It doesn't have to 100% match the sentiment, but I'd love if it has the same general lesson (and is more concise than the following): "An idea that you keep in your head, incessantly perfecting, is worth nothing. Whereas the person who is willing to actually act on an idea, even if it's imperfect, has accomplished something. So instead of getting hung up on perfection, just DO something and learn from it for the next time." I'm kind of looking for what, say, Diablo Cody would say to her hipster haters who have never finished a screenplay. Or what you'd tell your friend who wants to be a writer but has been tinkering with their novel for the last 200 years. Oh, and I know about "perfect is the enemy of the good."
posted by Anonymousness
on Mar 10, 2013 -
52 answers
I'm learning Swedish in advance of a trip to Stockholm to visit friends this summer. (Yes, I know Swedes generally speak excellent English; learning languages is a hobby.) When I'm there, I'd like to pepper some of my conversations with colorful sayings, slang, and idioms. Kan du hjälpa mig?
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posted by Admiral Haddock
on Mar 7, 2013 -
5 answers
I'm looking for variants of idioms, so that I can put 'em in a bracket to determine the overall winner and champion of idioms.
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posted by Cold Lurkey
on Mar 5, 2013 -
38 answers
When Bugs Bunny referred to Elmer Fudd as a "nimrod", he was sarcastically comparing the dim-witted Fudd to
a biblical king who was known as a mighty hunter. However, the intended sarcasm of that reference seemed lost on the public, and over time, "nimrod" has come to be used to simply mean dull or dim-witted. Can you point me to other examples of sayings or idioms created via a misunderstood reference or saying?
posted by tocts
on Feb 4, 2013 -
25 answers
Where does the phrase "Flippin' Henry" come from (to express exasperation)?
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posted by chill
on Oct 12, 2012 -
4 answers
Does anyone know if 'sucking on words' is an idiom or common phrase? If so, what is the meaning?
posted by Le pest
on Jun 26, 2012 -
10 answers
What are some foreign-language terms for things that involve the name of another country or culture?
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posted by theodolite
on Jul 5, 2011 -
78 answers
What are some interesting/quirky/idiomatic phrases that convey the sense that one has just walked into the metaphorical lion's den, or somewhere you are dangerously out of place? Examples of what I'm looking for, inside.
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posted by np312
on Apr 22, 2011 -
27 answers
Once bitten, twice shy: Is there a single word which conveys the sentiment of this idiom? I have thought of "gun-shy," but no others. Or another phrase or idiom having roughly the same meaning?
posted by frobozz
on Oct 10, 2010 -
17 answers
I'm looking for a word that describes consistent loops of music in one's head. Not just earworms, though of course earworms are part of it. I'm talking about a radio station in your head which plays a song more often than you ever heard in actual audio life.
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posted by goofyfoot
on Sep 28, 2010 -
8 answers
Calling non-English speakers: what are the equivalent phrases in other languages for "catching someone's eye" or "making eye contact"?
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posted by snarfois
on Aug 27, 2010 -
13 answers
Are there better ways to call someone than a "culture vulture" and "domestic diva"?
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posted by drea
on Mar 2, 2010 -
11 answers
sportsmetaphorfilter: Is there a word/term for one player who is vastly, ridiculously better than everyone else in their league?
extra credit: It's not "ringer" unless you can convince me the term can be applied to someone who comes by their advantages honestly.
posted by thinkingwoman
on Jan 16, 2010 -
51 answers
Got space-related idioms and phrases? "Cool your jets", "Jumpin' Jupiter!", "Heavens to Mergatroid!", "Over the moon!", "Off like a rocket!", "Out of this world"...
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posted by Muirwylde
on Sep 16, 2009 -
44 answers
I'm looking for a Latin translation of an American colloquialism (knowing that such translations are at best approximations/don't work because the idiom never existed in Latin.)
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posted by usonian
on Aug 12, 2009 -
5 answers
Hello! I am working on a cartoony illustration in which I am conveying physical human afflictions/parts of the anatomy that could have very literal visual translations. Some examples: a frog in your throat (temporary hoarseness because of phlegm or mucus). Tennis elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis), smoker's lung, kidney stones, funny bone (humerus).
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posted by geronimo's folly
on Jul 29, 2009 -
22 answers
I'm looking for sayings/proverbs/idioms etc. that convey or state, of one refusing to be told what to do (or think, or say). "When I say jump, you'll ask: 'how high?'" -- the *opposite* of something like this.
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posted by raztaj
on Jul 22, 2008 -
35 answers
Rhyming Idioms: I know a couple of 4-year-olds that were rather tickled when I asked them "What's new, tennis shoe" They begged me for more...
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posted by dogmom
on Nov 12, 2007 -
101 answers
Is the expression "Too many chiefs, not enough indians" culturally insensitive? If so, help me think of a clever way of expressing the same idea using the same "too many x, not enough y" format.
posted by pasici
on Apr 18, 2007 -
33 answers
Does "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse" mean "I'm so hungry I could eat at much meat as is on a horse's bones (without getting full)" or "I'm so hungry I'd be willing to eat something as (presumably) unappetizing as horse meat"?
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posted by 23skidoo
on Nov 19, 2006 -
26 answers
Idiom filter: Party Pants.
I was watching Cien Mexicanos Dijeron (the Unavision version of Family Fued) with my girlfriend, when they got to the final stage, where two people try to answer quick questions with the most popular answers.
We didn't manage to catch the first contestant's answer, nor the question, and the second contestant was clearly just spitballing with her answer of what we believe was "cepillo de dientes" (toothbrush). According to the the host, the most popular answer was "pantalones festivos."
Festive pants? What the hell?
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posted by klangklangston
on Nov 6, 2006 -
28 answers
What is your favorite and most colorful expression or phrase? Speaking about two idiots that we work with, my coworker said that they looked like '
Two monkey's f*cking a football', which led me to say '
They couldn't organize a piss-up in a brewery', and as a final touch, which made me laugh, my coworker states '
They're about as handy as a bear cub with a toothpick'. I would love to write a book or create a website with colorful phrases from around the world. What are some of your favorite idioms that you use or have overhead in the boardroom, bar, or barnyard?
posted by jasondigitized
on Oct 31, 2006 -
192 answers
Help me come up with a list of cool English-language idioms to teach my teenage foster daughter from Taiwan. Slightly
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posted by ClaudiaCenter
on Sep 14, 2006 -
19 answers
Language/idioms/etc: I'm wondering about the source of the expression "give it the old college try". Google offers tons of examples, but nothing concrete.
posted by cmyr
on Jan 29, 2005 -
8 answers
