Readers reply: Travel broadens the mind – what other sayings are patently false, or not always true?

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts

From what I can see, travelling in many cases has zero effect on a person’s outlook and prejudices. If that were not so, then high-flying politicians of all stripes would be among the most broad-minded people on the planet as they constantly jet from city to city. I can think of several proverbs that are extremely true, or at least seem so, such as “A stitch in time saves nine”, or “Many a mickle makes a muckle”, which it patently does – or especially the universally true, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”. But what other proverbs or quotes or apparently clever soundbites are untrue, for at least some of the time? “Fine words butter no parsnips”? And how do questionable assertions become sayings in the first place? Neil Ashby, Powys

Send new questions to nq@theguardian.com.

Readers reply

“Everything happens for a reason.” Everything happens, full stop. We as humans then try to apply a reason in a post-hoc rationalisation in order to feel better about the event itself. Sagarmatha1953

This “travel broadens the mind” thing has been knocking around since long before time immemorial (6 July 1189), but I’m pretty sure for Seneca, among others, “travel” meant pottering about with great effort, getting to know other peoples, their ways of speech, habits, and foibles, the topography and peculiarities of where they lived. The end result being, after several decades, they were considered to be quite wise (and source of hilarious anecdotes for one’s friends).

What “travel” didn’t mean was turning up all over the place, wasting scarce resources for no better reason than being able to say “and we saw”, making a bloody nuisance of oneself for a couple of days, getting in people’s way, being generally useless and helpless, so that whole sections of the affected society have to be employed in pampering, dressing up like an absolute doughnut, and then after all that having the gall to call oneself a “a travel writer”. bricklayersoption

“Least said, soonest mended” is really untrue, as things fester when not resolved. Talking things out is to be recommended. But as a way of keeping smiling when it’s all going to pot, maybe that’s the origin of the stiff upper lip. GrasmereGardens

Surprised no one has mentioned the classic: “Laughter is the best medicine.” Not if you’ve got a chronic health condition … FrankieandDexy

“I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“Neither do I.”
“Spooky.” JZZS

“Lies, damned lies and statistics.” Statistics can absolutely be used in a misleading way, but this one is wildly popular among those who make no effort to point out any actual problem with the stats being quoted, but treat it as a clever counterargument anyway. Jebedee

Stuff that doesn’t kill you is definitely not guaranteed to make you stronger. unclestinky

Absence will not necessarily make the heart grow fonder, and no news is quite often not good news. TonyTony

Absence definitely doesn’t make the heart grow fonder. It has the opposite effect. It makes you forget each other and drift apart. That’s why so many long-distance relationships fail. Achilles94627

It’s often said that many hands make light work, but I don’t see how. In my experience it’s far more likely to be a new bulb. ThereisnoOwl

“What goes around comes around.” No, it doesn’t. irreverentnurse

“Great minds think alike and fools seldom differ.” Neither half of that quote is even remotely a truism. After all, everyone would think like me if just one of them was. ForgetMeDo

“A watched pot never boils.” Demonstrably untrue. I know; I’ve watched more than one. VictoriaMeldrew

“A problem shared is a problem halved” is not always true. It’s a nice thought when it is true, but in some situations it means two of you are stressing and are both spending time on something that might not be fixable. More likely to be true with friends, but less so with colleagues. NickEM

“The exception proves the rule.” Clearly, it doesn’t, or at least not in the sense people usually mean. In this case, “proves” means “tests”, not “validates”. Alex42

“The customer is always right.” Anyone who has worked in retail or hospitality knows this is nonsense. The knowledgable will rush to point out that the full quote (purportedly from Harry Selfridge) is “The customer is always right in matters of taste”, which may be true, but also possibly not. TobermoryNightlife

“Better safe than sorry.” So, out are singing in the rain, travelling beyond your garden, leaping into a lake, drinking more than one glass of chardonnay, falling in love and eating that second piece of chocolate cake. In are wearing surgical masks to dinner parties, setting up home in a panic room, wearing a helmet at all times, eating only raw vegetables, always carrying an umbrella and never speaking to a stranger. No, thank you. Anne Geraghty