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June 11, 2018
Work/Businesses

“Don’t limit your challenges. Challenge your limits”

"Don't limit your challenges. Challenge your limits" is a motivational saying that has been printed on many images. The saying has been used in classified advertisements since at…

February 18, 2022
Work/Businesses

“Don’t make excuses for nasty people. You can’t put a flower in an asshole and call it a vase”

"Don't make excuses for nasty people. You can't put a flower in an asshole and call it a vase" is a saying that has been printed on many images.…

April 7, 2015
Work/Businesses

“Don’t mess with success”

"Don't mess with success" is another way of saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." "And I might say you don't mess with success" was cited in…

September 17, 2012
Work/Businesses

“Don’t mourn—organize” (labor slogan)

"Don't mourn -- organize" is a union slogan often said after the death of a union leader. Union worker and songwriter Joe Hill (1879-1915) was sentenced to death for a crime in Utah.…

January 6, 2026
Work/Businesses

“Don’t put all my eggs in one basket? Nice try, basket industry”

"Don't put all your eggs in one basket" is a proverbial saying from at least the 1600s. The saying means not to risk everything on just one thing, but to spread the risk. It's…

June 2, 2017
Work/Businesses

“Don’t put the key to your happiness in someone else’s pocket”

"Don't/Never put the/your key to happiness in someone else's pocket" is an inspirational saying that has been printed on many images. "'Don't put the key to your…

January 1, 2024
TransportationWork/Businesses

“Don’t rob my tools. I need them to pay your benefits” (commercial vehicle sign)

"Don't rob/steal my tools. I need them to pay your benefits" is a commercial vehicle sign that has been printed on many images. "DON'T ROB MY TOOLS, I NEED THEM TO PAY YOUR…

August 18, 2015
Work/Businesses

“Don’t sell drills—sell holes”

The book The Five Great Rules of Selling (1947) by Percy H. Whiting stated: "Leo McGivena wrote: 'Last year over one million quarter- inch drills were sold — not because people wanted…

March 10, 2013
Work/Businesses

“Don’t send a boy to do a man’s job”

"Don't send a boy to do a man's job/work" means that one should not have someone do what that person cannot do. "Hire a boy to do a man's business; he will make up his…

February 9, 2021
Work/Businesses

“Don’t set yourself on fire to keep others 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…

April 14, 2018
Work/Businesses

“Don’t stay in bed, unless you can make money in bed”

"Don't stay in bed, unless you can make money in bed" is a saying that has been printed on many images. The saying has been credited to New York-born actor and comedian George Burns…

January 1, 2024
TransportationWork/Businesses

“Don’t steal my tools. I need them to pay your benefits” (commercial vehicle sign)

"Don't rob/steal my tools. I need them to pay your benefits" is a commercial vehicle sign that has been printed on many images. "DON'T ROB MY TOOLS, I NEED THEM TO PAY YOUR…

January 21, 2016
Pets (Dogs, Cats, Horses)Work/Businesses

“Don’t stop and throw stones at every dog that barks” (business adage)

"Cast not a stone at every dog that barks" is a proverb that has been cited since at least 1579. British statesman Winston Churchill (1874-1965) said in 1923: "You will never get to…

September 12, 2012
Work/Businesses

“Don’t sweat the small stuff”

"Don't sweat the small stuff" became a popular saying from books such as Michael R. Mantell's Don't Sweat the Small Stuff: P.S., It's All Small Stuff (1988) and…

August 11, 2024
Food/DrinkWork/Businesses

“Don’t talk to me until I’ve had my coffee. Also, I don’t drink coffee”

"Don't talk to me until I've had my coffee" is what one worker might say to another in the morning. An anti-social worker might add, "I don't drink coffee." That…

June 1, 2019
Work/Businesses

“Don’t talk, just act. Don’t say, just show. Don’t promise, just prove”

"Don't talk, just act. Don't say, just show. Don't promise, just prove" is a motivational saying that has been printed on many images. "Don’t talk, just act. Don’t…

December 16, 2015
Work/Businesses

“Don’t tell people your plans. Show them your results”

"Don't tell people your plans. Show them your results" is a motivational saying that has been printed on many posters. "Stop telling them about your plans but show them your…

September 19, 2020
Work/Businesses

“Don’t touch the whatchamacallit because it will make the doohickey not work with the thingamabob”

Folksy "placeholder" words sound more ridiculous in the same sentence. "I've told them a hundred times 'Don't touch the whatchamacallit because it will make the…

April 18, 2018
Work/Businesses

“Don’t treat people as bad as they are, treat them as good as you are”

"Don't treat people as bad as they are, treat them as good as you are" is a saying that has been printed on many images. The saying is similar to the "golden rule."…

May 10, 2018
Work/Businesses

“Don’t trust everything you see. Even salt looks like sugar”

"Salt and sugar look the same. Be careful who you trust" (or "Don't/Never trust everything you see. Even salt looks like sugar") is a saying that has been printed on many…

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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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