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xvarnah
· 5 years ago
· FIRST
I don't think "the second mouse gets the cheese" is part of the original saying tbh
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guest_
· 5 years ago
Lol. In some of these cases endings were added after the fact. Other variants include “but the early cat gets the bird” and so forth.
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guest_
· 5 years ago
“Curiosity killed the cat” for another example. The phrase originally had no second half. It didn’t need it. The saying was “care killed the cat.” Cats aren’t know to be very curious as a breed. They like to know their surroundings because it makes them feel safer. They are nervous creatures- often high strung and jumpy. In older use “care” mean more akin to the modern “worry” or “anxiety.” So the saying was that anxiety and worry killed the cat. The meaning of “care” and “curiosity” have somewhat shifted over the years. So when the saying became “curiosity killed the cat...” and “curiosity” took a different note- the latter part was added so the saying made some sense as a moral again.
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guest_
· 5 years ago
“Blood is thicker than water” is the “blood” of battle. It speaks to military units of old- that the soldiers besides them would bleed with them and for them, a stronger bond than that of just the water of the same womb- the question basically being: the guy next to you will die for you. Would your actual brother/sister/cousin? So the overall message is the same but this explanation is slightly off.
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guest_
· 5 years ago
“The early bird” saying stands as a moral itself- it has a plain and common sense meaning: traditionally it was best to be the first. First in line for that product will get it before it runs out unlike the person late. First to take the job shows initiative and was a way to advance etc. but with social changes and the like the morality in some of these doesn’t apply. In 2019 you may not want to be the first to launch a product or try something risky. You might want to watch the other guy and see where the failure points are so you can be second but better etc. so one way to gauge what was added later was to compare traditional morals, values, and social mechanisms to those of later periods. When the two contrast it usually means the second part was added later to align with the times- much the same as the idea of “curiosity” being a bad thing was a product of a time when social values considered such things rude or hazardous and you were expected to do and not question.
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xvarnah
· 5 years ago
Now we're learnin things
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