"Is" Cliches

Guess the first part of these cliches.

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Last updated: June 17, 2015

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First submitted	May 21, 2013
Times taken	55,859
Average score	63.6%
Rating	4.35

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First Part	Second Part
the grass	is always greener on the other side
the pen	is mightier than the sword
hindsight	is 20/20
time	is money
beauty	is only skin deep
a bird in the hand	is worth two in the bush
laughter	is the best medicine
blood	is thicker than water
a mind	is a terrible thing to waste
the love of money	is the root of all evil
necessity	is the mother of invention

First Part	Second Part
variety	is the spice of life
truth	is stranger than fiction
home	is where the heart is
ignorance	is bliss
life	is like a box of chocolates
talk	is cheap
cleanliness	is next to Godliness
the devil	is in the details
imitation	is the sincerest form of flattery
a penny saved	is a penny earned
the road to hell	is paved with good intentions

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56 Comments

+11

Level 65

Feb 6, 2014

Can mimicry be accepted for imitation?

Level 46

Mar 13, 2015

Surprised not to find this discussion already -- I would classify these most generally as proverbs, adages or sayings. The term "cliche" is largely subjective but means the phrase has been so over-used as to be trite or nearly meaningless. Many of the "is" sayings in this list contain some wisdom and are useful at times, in my opinion. Here is an "is" cliche I wouldn't mind to be stricken from language: "it is what it is". Final observation, "cliches should be avoided like the plague"!

Level 69

Dec 17, 2021

But "cliché" more commonly means a phrase that is overused, trite, and suggests a lack of original thought - see e.g. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/cliche.

Whilst some of the phrases in this quiz do contain some wisdom, nearly all of them are clichés. A good writer will almost never use them.

Level 56

Jun 16, 2015

"Imitation." "A penny saved." "THE ROAD TO HELL." That certainly escalated in epic intensity.

Level 75

Jun 16, 2015

I've always known it as "God is in the details" which, as far as I know, is where "the devil is in the details" originates from. Any chance of you accepting this?

Level 76

Jun 16, 2015

Easiest quiz I've taken. 100%

Level 71

Jun 16, 2015

100%.

Level 20

Feb 29, 2016

where i'm from we have always said "rearview is 20/20" but we're just awkward MidWesterners

Level 64

May 7, 2023

You are not. Every place has generational and cultural richness. I'd treasure having a bit of that left, if I were you. The wars of the 20th century and the rise of mass electronic communication decimated native language, culture and custom. Laws have replaced trust, and chains have wiped out city character and strength.

I have lots of examples of how it sux where I am, but the worst was being 7 months pregnant, stuck on the office elevator, and having the emergency call go to a hag who wouldn't help because her firm sold the property.

It's not all that horrible, but I don't belong here.

Happily, after years of working customer service for the Midwest, I finally got to visit friends in some of the ignorantly labeled fly-over states.

Lost and found a cat by the Mississippi (he was truck-sick), could borrow a ladder to get into an apartment I locked myself out of, experienced the wonder of a fridge filled with beer and cheese, avoided lutefisk.

Regretting that last one now.

Level 46

Mar 25, 2016

I've used Mockery before

Level 68

May 12, 2016

Isn't "a mind is a terrible thing to waste" just the tagline from a United Negro College Fund commercial and not an actual adage as such?

Level 75

Jun 13, 2016

I agree. And "life is like a box of chocolates" is from Forrest Gump.

Level 81

Oct 19, 2016

I think the primary reason I remember "A mind is a terrible thing to waste" is because of the time George W Bush misquoted it as "To lose one's mind is a terrible thing.".

Level 70

Oct 19, 2016

What George said sounds right to me.

Level 74

Oct 19, 2016

My favorite version is, "A waist is a terrible thing to mind."

Level 36

May 2, 2017

Former President Bush was probably confused because he might have been junk punker who was constantly bombarded by idiots who wanted to change all of the adages to suit themselves instead of making an attempt to remember them as learnt.

Level 90

Jul 17, 2018

I agree.

Level 81

Nov 5, 2017

Are you thinking of Dan Quayle?

Level 36

Apr 20, 2018

^ Ha, Ha! Actually, I think Quayle's faux pas actually helped many, who then learned to spell "potato" correctly!

Level 81

Apr 10, 2019

I'm not kidding. This was the quote from Quayle, speaking to the United Negro College Fund and mangling their slogan "a mind is a terrible thing to waste":

"When you take the UNCF model that, what a waste it is to lose one's mind, or not to have a mind is being very wasteful, how true that is."

Anyway that was Quayle, not Bush. I think it was also the title to a book of Quayle quotations we once had. "What a Waste it is to Lose One's Mind"

Level 85

Jun 9, 2017

Cleanliness is not next to Godliness. "Goggles" is next to Godliness. I looked it up. :-P

Level 62

Aug 23, 2017

How about "the proof is in the pudding"?

Level 70

Oct 15, 2017

should be 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating'

Level 54

Dec 17, 2021

Clever!

Level 69

Jan 7, 2018

Interesting- ‘a mind is a terrible thing to waste’ doesn’t seem to have made it across the pond over the last 45 years. Or maybe just not to me. Can see why it has permeated into US culture

Level 48

Oct 7, 2018

can we have Macgyver is the mother of invention??

Level 82

Jan 21, 2021

Surely he is the Godfather of all invention.

Level 72

Dec 16, 2018

knew all but hindsight, but for some i didnt know the exact word.

(like I tried a penny wellspend)

Level 77

Apr 10, 2019

These aren't clichés.

Level 60

Apr 10, 2019

I'm Dutch, so I don't know a lot of these cliches, but some are the same in Dutch or gives me an Aha-Ergebnis.

Level 45

Apr 10, 2019

Felt like I could hear my grandma saying all of these as I was typing haha XD Great quiz!

Level 67

Nov 13, 2019

Avarice/Greed for, "the root of all evil"?

Level 45

Mar 21, 2020

I’ve always heard “The road to ruin” is paved with good intentions, anyone else?

Level 72

Dec 17, 2021

I came to the comments to see if I was the only one who grew up hearing "road to ruin." Glad to know someone else got thrown by that.

Level 51

Mar 21, 2020

"Greed is the root of all evil."

The quiz is wrong.

Level 48

Aug 31, 2020

I've always heard it as ""mockery" is the sincerest form of flattery" perhaps if others have heard it as well it can be included?

Level 68

Nov 3, 2020

I've only ever heard mimicry or imitation... But I've never heard mockery. But maybe someone else has heard that :)

Level 68

Nov 3, 2020

Could you also accept "Fact" for "Truth" ? I've heard both used lol

Level 79

Dec 16, 2021

Agree with this. I've only ever heard 'fact is stranger than fiction'.

Level 57

Dec 17, 2021

ditto

Level 56

Oct 27, 2021

Many of these are really dumb and should definitely be used more.

Level 66

Dec 17, 2021

Please accept all my answers :D

Level 77

Dec 17, 2021

could you accept 'one bird in the hand'?

Level 65

Dec 17, 2021

The often misquoted "Money is the root of all evil" comes from the Bible verse, 1 Timothy 6:10. The actual quote from that verse is "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil..." The misquoted cliche implies that all evil comes from money, which of course isn't true. This often leads many Christians into the false belief that it is wrong for them to have money. As the verse says, it is the "Love" of money, not money itself that is the problem. I believe the clue here is still appropriate for this quiz since that is how the cliche is known to most.

Level 56

Dec 18, 2021

I was waiting for someone to point this one out. So misconstrued.

Level 43

Dec 17, 2021

Instead of imitation I tried "copying" and "mimicry". Can you include at least one of these?

Level 48

Dec 22, 2021

I tried mimicry as that's how I've always heard it.

Level 72

Dec 17, 2021

Better versions of many of these are available in Tom Weller's Minims.

Level 60

Dec 18, 2021

Home isn’t where the heart is… it’s where all the creepers explode 🤣

Level 68

Dec 19, 2021

I tried highway to hell.

Level 85

Feb 25, 2022

I tried “path to hell”

Level 39

Apr 11, 2022

I've always heard that mockery is the sincerest form of flattery.

Level 68

Sep 30, 2023

Not the most original quiz. Oh well, it is what it is.

Level 68

Sep 30, 2023

Jk, it was fun!

Level 69

Jan 30, 2024

I always thought it was "God is in the details"? Any chance of that being accepted?

Level 80

Apr 3, 2024

Fun quiz! If you feel like, check out my quiz about common expressions frequently misquoted:

https://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/1904179/commonly-misquoted-aphorisms

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