Folk Wisdom Death-Match

Bill and I were recently talking about clichés (a subject we have strong feelings about), and somehow or other it occurred to us that a lot of clichés and so-called folk wisdom contradict each other. To pick a particularly blatant example, we’ve all heard that, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” but we’ve also many times heard that, “Better safe than sorry.” “Well,” a 4th grade student of logic might ask, “which is it?” So tonight, we thought it would be fun to brainstorm as many contradictory aphorisms and bits of folk wisdom as possible, perhaps even trying to figure out which one is true more often. Hence, that one can be said to win the death-match, and hopefully we’ll never use its opposite every again.

My Examples
1a. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Fortune favors the bold.
1b. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Better safe than sorry.2a. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger. Honesty is the best policy.
2b. If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.
3a. It’s like riding a bicycle. Once you learn you never forget.
3b. If you don’t use it, you lose it. Use it or lose it.
4a. A stitch in time saves nine.
4b. Tomorrow is promised to no man. Eat your dessert first.”
5a. Waste not want not.
5b. Don’t cry over spilt milk.
6a. To thine own self be true.
6b. Never let ‘em see you sweat.
7a. Haste makes waste. Slow and steady wins the race.
7b. Better get while the gettin’s good. Strike while the iron’s hot.
8a. Patience is a virtue. Good things come to those who wait.
8b. Carpe Diem. God helps those who help themselves.
9a. Loose lips sink ships.
9b. Honesty is the best policy.
10a. You get more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.
10b. You gotta break some eggs to make an omelet.
11a. It’s not whether you win or lose that matters, but how you play the game.
11b. Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing. Second place winner is first place loser. Nobody remembers who finished second.
12a. Never settle for anything less than the best.
12b. Take what you can get. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
13a. Fake it until you make it.
13b. If they don’t accept you for who you are, find other friends.
14a. You can’t succeed if you don’t try. You will miss 100% of the pitches you don’t swing at.
14b. Don’t swing at a bad pitch.
15a. Look before you leap.
15b. He who hesitates is lost.
16a. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. You gotta kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince.
16b. Don’t keep banging your head against a wall. Know when to cut your losses. Don’t throw good money after bad. You gotta know when to hold em, know when to fold em, know when to walk away, know when to run.
17a. Major on the majors. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
17b. The devil is in the details.
18a. Don’t keep your head in the sand.
18b. Ignorance is bliss. What you don’t know can’t hurt you.
19a. Many hands make light work.
19b. If you want something done right, do it yourself.
20a. Once a cheater, always a cheater.
20b. Forgive and forget. People can always change.
21a. Opposites attract.
21b. It’s the stuff you have in common that makes a relationship strong.

Caller Examples
Michelle (Scottsdale)a. The early bird gets the worm.
Michelle (Scottsdale)b. He who laughs last laughs best.
John (Phoenix)a. Every cloud has a silver lining. When God closes a door, He opens a window
John (Phoenix)b. Bad things come in threes. When it rains it pours.
Ann (Phoenix)a. Look before you leap.
Ann (Phoenix)b. Jump at the chance.
Ed (Chandler)a. Two heads are better than one.
Ed (Chandler)b. God didn’t send a committee.
Mitzy (Youngtown)a. The bigger the better.
Mitzy (Youngtown)b. Good things come in small packages. The bigger they are the harder they fall.
James (Glendale)a. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
James (Glendale)b. Give a ride to a snake and you’ll get bit. Lay down with dogs and you’ll wake up with fleas.
James (Glendale)c. Idle hands are the devil’s playground.
James (Glendale)d. Stop and smell the roses.
Joe (Peoria)a. He who hesitates is lost.
Joe (Peoria)b. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
Laura (Goodyear)a. An eye for an eye.
Laura (Goodyear)b. Turn the other cheek.
Troy (Phoenix)a. Hindsight is 20/20.
Troy (Phoenix)b. Look before you leap.
Valerie (Phoenix)a. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Valerie (Phoenix)b. Out of sight, out of mind.
Valerie (Phoenix)c. The more the merrier.
Valerie (Phoenix)d. Two’s company, but three’s a crowd.
Brandon (Peoria)a. Quitters never win, and winners never quit.
Brandon (Peoria)b. Quit while you’re ahead.
Kyle (Chandler)a. God will never give you more than you can bear.
Kyle (Chandler)b. God will carry you through anything (Footprints poem).