing wings" is a motivational saying that has been printed on many images. "Should I stay or should I go?" is a…

March 5, 2018
Work/Businesses

“Sorry boss, I can’t come in today. I have a wee cough” (joke)

"A week off" sounds like "a wee cough." "OUR DAILY SONG HIT: 'I Have a Wee Cough, So I'll Take a Week Off'" was printed in a 1924 newspaper.…

November 21, 2019
Work/Businesses

“Sorry I’m late. Traffic is exactly how it’s been every day and I was not expecting that”

Many people who are late for work use the traffic as an excuse. However, the traffic is often bad every day. A joke was posted on Twitter by Karen Kilgariff on November 17, 2019: "Sorry I’m…

March 25, 2021
Work/Businesses

“Sorry we’re closed but still awesome” (store sign)

"Come in, we're awesome" (or "Come in, we're open and awesome" is a store sign that has been printed on many images. "Come in, we're awesome" is a joke…

March 29, 2017
Work/Businesses

“Sorry, I can’t go to work tomorrow. I fractured my motivation”

"Sorry, I can't go to school/work tomorrow. I fractured my motivation" is a jocular saying that has been printed on many images. "I can't go to school tomorrow because I…

November 28, 2024
Time/WeatherWork/Businesses

“Sorry. Can’t. Sunday nights are when I focus my anxieties on several unpleasant hypothetical situations that could happen this week”

Sunday is a day for people to get nervous about the coming week. "Sorry. Can't. Sundays are when I focus my anxieties on several unpleasant hypothetical situations that could happen this…

November 28, 2024
Time/WeatherWork/Businesses

“Sorry. Can’t. Sundays are when I focus my anxieties on several unpleasant hypothetical situations that could happen this week”

Sunday is a day for people to get nervous about the coming week. "Sorry. Can't. Sundays are when I focus my anxieties on several unpleasant hypothetical situations that could happen this…

October 19, 2022
Work/Businesses

“Speak in such a way that others love to listen to you”

"Speak in such a way that others love to listen to you. Listen in such a way that others love to speak to you" is a saying that has been printed on many images. Authorship is unknown, but…

October 21, 2022
Work/Businesses

“Speak in such a way that people listen to you. Listen in such a way that people speak to you”

"Speak in such a way that others love to listen to you. Listen in such a way that others love to speak to you" is a saying that has been printed on many images. Authorship is unknown, but…

November 16, 2012
Work/Businesses

“Speed is subsittute fo accurancy”

“Speed is subsittute fo accurancy" ("speed is a/no substitute for accuracy" intentionally misspelled) is a jocular misspelling showing that, indeed, speed is no substitute for…

August 25, 2017
Work/Businesses

“Start each day with a positive thought like, ‘I can go back to bed in 16 or 17 short hours’”

"Start each day with a positive thought like, 'I can go back to bed in about 17 short hours'" is a jocular anti-work saying that has been printed on many images. "I start…

February 13, 2020
Work/Businesses

“Start each day with a positive thought like, ‘I can go back to bed in about 17 short hours’”

"Start each day with a positive thought like, 'I can go back to bed in about 17 short hours'" is a jocular anti-work saying that has been printed on many images. "I start…

February 13, 2020
Work/Businesses

“Start each day with a positive thought like, ‘I can go back to bed in just 17 short hours’”

"Start each day with a positive thought like, 'I can go back to bed in about 17 short hours'" is a jocular anti-work saying that has been printed on many images. "I start…

May 24, 2016
Work/Businesses

“Start every day with a smile and get it over with”

"Start every day with a smile" became a common saying by the 1930s. "Start every day with a smile and get it over with" is a jocular one-line saying that has been printed on…

August 1, 2026
Exercise/Running/Health ClubsWork/Businesses

“Startup idea:: A gym that only charges when you don’t go”

Gyms make money overselling memberships, knowing that many people who buy memberships won't regularly go to the gym. But what about the opposite as a business plan? "Business idea: A gym…

May 2, 2018
Work/Businesses

“Starve your distractions. Feed your focus”

"Starve your distractions. Feed your focus" is a motivational saying that has been printed on many images. The saying is of unknown authorship. "Starve your distractions, feed your…

October 2, 2018
Work/Businesses

“Statisticians love large sample sizes. As they say, the n’s justify the means”

The proverb "the ends justify the means" sometimes is told in the statistics joke "the Ns justify the means." "When do the ns justify the means? Clinical biostatistics gone…

April 24, 2016
Work/Businesses

“Statistics are like ladies of the night. Once you get them down, you can do anything with them”

Entry in progress -- B.P. 16 October 1984, The Times of India (New Delhi), "Current Topics, pg. 6, col. 2:MARK TWAIN once remarked that statistics are like ladies of the night. You can bend…

December 1, 2019
Work/Businesses

“Stats show that the average person has sex 89 times a year. Looks like i’m in for a wild December”

"Stats show that the average person has sex 89 times a year. Looks like i'm in for a wild December" is a joke that has been printed on many images. The joke means that a person needs…

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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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