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something bad to you, trying to get revenge will only make things worse.
with ideas and words is more effective than trying to force people to do what
you want.
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"The squeaky wheel gets the grease."You can get better service if
around you are acting. This phrase might come in handy when you're traveling
abroad notice that people do things differently than you're used to.
you complain about something. If you wait patiently, no one's going to help
you.
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"When the going gets tough, the tough get going."Strong people
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don't give up when they come across challenges. They just work harder.
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want are more successful than people who try to live safely.
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"Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst."Bad things might
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happen, so be prepared.
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By Mr Chiak
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"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."If you have an
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enemy, pretend to be friends with them instead of openly fighting with them.
That way you can watch them carefully and figure out what they're planning.
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"The early bird catches the worm."You should wake up and start
know when to give up and run away, instead of always acting brave and
maybe getting hurt.
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"Never look a gift horse in the mouth."If someone offers you a gift,
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you try to do something great, you'll probably make a few people annoyed or
angry. Don't worry about those people; just focus on the good results.
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"God helps those who help themselves."Don't just wait for good
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"You can't always get what you want."Don't whine and complain if
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"A watched pot never boils."If something takes time to finish, don't
watch it too closely because it will seem like it's taking forever.
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"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."Don't try to improve something that
already works fairly well. You'll probably end up causing new problems.
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"Too many cooks spoil the broth."When there are too many people
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trying to lead and give their opinions, it's confusing and leads to bad results.
Jobs and projects should have one or two strong leaders.
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"Easy come, easy go."When you get money quickly, like by winning
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"Don't bite the hand that feeds you."If someone's paying you or
helping you out, you have to be careful not to make them angry or say bad
things about them.
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"All good things must come to an end."You can't keep having good
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"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."When you try to change someone's
behavior and it doesn't work, you might have to change instead. For example,
if you're trying to get your classmates to focus on studying but they want to
party, maybe you should just party with them.
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different than they really are. A restaurant that looks old and small might have
amazing food, for example.
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"Don't put all your eggs in one basket."Have a backup plan. Don't
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"Two heads are better than one."When two people cooperate with
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"The grass is always greener on the other side of the
hill."People tend to want whatever they don't have.
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away from your partner, because it makes you want to see each other again.
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"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."If
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you try to help someone, but they don't take your advice or offers, give up.
You can't force someone to accept your help.
not work out, so don't start thinking about what you'll do after you succeed.
By Mr Chiak
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Wait until you've already succeeded, and then you can think about what to do
next.
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"If you want something done right, you have to do it
yourself."Don't trust other people to do important things for you. You have to
do things yourself to control the quality of the results.
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working, it shows one specific time but doesn't move. So once in the day and
once at night, the clock is pointing to the correct time. In the same way, even a
person who's not very smart can sometimes be correct by accident.
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when a person knows a little bit about something, they feel like they're an
expert. Because they feel like an expert, they try to do things that they
shouldn't and they mess everything up.
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"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single
step."Some things, like learning to speak English fluently, take a really long
time. It might seem like too much work. But the only way to achieve your
goals is to start working now.
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"All is fair in love and war."In love and romance, you sometimes
do things that aren't very nice. For example, you might break up with someone
or steal another person's partner. This phrase means that that's OK.
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"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."You can't work
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like it's not necessary. The consequences if something goes wrong are much
worse than wasting a little time and effort by being careful.
By Mr Chiak
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"Better the devil you know than the one you don't."When
you have a choice between two bad things, it's safer to pick the bad thing that
you've already experienced. The other bad thing might be worse.
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"Don't judge a man until you have walked a mile in his
shoes."Sometimes people criticize each other. But it's not fair to criticize
someone else if you haven't had the same experiences.
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most important. Don't let things which aren't as important take up all of your
time and attention.
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"Don't talk the talk if you can't walk the walk."You shouldn't
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"Don't throw out the baby with the bath water."When you're
trying to get rid of something bad, you might accidentally get rid of the good
things that are connected with it as well. Don't do that.
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"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy,
wealthy and wise."This is a quotation from the famous American inventor
and diplomat Benjamin Franklin. It means it's healthy and smart to go to sleep
early and wake up early.
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to you, don't get too upset. There's usually something good associated with
any bad experience. For example, if you get fired from your job, it might push
you to get a better job instead.
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"Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man how to
fish, he eats for a lifetime."Don't try to help people by just giving them
things. The result will be temporary. If you want to help someone long-term,
teach them how to do things on their own.
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"Great minds think alike."Smart people often have the same ideas.
Say this when someone has the same smart idea that you have.
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make mistakes. That can waste time, money, or materials. So slow down.
By Mr Chiak
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the past, but making correct decisions is harder in the moment. This phrase
means that you shouldn't judge someone's past decisions based on the
information you know now.
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lot of time wishing for things. Wishes are useless. Instead of wishing, you
should work hard to achieve your goals.
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"If you snooze, you lose."You have to act quickly to get the things
you want.
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"If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything
at all."Don't say mean things about other people.
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"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the
problem."Don't just complain about problems that you see. Do something to
solve the problems.
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lose money, etc., don't get too upset about it. It's already happened, so getting
upset isn't useful.
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"It's not over 'till the fat lady sings."Say this in a competition or
game. When other people think that the result has already been decided, but
you're not ready to admit that it's finished, use this phrase.
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By Mr Chiak
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"Never put off till (until) tomorrow what you can do
today."Don't be lazy. If you have some work that you need to do, do it now.
Don't wait to do it later.
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"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts
absolutely."When people get power, they always do mean, dishonest things.
We shouldn't allow anyone to have too much power.
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time. Be patient.
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"Slow and steady wins the race."You shouldn't use all of your
energy at the beginning of a project. Work slowly so that you won't run out of
energy quickly.
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"Still waters run deep."People who don't talk a lot sometimes have
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"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."Children are very
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"The best way to a man's heart is through his
stomach."Men love women who can cook well.
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about a business, it's good for the business, even if they're saying bad things
about it.
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By Mr Chiak
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want to be alone with someone (often because you are romantically interested
in them) but someone else is also with you. In other words, you want the third
person to go away.
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other people, bad things will happen to you. On the other hand, good things
will happen to you if you do good things to other people.
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increase forever. Everything that grows or rises will shrink or fall eventually.
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"What's good for the goose is good for the gander."A goose
is a type of bird. A gander is the male version of that bird. So this phrase
means that things which are good for women are also good for men, and vice
versa.
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"You can catch more flies with honey than with
vinegar."To get what you want, be nice to people. Don't yell at them or be
mean.
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"You can't have your cake and eat it too."This means that you
can't have everything you want. There are trade-offs in life. You may also hear
people say that you can have your cake and eat it too.
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you do good things, good things happen to you. When you do bad things, bad
things happen to you.
By Mr Chiak
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