Phrases which make no sense

[WhereTheFuck]

It has just occurred to me that the phrase 'one in one out' (like when you go to a club and it's really busy) doesn't make sense. It should be 'one out one in' because you don't get to go in until someone comes out.
For some reason this is now really annoying me! Does anyone else have examples of everyday phrases that actually make no sense when you think about them?

[MrsPelligrinoPetrichor]

www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-amn1.htm
This is interesting and explains the 'aren't I?'

[Brahumbug]

Gilding the Lily is a misquote from the play King John when Salisbury derides him having a 2nd coronation.

SALISBURY:
Therefore, to be possess'd with double pomp,
To guard a title that was rich before,
To gild refined gold, to paint the lily,
To throw a perfume on the violet,

[SarahAndQuack]

@MrsPelligrinoPetrichor

So maybe innocence was thought to be cold!

It's not referring to innocence, it's describing someone so cool, calm and collected that even butter wouldn't melt in their mouths.

No, it can be innocence - but definitely, as you say, with an undertone of being very cool and unruffled. 'He said someone had been stealing from the cash drawer, but she looked as if butter wouldn't melt'. That's the sort of context you'd use it in.

[Erictheavocado]

@Babyroobs

someone just posted on my fb that their daughter was doing a dance show for the first time in 18 months and said the phrase " break a leg ". Just why ? If she breaks a leg she may not be able to dance for another 18 months. I don't understand that saying !!

Legs are the curtains at the side of the stage. If you 'break a leg', it means you get to appear on the stage - something every performer naturally wants to do. So it is a genuine wish for good luck in the theatre.

[JustJustWhy]

@ssd

I dont get 'no good deed goes unpunished '

Its like you get penalised if you are a good person??

This is quite a sad and cynical phrase, but sadly often quite apt.

It's used in a situation when you go out of your way to help someone and they hurt you in return. For example, imagine a person having a heart attack and the crew ask if there is a doctor on board. An off-duty doctor then gives the patient CPR and saves their life but breaks one of their ribs in the process. That person then sues the doctor because they argue that a professional should not have broken their rib.

It's a perfect phrase to sum up why people sometimes choose NOT to get involved in helping someone.

[PeriChristmas]

@PurpleSapphire

"I could care less" rather than "I couldn't care less".

The saying is I couldn't care less!

[DedalusBloom]

Poor @PurpleSapphire - throughout the whole thread people have responded as though she is saying that the phrase IS "I could care less" when what she is doing, if you read her post correctly ( as responding to the OPs question) is the opposite!

[PurpleSapphire]

Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou DedalasBloom! I saw it, but couldn't care less be bothered to explain

[DedalusBloom]

I hear you. But people's poor comprehension skills were making my teeth ache from gritting them so hard!

[midsomermurderess]

@Dedalus, oh yes. What stated as potentially an interesting exploration of common if slightly odd sayings soon descended into something rather astonishing. I am always puzzled at people being so eager to flaunt their, as you kindly put it, poor comprehension skills. Who mentioned rockets, eh?