The Big Apple
About Archives Categories Index Search
About Archives Categories Index Search

December 19, 2019
Work/Businesses

“You are built not to shrink down to less, but to blossom into more”

"You are built not to be shrink down to less, but to blossom into more" is a motivational saying that has been printed on many images. American media executive, actress, talk show host,…

March 17, 2025
Work/Businesses

“You are killing yourself for a job that would replace you within a week if you dropped dead. Take care of yourself”

"You're killing yourself for a job that would replace you within a week if you dropped dead. Take care of yourself" is a saying that has been printed on many images. The saying means…

September 30, 2021
Work/Businesses

“You are not experiencing high call volume. You are experiencing low customer service staffing”

Telephone calls to a company's customer service often receive messages such as "Our phone options have changed" and "We are experiencing high call volume." "When is…

February 9, 2021
Work/Businesses

“You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm”

"You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm" (or "Don't set yourself on fire to keep others warm") is a saying that has been printed on many…

February 23, 2013
Work/Businesses

“You are only as sick as your secrets”

"You are only as sick as your secrets" is a saying that has been used by Alcoholics Anonymous since at least 1985. Addiction is a secret that makes people sick. The authorship of the…

January 5, 2026
Work/Businesses

“You are paid by how hard you are to replace. Not by how hard you work”

"You aren't paid according to how hard you work. You are paid according to how hard you are to replace" is a saying that has been printed on many images. Many people can work hard,…

December 22, 2014
Work/Businesses

“You are your best career adviser”

"You are your best career adviser/counselor/manager" is a popular saying in human resources. "You are your best career manager" was cited in print in a 1986 U.S. military…

January 5, 2026
Work/Businesses

“You aren’t paid according to how hard you work. You are paid according to how hard you are to replace”

"You aren't paid according to how hard you work. You are paid according to how hard you are to replace" is a saying that has been printed on many images. Many people can work hard,…

January 23, 2018
Work/Businesses

“You can also do work the day after tomorrow. Be lazy. Think crazy”

"Be Lazy. Think crazy" is a saying that has been printed on many images. It's another version of the old saying, "Choose a lazy person to do a hard job because that person will…

June 3, 2019
Work/Businesses

“You can be right, or you can be rich”

"You can be right, or you can be rich" is a saying that has been printed on several images. "You can be right, or you can be rich" was printed in the book Secrets of the…

February 24, 2026
Work/Businesses

“You can do it! For a few minutes, until you get bored and move on to something else”

"You can do it!" is a motivational saying. "You can do it! For a few minutes, until you get bored and move on to something else" is a jocular meme that was posted on Bluesky by…

May 7, 2022
Work/Businesses

“You can either expect me to work well with others or pass a drug test. It can’t be both”

"Sorry, boss... You can either expect me to work well with others or pass a drug test. It can't be both" (or "I can either work well with others or pass a drug test. But not…

May 29, 2012
Work/Businesses

“You can expect what you inspect” (management adage)

"You can expect what you inspect" has been credited by Wikipedia to the American statistician and author W. Edwards Deming (1900-1993), but there's no evidence that he either coined…

January 22, 2015
Work/Businesses

“You can fool all the people all the time if the advertising is right and the budget is big enough”

"You cannot fool all of the people all of the time" is an old saying, frequently (and falsely) attributed to Abraham Lincoln. American film producer Joseph E. Levine (1905-1987) is…

March 15, 2021
Work/Businesses

“You can give them a job layng down and they’ll stand up to quit”

"This generation don't want to work. You could give them a job laying down and they'll get up and quit" is a saying that has been printed on many images. There are several…

September 24, 2012
Work/Businesses

“You can go anywhere you want if you look serious and carry a clipboard”

"You can go anywhere you want if you look serious and carry a clipboard" is a jocular saying that has been included in "Murphy's Laws" collections and a frequently…

September 10, 2014
Work/Businesses

“You can judge a man by his shoes” (fashion adage)

"You can judge a man by his shoes" is an old fashion adage. "A fashion authority says you cannot always tell a man by his clothes, but you can invariably judge a gentleman by his…

July 6, 2012
Work/Businesses

“You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do”

"You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do" means that a reputation is build on achievement, not on potential achievement. James J. Hill (1838-1916), the chief…

February 3, 2020
Work/Businesses

“You can’t build with someone who ain’t trying to help you carry the bricks”

"You can't build with someone who ain't trying to help you carry the bricks" is a relationship saying that has been printed on many images. The expression compares building a…

March 6, 2025
Work/Businesses

“You can’t change the people around you, but you can change the people around you”

"You can't change the people around you, but you can change the people around you" is a saying that has been printed on many images. The saying means that you can't change the…

First
Previous
178 179 180 181 182
Next
Last

About the Website and Editor

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.

Read more About the Website and Editor
About
Privacy Policy
RSS

© 2026 Barry Popik. All rights reserved.