7 Common Sayings That Don’t Mean What You Think They Do

You see, language changes over time. In the course of history, sometimes sayings get shortened and mentions are misquoted. So the phrase we know and love some 200 plus years later… well— it’s a shell of what it used to be. Or, in other cases, clever additions to the original phrases were added over time. The thing about secondhand sayings is it’s hard to track down the source, but here are 7 quotes that have lesser-known versions you might not have ever heard before.

The extended phrase: “Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.”

The original phrase warns against diving too deep into a needless investigation, but the later amendment, first recorded in American newspapers sometime in the early 1900’s, plays on the trope of cats’ nine lives to change the meaning: There’s pleasure in finding out something you really want to know.

The extended phrase: “Great minds think alike, though fools seldom differ.”

When two friends have the same idea, one (or both) of them is likely to pipe up with the common version of the phrase. Next time, you can retort with this extended version — the etymology of which is mostly unknown — to put them back into their place: It’s foolish people, not great minds, that are more likely to have the same banal thoughts all the time.

The extended phrase: “The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.”

People commonly use the shorter version of this phrase to suggest that familial relationships take priority over friendships or other non-blood-related bonds. But some scholars believe that’s not exactly what it would have meant when and where it was used throughout history, instead offering the longer phrase as a more literal translation — one that directly contradicts the common meaning. A chosen blood covenant provides a stronger bond than any family.

The extended phrase: “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.”

This saying — both the full, original quote and the shortened common version — originate from a bible text that warns against greed. Reading the full version of the quote doesn’t completely change the meaning of the one we all know best, but it might shift your perception of it a bit: Having money isn’t a problem, it’s wanting money that’s sinful.

The extended phrase: “Jack of all trades, master of none, though oftentimes better than master of one.”

This saying has been through a lot. It began as simply, “jack of all trades,” a mostly flattering term for a generalist who has honed many skills. Later, “master of none” was added on to change the phrase to something slightly derogatory, suggesting that the jack of all trades doesn’t know much at all. The shady two-part phrase is what most know and use today, but at some point, it was amended again to check the haters. The full phrase says something like, “I know a little about a lot of things, and that’s better than having a limited skillset any day.”

The extended phrase: “If you starve a cold, you’ll have to feed a fever.”

Back before WebMD, we had to rely on passed-down, easily-remembered medical advice to treat illness at home. The short version of this saying suggests that fasting is the right way to treat a cold, but a few sources suggest that the doctor who put this saying out into the world was originally misquoted. What he meant was this: If you fast during a cold, you’ll be sick even longer, so eat!

The extended phrase: “My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong to be set right.”

This one is a direct quote by Carl Schurz, an American Senator, in 1872. The shorter, more common, saying is often used to pledge unwavering support for one’s country, regardless of politics. But his full quote takes on a different sentiment, certainly lighter on the moral blindness: This is my country, and I have a duty to steer it in the right direction.