Relaxing Fun discussion

What is your favorite cliche (least favorite, one you know, etc.) and what do you think it was derived from.

For example, "what goes around comes around"
Does anyone know what if anything is derived from?

I hope to learn new cliches in English reading this topic... It's often difficult for me to express the same idea with an English cliche, translating from the Italian one!

Elena, That is true for, I think, almost all languages. I know that when I was learning to sign, the translation for slang and cliches was different than what is actually said.

I found most cliches meaningless--or easily replaced by a better phrase or word.

I will look around...somewhere I have a list of cliches from when I used to teach.

Anyone,

As the crow flys

Actual meaning? Is this actually just the real distance and not the driving or travel distance?

That's a completely new idiomatic expression for me. I checked it out on the Net and found out that it's supposed to mean "by the most direct way; along a straight line between two places". I think the most similar expression in Italian is "in linea d'aria" (it would be "(tracing) a line in the air". More abstract...

Jessica Frank wrote: "Anyone,

As the crow flys

Actual meaning? Is this actually just the real distance and not the driving or travel distance?"

African or European?
(I hope that's not too obscure a reference!):)

I would like to know what the origin of "like shooting fish in a barrel" came from.
Who put fish in barrels? One would think that they would have to be salted or something. Also, if they held water, if you shot the first one, wouldn't all the water leak out and kill the rest? I can't even imagine killing a fish with a gun anyway. The whole phrase seems quite pointless to me.

"Slow and steady wins the race"

oh yeah? well, fast and speedy pleases the needy!

Bells wrote: ""Slow and steady wins the race"

oh yeah? well, fast and speedy pleases the needy!"
Why does this one give me the image of a young girl swerving through traffic at a high rate of speed while talking on her cell phone?:)

Rhonda wrote: Why does this one give me the image of a young girl swerving through traffic at a high rate of speed while talking on her cell phone?:)

haha. but you have to admit that my version is what most of the human population goes by. XP

Bells wrote: " Rhonda wrote: Why does this one give me the image of a young girl swerving through traffic at a high rate of speed while talking on her cell phone?:)

haha. but you have to admit that my version..."

Do you think that most Americans are slow and steady? At home? At work? I think that, at work at least, more is expected and done at work--and fast and speedy is almost required, although it causes more errors.

I meant with technology and such. if something isn't done in three seconds then they have a fit and pay hundreds of dollars to get their stuff "fixed"