Browsed by
Tag: Life Lessons from English Expressions

Lipstick on a Pig

Lipstick on a Pig

Comments 2 comments

Lipstick on a Pig--baby pigWe can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig.

Lipstick on a pig means we try to make something look better than it is.

  • A pretty plate does not make bad food taste good.
  • Fresh paint on a falling-down house does not make it safe.
  • A new building does not make a failing business succeed.

Change must occur inside as well as outside.

  • Cook better food to go on that pretty plate.
  • Repair the house and then paint it.
  • Change how the business in that new building operates.

Lipstick on a pig fools few people.

Often it fools no one.

Only true change makes a difference.

An improved appearance may make us feel better for a while. However, we must tackle the real problems for lasting change.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how his ways will really satisfy you” (Romans 12:2 TLB).

Thanks to Frank Cheatham for the suggestion.

Do you have an expression you want explained? If so, please comment below.

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

Run Deep

Run Deep

Comments 3 comments

Run Deep--tree roots on the groundRecently a cousin wrote, “Our roots run deep and are closely intertwined.” She meant our family has a long and strong history of close relationships. We may not see one another often, but our ties remain. We can depend on mutual love and support.

Anything that runs deep (or goes deep) stays strong.

 Family or friends give and receive:

  • Loyalty
  • Joy in good times
  • Sympathy and support in bad times
  • Commitment

We take our relationships seriously. We provide what others need when they need it.

If roots don’t run deep, we often fail when troubles come.

Like trees with surface roots, problems destroy our:

  • Relationships
  • Emotions
  • Sense of responsibility

When we root ourselves in the eternal, we survive the temporary.

By focusing on what matters most, we:

Therefore, let’s root ourselves in the never-failing promises of God. Then we can stand tall and stand firm through the hardest times.

“Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,  rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:6-7 NIV).

Thanks to Rhonda Wade Royster for the suggestion.

Do you have an expression you want explained? If so, please comment below.

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

Gone But Not Forgotten

Gone But Not Forgotten

Comments 2 comments

Gone But Not Forgotten--Liberty, KY Memorial Park wallLiberty, Kentucky’s Veterans Memorial Park includes three walls with names of local veterans. A Liberty Bell replica stands at the entrance and a fountain in the center. American flags line the back wall.

Some veterans with names on those walls still live. Others are gone but not forgotten.

Gone but not forgotten means we remember people or things no longer with us.

They may live somewhere else. Often, they have died.

Although gone but not forgotten usually refers to people, it also applies to:

  • Animals
  • Events
  • Possessions

Anything gone but not forgotten often reminds us of the good old days.

We recall:

  • Times shared with special people
  • Favorite activities
  • A different way of life

This Veterans Day, take time to thank veterans still living.

Many went far beyond the call of duty. Remember and honor those now gone.

“I thank my God every time I remember you” (Philippians 1:3 NIV).

Do you have an expression you want explained or a thought about this one? If so, please comment below.

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

Tuckered Out

Tuckered Out

Comments 7 comments

Tuckered Out--man with mowerAfter mowing all day, most of us feel tuckered out. We have little energy and are too tired to move. Without rest, we will soon be under the weather.

Tuckered out means very tired, exhausted, or sleepy.

To stress how tired we feel, we might add that we are plumb tuckered out. Or, we might say we are plumb wore out. (Worn out is proper grammar, but wore out is commonly used.) We need to hit the hay.

 Other activities that make many of us plumb tuckered out include:

  • Gardening
  • Walking
  • Shopping

According to The Phrase Finder, “‘Tucker’ is a colloquial New England word.”

 It was “coined in the early 19th century, meaning ‘become weary’ and … ultimately derives from the Old English verb ‘tuck,’ meaning ‘punish; torment.’”

Several activities may feel like punishment or torment:

  • Housecleaning
  • Pulling weeds in the hot sun
  • Moving heavy boxes
  • Washing a sink full of dirty dishes

Yet, getting tuckered out often makes us feel good.

Although tired, we finished what we needed or wanted to do. Whether fun activities or not, we can thank God for the ability to do them.

“[God] gives power to the tired and worn out, and strength to the weak” (Isaiah 40:29 TLB).

What leaves you tuckered out? Please comment below.

Thanks to Charles Smithers for the plumb tuckered out suggestion. Thanks to Emily Akin for plumb wore out.

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

Push the Envelope

Push the Envelope

Comments 0 Comment

Push the Envelope--planes flying up through cloudsTo push the envelope has nothing to do with cards and letters or their containers. It refers more to math and airplanes.

To push the envelope means to go beyond the usual limits.

 People try to do more than has been done before. They test boundaries.

  • Youth test their parents’ rules.
  • Technology companies go beyond past performance.
  • Sports players set new records.

They attempt what many people would never try. In their minds, nothing ventured, nothing gained. By going to extremes, they often discover new possibilities. However, they also risk ending up in hot water.

Details on math or airplane envelopes can be found at The Phrase Finder.

In simple terms, an airplane’s envelope refers to limits where the plane can safely fly. When pilots push the envelope, they test their plane’s limits. They fly faster or higher or dive more than they have tried before.

If pilots go too far, they put themselves and their plane at risk.

People learn lessons when they push the envelope.

  • Some lessons create new opportunities.
  • Other lessons cause great pain.

The question each person must ask: Is the test worth the risk?

“God is magnificent; he can never be praised enough. There are no boundaries to his greatness” (Psalm 145:3 MSG).

Thanks to Tim Lewis for the suggestion. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

Do you have an expression you want explained? If so, please comment below.

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

Wring Our Hands

Wring Our Hands

Comments 3 comments

Wring Our Hands -- woman wringing handsWe cannot sleep. We cannot eat, or we eat too much. We wring our hands until the skin almost comes off.

Does that sound familiar?

To wring our hands is one sign of worry.

We twist our hands and rub them together over and over again. However, we often do nothing about what worries us. Rather than try to fix the problem, we spend all our time as a worry wart.

We:

  • Worry about our bills but fail to follow a budget
  • Complain about young people but don’t show them a better way
  • Cry over hungry children but never help feed them
  • Complain about the government but refuse to vote

Wringing our hands will not make a difference.

Rather than waste time worrying, why not lift our hands in prayer. But let’s not stop there. Why not also put feet to our prayers?

Seek God’s guidance. Then do something to improve the situation.

We cannot change all the world’s problems. We can change a few.

Will we dare to make a difference?

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life” (Matthew 6:25 NIV).

Thanks to Tillie Cowherd for the suggestion.

Do you have an expression you want explained? If so, please comment below.

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

Under Your Wing

Under Your Wing

Comments 0 Comment

Under Your Wing, hen with chicks under wingsWhen a storm approaches, a mother hen gathers her baby chicks under her wing. She wants to keep them safe.

If you take people under your wing, you care for them.

You batten down the hatches during life’s storms by:

  • Protecting them
  • Loving them
  • Meeting their needs

Taking someone under your wing may require little or much time.

  • Older students tutor younger students.
  • Bosses guide new workers.
  • Friends take care of a sick friend.
  • Neighbors offer a place to stay when another neighbor loses her home.
  • Relatives rear a child when its parents die.

Look for opportunities to care for a hurting world.

  • Show love in all you do.
  • Help the hopeless see light at the end of the tunnel.
  • Give financial help to people going through hard times.
  • Show respect to everyone, whether you agree with them or not.
  • Treat people the way you want to be treated.
  • Don’t get mad as a wet hen when you don’t get your way.
  • Ask God to guide you in all you do and say.

“[God] will cover you with His feathers;
you will take refuge under His wings.
His faithfulness will be a protective shield” (Psalm 91:4 HCSB).

Thanks to Carole Fite for the suggestion and to Pam Barnes Harlow for the photo.

Do you have an expression you want explained? If so, please comment below.

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

Wait for the Next Shoe to Drop

Wait for the Next Shoe to Drop

Comments 3 comments

Wait for the Next Shoe to Drop--shoe hanging beside bedWhen we sleep in a room with thin walls, we don’t want noisy neighbors. If those neighbors live in the room above us, we often wait for the next shoe to drop.

To wait for the next shoe to drop means to wait for the next event to happen.

A noisy neighbor drops one shoe. We know the next shoe will soon follow.

Because of what has already happened, we predict what will happen next.

This expression usually means we wait for something bad to happen.

We receive bad news. We expect worse news soon.

  • A family member gets sick. We fear our loved one will die.
  • Our boss fires other workers. We expect to lose our job soon.
  • A rainstorm damages our property. We dread flooding that may follow.

What do we do when the next shoe drops?

Hard times may cause us to:

The reaction we choose changes our lives. It also changes the lives of others around us.

“Stop being afraid of what you are about to suffer … Remain faithful even when facing death and I will give you the crown of life—an unending, glorious future” (Revelation 2:10).

Thanks to Ann Klotz for the suggestion.

Do you have an expression you want explained? If so, please comment below.

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

A Little Better than Plumb

A Little Better than Plumb

Comments 5 comments

A Little Better than Plumb--Henry and Janice Holt Giles cabinIf anything is plumb, it is perfectly straight.

It is exact. Therefore, a little better than plumb is not really better. Instead, it is:

  • Off plumb
  • Out of plumb
  • Not straight

Kentucky authors Henry and Janice Holt Giles wrote about building their cabin in the book A Little Better than Plumb: The Biography of a House.

One worker asked another if what they just nailed was plumb. The reply: “Sure was. Fact is … hit was jist a little bit better’n plumb ….” The Giles’ discovered that several parts of their cabin were a little better than plumb.

Read more about the Giles family and their cabin in the September 2019 Kentucky Monthly magazine.

A Little Better than Plumb -- plumb lineA plumb line helps measure whether anything is straight or plumb.

A metal weight (plumb bob) at the end of a line holds the line straight. It may be low tech, but it works.

Our lives often get off plumb or out of plumb.

We leave the straight and narrow and end up in hot water. Yet, God offers us a fresh start.

If we accept that fresh start, God expects us, like plumb lines, to show others the perfect way.

“I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line” (Isaiah 28:17 NIV).

Thanks to Jeri Stone for the suggestion and to Iva and Jewel Wade for the plumb line photo.

Do you have an expression you want explained? If so, please comment below.

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

What Goes Down in the Well Comes Up in the Bucket

What Goes Down in the Well Comes Up in the Bucket

Comments 11 comments

What Goes Down in the Well Comes Up in the Bucket --well with bucketAs a little girl, I loved to visit relatives who had a well with a bucket. The bucket was tied to the end of a rope. To get water, we had to:

  • Lower the bucket into the well
  • Listen for the bucket to go under the water
  • Turn the crank on the side of the well to bring up the bucket of water

I learned what goes down in the well comes up in the bucket.

  • Throw toys in the well; toys come up.
  • Dump garbage in the well; garbage comes up.
  • Spill food in the well; food comes up.

The same holds true for our lives.

What we pour into our lives comes out in how we live.

  • Feed our minds and hearts good thoughts; good behavior follows.
  • Dump trash into our brains; we treat ourselves and others like trash.
  • Fill our lives with truth; we live that truth.

Our actions show what we believe.

  • If we believe in respect, we show respect.
  • When we love others, we show love.
  • If we have faith in God, we demonstrate that faith.

Let’s get our lives right before we kick the bucket. Let’s make our good deeds more than a drop in the bucket.

“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life’” (John 4:13-14 NIV).

Thanks to Dr. Dwayne Norman, pastor of Campbellsville Baptist Church, for the suggestion. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

Do you have an expression you want explained or a thought about this one? If so, please comment below.

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.