When Push Shoves

It has been one hard day. I'm alone in a hotel room. I am tired. I am writing to decompress. So what will I write about tonight? I think I will tell you some of my favorite sayings. I like colloquialisms. I like to look up the origin. What made someone, somewhere, at sometime say these words.

The first one is a Biblical reference. It comes from the Book of Matthew, chapter 7, verse 4. To sum it up, don't be taking splinters out of another's eye when you have a board sticking out of your own. I use this to help me remember that it is so easy to find fault in other people when I need to clean up my own act. Perfect at this, I am not (Sorry, Yoda took over there for a minute).

The second saying is one that I shorten all the time. You may hear me say "Pots and Kettles". The saying is "That's like the pot calling the kettle black." One website says that they origin of this saying is the 1600's and refers to hypocrisy. One person saying that another is something, usually not a nice something, when they are the same. An example is when someone points out that a co-worker is always late for work when they are late everyday too. "Pots and kettles."

The last one I heard on my guilty pleasure, "Supernatural". On an episode one brother says to the other "When push shoves, you will do the right thing." Love it. This saying is "When push comes to shove,...". The best I can find is this is an American idiom and first came about in the 1950's. Basically it means when things come to a certain point, a decision or action will occur. I hadn't used this before, but I really like it. I think I will add it to my repertoire.

Anyway, these are a few of the things I find interesting and it has kept me occupied for a few minutes. Take a few minutes to think about the words or saying you use each day. Why do you use them? Where did you first hear them? Where do they come from? It can be an exercise in self-discovery. Maybe I will share some more later.