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What are some idioms that no longer make sense? Can you think of a modern replacement?
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farmgineer nord.pub farmgineer@nord.pub
Joined: 2026-04-25
#52 · Quote Reply

"Did you bring the (evening newspaper) with you?" I've used this in different countries, the newspaper referred to is one which historically was sold in the afternoon, not morning. And I ask it of anyone who comes to work late. Now, at least here, all the newspapers come out in the morning, so I just get confused stares.

Well, you're early for tomorrow!

I've heard some variations on that before.

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farmgineer nord.pub farmgineer@nord.pub
Joined: 2026-04-25
#53 · Quote Reply

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure -- I've occasionally heard English speakers say this (or something similar) much to the confusion of the Japanese folks around. I guess one could swap ounce/pound to gram/kilo, but I think it could use replacing.

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FudgyMcTubbs lemmy.world FudgyMcTubbs@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-01-01
#54 · Quote Reply

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure -- I've occasionally heard English speakers say this (or something similar) much to the confusion of the Japanese folks around. I guess one could swap ounce/pound to gram/kilo, but I think it could use replacing.

Checking in from the States.... The fuck is a "gram/kilo"? Nah, I'm kidding. It's cocaine, right?

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FudgyMcTubbs lemmy.world FudgyMcTubbs@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-01-01
#55 · Quote Reply

Don't put the cart before the horse. Don't submit your post before you write it.

"Keep the carriage in the wake of the mare."

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FudgyMcTubbs lemmy.world FudgyMcTubbs@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-01-01
#56 · Quote Reply

Dollars to donuts originated in an age when a dollar could buy a considerable quantity of donuts. Inflation has since reduced the literal interpretation of the expression to nearly even odds.

Also donut shops overcharge. Donuts used to be super fucking cheap. That's why they'd be next to the coffee pot at every function, and in the work break room. Now they want like $2 a donut. It's dough that's been boiled in grease. And they get to reuse the grease for many boilings. C'mon.

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FudgyMcTubbs lemmy.world FudgyMcTubbs@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-01-01
#57 · Quote Reply

“Burning the midnight oil”

Never getting your phone on the charger?

24/7 bandwidth draw?

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FudgyMcTubbs lemmy.world FudgyMcTubbs@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-01-01
#58 · (edited) Quote Reply

Don't remember where I heard it, but I thought the origin was related to actors and performers. It was a superstitious thing that if you wished someone good luck on stage you would jinx it so instead they did the opposite and wished for the worst. I could be very wrong!

And isn't that somehow attached to a specific Shakespeare play, but then became universal?

Edit: maybe not. See comments below.

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FudgyMcTubbs lemmy.world FudgyMcTubbs@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-01-01
#59 · Quote Reply

(to do something) "on your dime," i.e. at your expense - A reference to public coin operated phones, which for a long time cost 10c/a US "dime" coin per call. Inflation by the late 70s had made the single dime call a thing of the past, but USD20c was still possible, and inflating phone fees in the 80s required increasing amounts of coinage. Public pay phones were decimated when mobile phones ga...

On your tab.

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FudgyMcTubbs lemmy.world FudgyMcTubbs@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-01-01
#60 · Quote Reply

FYI this can still happen on liquid propane stoves, so not totally lost to time. Maybe "Kill two birds with one stone", because who hunts with stones anymore?

"it's a twofer!"

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hansolo lemmy.today hansolo@lemmy.today
Joined: 2025-06-07
#61 · Quote Reply

"Avoiding things like the plague" because people did not actually seem to want to avoid the plague last time around.

Too soon.

Or not, really.

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Wolf314159 startrek.website Wolf314159@startrek.website
Joined: 2024-07-03
#62 · Quote Reply

(to do something) "on your dime," i.e. at your expense - A reference to public coin operated phones, which for a long time cost 10c/a US "dime" coin per call. Inflation by the late 70s had made the single dime call a thing of the past, but USD20c was still possible, and inflating phone fees in the 80s required increasing amounts of coinage. Public pay phones were decimated when mobile phones ga...

Similar to when you "drop the dime" on someone, i.e. using a dime to call the cops on a payphone. Although in my lifetime, I don't think I've heard anyone but Bradley Nowell use that phrase.

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hansolo lemmy.today hansolo@lemmy.today
Joined: 2025-06-07
#63 · Quote Reply

In 2026 it's literally Donuts To Dollars.

Time is a flat, fried, circle drenched in chocolate frosting and filled with cream!

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WalterLego lemmy.zip WalterLego@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2025-07-26
#64 · Quote Reply

I heard this one the other day: "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride." It's hard to modernize though because transportation has become so cheap. Almost everyone has access to a car or even aeroplane for a modest fee

In my perception it's the opposite. When I was in Houston, people walking the streets in the hot Texas summer were the lowest of the low. There's no infrastructure for pedestrians, distances are huge and the air is hot and humid. Still there were people walking, and they are treated like the scum of the earth.

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Ghoelian piefed.social Ghoelian@piefed.social
Joined: 2025-03-19
#65 · Quote Reply

"it's a twofer!"

kinda

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keylemmypie reddthat.com keylemmypie@reddthat.com
Joined: 2026-10-13
#66 · Quote Reply

In my perception it's the opposite. When I was in Houston, people walking the streets in the hot Texas summer were the lowest of the low. There's no infrastructure for pedestrians, distances are huge and the air is hot and humid. Still there were people walking, and they are treated like the scum of the earth.

If wishes were cars, the walkers would drive

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MinnesotaGoddam lemmy.world HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-27
#67 · Quote Reply

Technically its not gone, just inside you.

Oof ouch my bone satchel

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palordrolap fedia.io palordrolap@fedia.io
Joined: 2024-08-13
#68 · Quote Reply

And isn't that somehow attached to a specific Shakespeare play, but then became universal? Edit: maybe not. See comments below.

There's a superstition among actors about speaking the word "Macbeth" outside of the play, but I don't think telling people to "break a leg" is specifically linked with it. Two separate actor superstitions.

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Trex lemmy.world Trex202@lemmy.world
Joined: 2024-01-03
#69 · Quote Reply

Too soon. Or not, really.

We're the ones who survived, we're allowed to joke about it

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FudgyMcTubbs lemmy.world FudgyMcTubbs@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-01-01
#70 · Quote Reply

There's a superstition among actors about speaking the word "Macbeth" outside of the play, but I don't think telling people to "break a leg" is specifically linked with it. Two separate actor superstitions.

One thing is certain... Actors are weird.

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A1kmm lemmy.amxl.com A1kmm@lemmy.amxl.com
Joined: 2023-05-08
#71 · Quote Reply

I think that many historic trades have been automated to the extent their old terminology is obscure but lives on in idioms.

"To the bitter end" (bitter end meaning the lose end of a rope, from rope-working - not entirely extinct but obscure).
Perhaps that one could be "To the edge node"!

"Strike while the iron is hot" (from blacksmithing, again not entirely an extinct craft but largely replaced by automation).
Maybe "Cross while the light is green?"

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fraksken infosec.pub fraksken@infosec.pub
Joined: 2023-07-03
#72 · Quote Reply

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure -- I've occasionally heard English speakers say this (or something similar) much to the confusion of the Japanese folks around. I guess one could swap ounce/pound to gram/kilo, but I think it could use replacing.

In Dutch we have the similar "een gewaarschuwd man is er twee waard" - loosely translates to "a warned man is worth two"

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hansolo lemmy.today hansolo@lemmy.today
Joined: 2025-06-07
#73 · Quote Reply

We're the ones who survived, we're allowed to joke about it

Oh, I didn't say not to joke about it. I just really miss Herman Cain, OK?

/s you animals.

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knoxer (read bio) lemmy.world Knoxer@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-10-29
#74 · Quote Reply

The crypto bro trolling the AI bro.
It would be a nice modern substitute lol, IF I understand what the meaning is, eng is not my native language, but as I understood it's: Someone bad calling out someone other bad

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knoxer (read bio) lemmy.world Knoxer@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-10-29
#75 · Quote Reply

"Avoiding things like the plague" because people did not actually seem to want to avoid the plague last time around.

Avoid things like the crypto xD or the AI slop to make it super modern

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knoxer (read bio) lemmy.world Knoxer@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-10-29
#76 · Quote Reply

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure -- I've occasionally heard English speakers say this (or something similar) much to the confusion of the Japanese folks around. I guess one could swap ounce/pound to gram/kilo, but I think it could use replacing.

The gram kg probably already exists, I think?

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knoxer (read bio) lemmy.world Knoxer@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-10-29
#77 · Quote Reply

Don't put the cart before the horse. Don't submit your post before you write it.

Don't buy crypto before it's settled lol

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showmeyourkizinti startrek.website showmeyourkizinti@startrek.website
Joined: 2023-09-13
#78 · Quote Reply

This comment is about to be legen-

Wait for it …

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kazerniel quokk.au kazerniel@quokk.au
Joined: 2026-10-18
#79 · (edited) Quote Reply

In Portuguese the equivalent expression is timeless: "o sujo falando do mal lavado" (the dirty one talking about the badly washed).

in Hungarian it's "the owl calling the sparrow 'big-headed'" 😄

we usually shorten it to just "owl calling the sparrow" (doesn't have the same ambiguous meaning as English)

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fleem piefed.zeromedia.vip fleem@piefed.zeromedia.vip
Joined: 2025-11-20
#80 · (edited) Quote Reply

Good one! I would offer 'Draining the house battery' as a replacement but it doesn't really have a ring to. Maybe 'You've been living in low blue light mode'. No that's even worse! somebody help me here 😅.

using solar at night

"yer using solar at night, ain't ya boi"

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Dagobah lemmy.world Dagobah@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-25
#81 · Quote Reply

I think that many historic trades have been automated to the extent their old terminology is obscure but lives on in idioms. "To the bitter end" (bitter end meaning the lose end of a rope, from rope-working - not entirely extinct but obscure). Perhaps that one could be "To the edge node"! "Strike while the iron is hot" (from blacksmithing, again not entirely an extinct craft but largely replace...

Wow, great examples! I never realised that first one had a historical meaning. I suppose even without the context it still makes sense because of the adjective 'bitter'.

I wonder if any common sayings nowadays will catch on and become long lived idioms in the future?

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fleem piefed.zeromedia.vip fleem@piefed.zeromedia.vip
Joined: 2025-11-20
#82 · Quote Reply

Better stated as “… and still have it”, come to think of it.

this actually finally makes the phrase mean what it means without a bunch of explanation

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Dagobah lemmy.world Dagobah@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-25
#83 · Quote Reply

The crypto bro trolling the AI bro. It would be a nice modern substitute lol, IF I understand what the meaning is, eng is not my native language, but as I understood it's: Someone bad calling out someone other bad

It's a touch stilted but it gets the idea across! May I ask your first language? Any old idioms there that no longer make literal sense in the modern world?

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nednobbins lemmy.zip nednobbins@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2025-06-20
#84 · Quote Reply

In reply to an earlier post

Ted Kaczynski has entered the chat.

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Dagobah lemmy.world Dagobah@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-25
#85 · Quote Reply

In reply to an earlier post

If wishes were horses, birthday cakes and stargazing would be a lot more dangerous.

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nednobbins lemmy.zip nednobbins@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2025-06-20
#86 · Quote Reply

In reply to an earlier post

Isn't the joke the if you break a leg you get in the "cast"?

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chewypoops lemmy.world chewypoops@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-02-05
#87 · Quote Reply

To be honest, I was never prepared to know what "hoisted by one's own pitard" meant, and knowing today, I still have no clue how this was ever relevant to any time period.

A pitard is a timed bomb used to to blow down a door or wall. The idiom is about blowing yourself up mistakenly instead. Were people using these routinely at some point?

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kazerniel quokk.au kazerniel@quokk.au
Joined: 2026-10-18
#88 · Quote Reply

In reply to an earlier post

‘Steam saler, LootBox whaler’

this is a good one 🤣

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Okokimup lemmy.world Okokimup@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-24
#89 · Quote Reply

To be honest, I was never prepared to know what "hoisted by one's own pitard" meant, and knowing today, I still have no clue how this was ever relevant to any time period. A pitard is a timed bomb used to to blow down a door or wall. The idiom is about blowing yourself up mistakenly instead. Were people using these routinely at some point?

So is "hoisted" in this case the equivalent of "yeeted"?

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Okokimup lemmy.world Okokimup@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-24
#90 · Quote Reply

I think that many historic trades have been automated to the extent their old terminology is obscure but lives on in idioms. "To the bitter end" (bitter end meaning the lose end of a rope, from rope-working - not entirely extinct but obscure). Perhaps that one could be "To the edge node"! "Strike while the iron is hot" (from blacksmithing, again not entirely an extinct craft but largely replace...

Drinks like coffee and tea can become bitter when you get down to the dregs. That's what the first saying makes me think of.

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Okokimup lemmy.world Okokimup@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-24
#91 · Quote Reply

In reply to an earlier post

pation

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Okokimup lemmy.world Okokimup@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-24
#92 · Quote Reply

In reply to an earlier post

Make a wish in one hand and a crap in the other, and see which piles up faster.

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someguy3 lemmy.world someguy3@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-04
#93 · (edited) Quote Reply

All the horse ones because we don't use horses anymore. There a ton of them.

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Who tf gets a gift horse?

Saddle up. Who tf has a saddle?

Hold your horses. Who tf has horses to hold?

Get off your high horse. Who tf has a high horse?

Beat a dead horse. WTF.

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_skj lemmy.world _skj@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-08-12
#94 · Quote Reply

Checking in from the States.... The fuck is a "gram/kilo"? Nah, I'm kidding. It's cocaine, right?

Yep. A gram is one cocaine. A kilo is a group of cocaines.

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flandish lemmy.world flandish@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-04-08
#95 · Quote Reply

To be honest, I was never prepared to know what "hoisted by one's own pitard" meant, and knowing today, I still have no clue how this was ever relevant to any time period. A pitard is a timed bomb used to to blow down a door or wall. The idiom is about blowing yourself up mistakenly instead. Were people using these routinely at some point?

before the invention of doorknobs, doors were indeed single use. they would be blown open with every use. this is why we invented chamber pots. midnight bathroom breaks were very loud, before people had pots.

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Zarobi aussie.zone Zarobi@aussie.zone
Joined: 2026-06-23
#96 · Quote Reply

If wishes were horses, birthday cakes and stargazing would be a lot more dangerous.

Also wishing wells would be fucked up

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5too lemmy.world 5too@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-10
#97 · Quote Reply

In reply to an earlier post

Wearing metas?

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HubertManne piefed.social HubertManne@piefed.social
Joined: 2025-03-13
#98 · Quote Reply

whats the point of a modern replacement? idioms connect us across time and when they really have not modern sense (which there is enough understanding of cookware I don't think we hit that with pot and kettle) then it becomes an interesting backstory.

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farmgineer nord.pub farmgineer@nord.pub
Joined: 2026-04-25
#99 · (edited) Quote Reply

Yep. A gram is one cocaine. A kilo is a group of cocaines.

I think the collective is known as "a sniffling".

edit: autocorrect > me.

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farmgineer nord.pub farmgineer@nord.pub
Joined: 2026-04-25
#100 · Quote Reply

The gram kg probably already exists, I think?

Maybe, but I've never heard anyone say it (other than me when this comes up which is maybe once every year or two). That said, it may well exist in other, more sensible countries.

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NeatNit discuss.tchncs.de NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de
Joined: 2024-01-05
#101 · Quote Reply

To be honest, I was never prepared to know what "hoisted by one's own pitard" meant, and knowing today, I still have no clue how this was ever relevant to any time period. A pitard is a timed bomb used to to blow down a door or wall. The idiom is about blowing yourself up mistakenly instead. Were people using these routinely at some point?

Britta will explain: https://youtu.be/KuuafUtVte0

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