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June 23, 2019
Work/Businesses

“The pirates were fighting with each other because they didn’t have good anchor management”

"Anger management" is sometimes punned as "anchor management." "There was a pirate who'd go into a rage when he couldn't get his ship to stop. He had to go to…

October 2, 2022
Work/Businesses

“The plans for a paperless office looked really good…on paper”

To "look good on paper" means to look good in theory, but not necessarily in practice. The phrase doesn't always involve actual paper, but there are jokes. "The 'Paperless…

March 6, 2024
Work/Businesses

“The popularity of origami is in creasing”

"Increasing" shouldn't be confused with "in creasing," but there are origami puns. "RT @SpacemanQuisp I think the popularity of origami is in creasing" was posted…

March 26, 2018
Work/Businesses

“The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible”

"The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible" is a motivational saying that has been printed on many images. "Hope sees the invisible,…

August 8, 2018
Work/Businesses

“The problem with having a job is that it gets in the way of being rich”

"The problem with having a job is that it gets in the way of being rich" is a saying that has been printed on an image. Robert Kiyosaki, author of the "Rich Dad" series of books…

April 16, 2016
Work/Businesses

“The problem with the French is that they don’t have a word for entrepreneur”

U.S. President George W. Bush supposedly said to UK Prime Minister Tony Blair at a G8 Summit in July 2002: "The problem with the French is that they don't have a word for…

September 15, 2016
Work/Businesses

“The problem with Workaholics Anonymous meetings is they never end”

Workaholics Anonymous does exist, but it's mostly used in jokes. "I need to find Workaholics Anonymous. Problem is I don't have the time to attend the meetings" was posted on…

July 9, 2020
Work/Businesses

“The pulley is the most egotistical of all machines. It’s always the center of a tension”

"What does a pulley like the best about its position? It's the center of a tension" -- a pun on "center of attention" -- was posted on Reddit -- Jokes on August 18, 2017.…

February 24, 2012
Work/Businesses

“The raised nail gets hammered down” (management proverb)

"The raised nail gets hammered down" (or "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down" or "the protruding nail gets hammered down") is a Japanese proverb that dates at…

December 29, 2019
Work/Businesses

“The real winner in the ‘every child gets a trophy’ is the trophy making company”

Who really wins when everyone gets a trophy? The trophy makers! "When everyone gets a trophy, the trophy maker wins" was posted on Twitter by chuck chalfant on November 15, 2012.…

July 18, 2021
Work/Businesses

“The recipe for today: One cup cluster, Two cups fuck”

"The recipe for today: One cup cluster, Two cups fuck" is a jocular saying that has been printed on many images. That is, today will be a clusterfuck. “@SurettaCollins: The recipe for…

October 14, 2013
Work/Businesses

“The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more”

Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Jonas SalkJonas Edward Salk (October 28, 1914 – June 23, 1995) was an American medical researcher and virologist, best known for his discovery and development…

August 13, 2018
Work/Businesses

“The road of life is paved with flat squirrels who couldn’t make a decision”

"Be decisive. Right or wrong, make a decision. The road of life is paved with flat squirrels who couldn’t make a decision" is a jocular saying that has been printed on many images.…

April 22, 2012
Work/Businesses

“The road to success is always under construction” (business adage)

"The road to sucess is always under construction" is a popular adage used in business and in otehr fields. The quotation is often attributed to actress/comedienne Lily Tomlin, but the…

July 24, 2017
Work/Businesses

“The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places”

"The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places" -- that is, there will be many temptations causing people to stop short of their goals -- is a saying that has been…

April 22, 2018
Work/Businesses

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started”

Entry in progress -- B.P. [This quotation was also researched by the Quote Investigator.] 9 December 1923, Coshocton (OH) Tribune, pg. 3, col. 7 ad:Half the game of getting ahead is getting…

August 18, 2012
Work/Businesses

“The secret of success is to start from scratch and keep on scratching”

"The secret of success is to start from scratch and keep on scratching" is a quotation about success that has been included in many quotation collections. "Our idea of the average…

October 27, 2022
Work/Businesses

“The self checkout lane was invented by a man who was sent to the store to buy tampons”

"So glad there are self checkouts when I'm sent to the store to buy tampons. I don't have to awkwardly avoid the cashier's eyes" was posted on Twitter by DunieLAF on…

April 19, 2021
Work/Businesses

“The self-deprecation society is taking applications for new members. I’ve already put myself down”

"The Self-Deprecation Society is now accepting new members. I've already put myself down" was posted on Twitter by ROBERT KENNY on March 10, 2016. "The Self-Deprecation Society…

April 19, 2021
Work/Businesses

“The self-depreciation society is taking applications for new members. I’ve already put myself down”

"The Self-Deprecation Society is now accepting new members. I've already put myself down" was posted on Twitter by ROBERT KENNY on March 10, 2016. "The Self-Deprecation Society…

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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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