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What family sayings did you think was universal? (infosec.pub)

submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/asklemmy

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cross-posted from: https://infosec.pub/post/14650446

As I was growing up, my family had a couple of sayings I took for granted were universal, at least within my language. As I became an adult I have learned that these are not universal at all:

the ketchup effect. It is an expression meaning that when things arrive, they all arrive at the same time. Think of an old school glass ketchup bottle. When you hit the bottom of it, first there is nothing, then there is nothing and then the entire content is on your food.

faster than Jesus slid down the mount of olives. Basically a saying that implies that the mount of olives is slippery due to olive oil and Jesus slipped.

What you lack in memory, your legs suffer. An expression meaning that when you are forgetful, you usually need to run back and thus your legs suffer.

Please share your own weird family sayings.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Sounds like something similar to the American differentiation between "book smarts" and "street smarts", which is typically called to testify when a person who knows how to mow a lawn, work a job, and pay taxes feels intellectually challenged by a person who knows math beyond basic algebra.

Might have some orthogonality to the ever elusive concept of "common sense", an apparently mystical concept that you either have or can never have depending on who is talking, which is only ever invoked to tell one person that their entire existence is worthless in the face of the fact that the person saying it has the magical elixir of common sense.