Column Chronicles: Adages that did not catch on

Adages that did not catch on

Frank Cotolo
August 29, 2024

Through the ages people expressed their feelings using an adage. Some have been around for centuries. Others, such as those listed, have not stood the test of time. Here is a list of them:

You never heard a rooster crow until it coughs up a lung.

If you always say no there's nothing anyone will do for you.

The younger the child the older the parent.

You have to be brought down to ever appreciate the upside.

Always look both ways before you cross your eyes.

Talk about it now but think about it later.

He who does not give, gives in.

A rock never rolls far from its mountain.

A summer's worth of heat can never cook the souls of a nation.

Every now and then stop to give thanks to those never grateful for the gifts of air, water and shelter.

Don't make it your business if it is the business of others.

A mule cannot carry more than its own weight.

Every moment spent goes by whether you use it or not.

The muscles of many may not equal the might of the few.

Today's misery is tomorrow's despair, sometimes.

What pity comes from those whom are pitiful?

A beast of burden cannot be caged, cooked or pickled.

Power corrupts those weak enough to think they need lots of it to put things straight.

Are we men or are we of mice and men?

Save for a rainy day but spend selfishly on a spring evening.

The racoon never uses morality to spread rabbis.

Birds with one wing spiral to the ground.

When possible, sleep through it.

The weasel knows the hen and the hen knows the worm but none can escape the natural order of things.

Frank Cotolo can be found hosting the talk and interview programme Cotolo Chronicles. You can send him an e-mail at this address: frank@148.ca.