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AIBU?

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Original poster

Phrases that hit the nail on the head

287 replies

Arlanymor · 14/11/2025 15:52

Having looked at the thread about phrases/words/terms that people hate - what about the ones that just feel spot on?

I heard this earlier today in relation to the modern obsession with celebrities doing crazy things for clout to keep themselves 'relevant' and in the spotlight...

"The attention economy".

Yes! Spot on! Great term for those who monetise meaningless content for maximum exposure on social media - behaviour that pays dividends in the attention economy.

OP posts:
BadgernTheGarden · 14/11/2025 20:40

We're diverting a bit but 'he who eats most pudding gets most meat', but having eaten a lot of Yorkshire pudding you are not likely to want to eat a lot of the meat!

Breadandbutta · 14/11/2025 20:38

Mumsnet classic... Not my circus, not my monkeys

💁

ainsleysanob · 14/11/2025 20:35

All fart, no faeces.

Original poster
Arlanymor · 14/11/2025 20:27

IsItTheBlackOneOrTheRedOne · 14/11/2025 20:25

League of Gentlemen. “In this house…”

Show quote history

THAT'S IT! Thank you!!

OP posts:
ChubbyPuffling · 14/11/2025 20:27

Don't let worry about tomorrow take the joy from today.

HisNibs · 14/11/2025 20:25

"He can lift a ton but can't spell it".
To describe a strong, big-built man who isn't too bright.

IsItTheBlackOneOrTheRedOne · 14/11/2025 20:25

Arlanymor · 14/11/2025 18:43

I am trying to remember where I first heard it and it stuck - maybe Blackadder or something similar?!

Show quote history

League of Gentlemen. “In this house…”

skkyelark · 14/11/2025 20:24

'You shall know a man by the company he keeps', or, when feeling a bit more blunt, 'lie down with dogs, get up with fleas.'

'The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.'

AllJoyAndNoFun · 14/11/2025 20:24

There’s only 10 inches between a halo and a noose

( variation on “no good deed goes unpunished”

IsItTheBlackOneOrTheRedOne · 14/11/2025 20:22

(To describe a temper tantrum) “He went off like a frog in a sock”

Original poster
Arlanymor · 14/11/2025 20:20

BlueEyedBogWitch · 14/11/2025 20:05

Grief is the price we pay for love.

And grief is just love with nowhere to go.

OP posts:
BadgernTheGarden · 14/11/2025 20:20

No dog in the game.

OhIUsedToBeDisgusted · 14/11/2025 20:19

Two Irish phrases I’ve only seen online

He has a great welcome for himself
He makes great allowance for himself

A Polish saying, apparently – ‘Not my circus, not my monkeys’

A Turkish saying, apparently – reminds me of Trump – ‘When the clown enters the palace, the clown does not become a king, the palace becomes a circus’

An American saying that also reminds me of Trump – ‘He couldn’t pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were on the heel.’

Original poster
Arlanymor · 14/11/2025 20:19

Feetfingers · 14/11/2025 20:15

It was in The Big Lebowski - the spoiling of the rug

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I've never seen that though. But thanks for suggesting!

OP posts:
OttersMayHaveShifted · 14/11/2025 20:18

Not my circus, not my monkeys!
Like herding cats.
Like trying to nail jelly to the ceiling.
He doesn't know if it's Christmas or Tuesday.

BadgernTheGarden · 14/11/2025 20:16

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 14/11/2025 16:51

One I heard just the other day - ‘Built like a brick shithouse.’ And he was!

I use this often!

Feetfingers · 14/11/2025 20:15

Arlanymor · 14/11/2025 18:43

I am trying to remember where I first heard it and it stuck - maybe Blackadder or something similar?!

Show quote history

It was in The Big Lebowski - the spoiling of the rug

PostIndustrialSandwich · 14/11/2025 20:14

Youth is wasted on the young

Moggies3 · 14/11/2025 20:13

YetiRosetti · 14/11/2025 19:33

Yeah this one - listen to what someone is saying, and not who is saying it.

Shit or get off the pot.

i can’t stand ditherers, especially when it’s commitment phobic men!

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I love shit or get off the pot 🤣

RetainersinSpainnotontheplane · 14/11/2025 20:12

My very favourite which I learned from my Grandad “Get off the cross we need the wood”

I use it surprisingly often.

Moggies3 · 14/11/2025 20:11

Never a borrower or a lender be

They're feathering their own nest

HisNibs · 14/11/2025 20:10

I also like "you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar"

It is easier to get what you want from people if you are polite and kind ("honey") rather than rude or unpleasant ("vinegar"). Something my MIL could do with learning.

Iseeadarkness · 14/11/2025 20:05

Newname71 · 14/11/2025 18:02

One from celebrity traitors… Don’t piss in my ear and tell me it’s raining! 😂

Edited

I like "don't piss on my chips and tell me its vinegar".

Also, referring to people as good sticks or bad sticks depending on whether you liked them or not. "He's a right bad stick" was about as character damning as you can get in my family.

"there he was, depriving some village of an idiot".

"so tight, he would peel an orange in his pocket".

"so tight, if he found a plaster, he'd cut himself"

"enough cheek for a spare arse"

BlueEyedBogWitch · 14/11/2025 20:05

Grief is the price we pay for love.

HisNibs · 14/11/2025 20:03

RatsAss · 14/11/2025 19:59

My granny used to say “she couldn’t find her arse with both hands” to describe an idiot.

Similar to the one my grandma used to use... "doesn't know their arse from their elbow" 😁