this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2024
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One that comes to mind for me: "Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is not always true. Maybe even only half the time! Are there any phrases you tend to hear and shake your head at?

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[–] [email protected] 67 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

"Pull up by the bootstraps"aka bootstrapping was a phrase originally coined to mean something being literally impossible and is now used as a tool to shame the poor for not overcoming nearly impossible social barriers.

"That's just how they are" is always used to excuse bullies for being bullies.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 3 weeks ago

aka bootstrapping

"Bootstrapping" came after "pull up by the bootstraps". The former does allude to the latter, but it isn't the same phrase; it was used in computing to refer to the initial startup of a computer, where the computer has to start up enough of itself to load its own code into memory. That's a difficult problem, but not an impractical one.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago

the original interpretation actually makes sense!