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Cliche Quotes Quiz #2

Guess the missing words in these famous cliches.
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Last updated: June 8, 2015
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First submittedJanuary 18, 2012
Times taken45,348
Average score70.8%
Rating4.43
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Quote
A fool and his money are soon parted
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree
Close only counts in horseshoes and
hand grenades
Curiosity killed the cat
Time heals all wounds
Every cloud has a silver lining
Idle hands are the devil's playthings
Great minds think alike
The squeaky wheel gets the grease
Rome wasn't built in a day
Variety is the spice of life
Familiarity breeds contempt
It's easier to ask for forgiveness than it
is to get permission
What doesn't kill us makes us stronger
The pen is mightier than the sword
Nature abhors a vacuum
Hindsight is 20/20
A picture is worth a thousand words
Better safe than sorry
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
Nice guys finish last
The grass is always greener on the other side
People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones
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34 Comments
geoquizpro
+1
Level 58
Jan 18, 2012
nice guys finish last isn't a cliché it's true
kalbahamut
+13
Level 79
Feb 10, 2019
Being a cliche doesn't mean something isn't true.

Also, learn how to stick up for yourself, go after things you want, have some confidence, think positively, and interact productively with other people and you can do fine without having to be a jerk.

GlaucusExquisita
+4
Level 78
Aug 21, 2022
Based kalba take
tschutzer
+3
Level 93
Jan 18, 2012
One of my favorite things to say when a friend comes up with the same thing I'm thinking of: "Great minds think alike... and so do ours."
QuizWol
+5
Level 66
Jul 15, 2019
the following is what I learned "Great minds think alike. Fools seldom differ."
theLAYTshow
+1
Level 41
Jan 18, 2012
Thankyou Green Day for 'horseshoes and hand grenades'... and i suppose 'nice guys finish last'
TheWombat
+2
Level 72
Oct 10, 2013
I've never heard that one before, I guessed it. Well, I say "guessed", I mean "googled"....
JackBeNimble
+3
Level 82
Dec 1, 2021
I think you mean "cheated."
delky06
+1
Level 27
Jan 19, 2012
100% with :41 remaining. Totally spaced on nature, lol
mal
+1
Level 64
Jan 20, 2012
As for great minds think alike- for some reason my sister always says, and fools never differ. I can't imagine to what she refers!!
BlendedCow
+1
Level 43
Jan 29, 2012
2:18 left 100%
arirose94
+2
Level 30
Aug 7, 2012
I always heard mockery is the sincerest form of flattery.....
Charliezard
+1
Level 67
Feb 16, 2022
I always heard "mimicry."
Nytebreid
+1
Level 36
Feb 15, 2013
The quote, "An idle brain is the devil's workshop," comes from H.G. Bohn's "Handbook of Proverbs", published in 1855. Often, the word "brain" is substituted by the word "mind" and "workshop" is sometimes changed to "playground" in the modern daily use of the expression.
MidnightCentury574
+1
Level 32
Mar 23, 2014
can you accept "change" as the spice of life - i've always heard it that way
akwildrose
+1
Level 50
Jul 31, 2015
Ah, yes. I believe that's what I've heard before, too.
ander217
+4
Level 73
Jul 16, 2014
I prefer the quote from Steel Magnolias, "An ounce of pretension is worth a pound of manure."
Spam286
+1
Level 49
Sep 1, 2014
The only one I didn't get was horseshoes and hand grenades, but I don't feel so bad because I like it, and shall endeavour to use it in my life.
beccimoo
+3
Level 55
Jul 19, 2015
Never heard of the horseshoes and grenades quote.
stone222
+1
Level 47
Oct 6, 2018
me neither.. what do horse's footwear and grenades have in common?
InterAlia
+1
Level 83
Jun 3, 2025
As Ferbin says, this refers to the game of "horseshoes" wherein you toss horseshoes at a stake in the ground. Those that land within 6 inches are scored - i.e. close counts.

Hand grenades are self-explanatory, I hope.

Instrumental
+2
Level 70
Aug 30, 2015
Glad to see Nature Abhors a Vacuum as the least guessed. Never heard of it.
DiscoBayGolfer
+1
Level 80
Aug 30, 2015
That's the only one I didn't get either, but after seeing it, I know I've heard of it, just never heard it actually used.
celebeth
+2
Level 72
Aug 30, 2015
My daughter's favorite variation: what doesn't kill us makes us stranger!
kalbahamut
+2
Level 79
Feb 10, 2019
That was Heath Ledger's Joker intentionally misquoting Nietzsche.
EcceHomo
+2
Level 86
Nov 8, 2021
Indeed: Nietzsche wrote “Aus der Kriegsschule des Lebens.—Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich stärker,” which can be translated as “Out of life’s school of war—what doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger.” It appears in his book of aphorisms, Twilight of the Idols, and no further explanation follows.

Nietzsche expands on the idea in his autobiography Ecce Homo. (yep!)

In it he writes about certain individuals as “nature’s lucky strokes…among men,” and says about these people, “They divine remedies for injuries; they knows how to turn serious accidents to their own advantage; that which does not kill them makes them stronger.”

Qikiq
+1
Level 89
Nov 5, 2015
Or as I say every week in the gym, what doesn't kill you makes you smaller.
ander217
+2
Level 73
Feb 10, 2019
I'm showing my age, but I liked the Erma Bombeck version, "The grass is always greener over the septic tank."
MayaB
+2
Level 73
Mar 6, 2020
In the same train of thought: the grass is always greener on the other side, because it's fertilized with bulls**t.
Mjlr3802
+1
Level 81
Sep 3, 2020
Can you accept "mockery" for "imitation"?
BlackLab
+1
Level 66
Dec 9, 2021
Please accept all my answers.
GlassMonkeyOLD
+1
Level 69
Feb 2, 2024
Early worm gets the worm.
InterAlia
+1
Level 83
Jun 3, 2025
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness."

Taking that one out of its full context waters it down.

RobNobody
+1
Level 80
Aug 17, 2025
That's not its full context, it's two similar but separate sayings that have been remixed and mashed together over the years. "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" dates from at least 1820, with versions (e.g., "Imitation is a kind of artless flattery") dating back to at least the early 1700s.

"Plagiarism is the homage that mediocrity pays to genius" dates to 1842, with "Imitation is the homage which mediocrity pays to superiority" following close behind in 1851.

Versions of both are used numerous times over the next couple of decades, with a version combining the two ("Imitation is the highest compliment mediocrity pays to genius") showing up in 1874. Various permutations using satire, caricaturing, ridicule, etc., and tribute, homage, flattery, etc. show up many times over the years, with the form you quoted first appearing in 1999 (falsely attributed to Oscar Wilde.) [Source]

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