Sayings Explanation

[aabby757]

My friends and I over brunch were having a friendly argument over the real meaning of three sayings. Them being:

1) Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

2) Cut off your nose dispite your face

3) Can't see the forest for the trees.

What do they actually mean? In the literal sense? We couldn't agree.

What do you think they mean?

[ZTAngel]

1. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

- everyone has a different perception of what beauty is

2. Cut off your nose to spite your face.

- it basically is another way to say someone has way too much pride. they're willing to do something drastic in order to prove a point.

3. Can't see the forest for the trees.

- I've never heard of this but I'm guessing it means that someone won't look at the bigger picture.

I think (though I'm not sure) the last is actually the opposite. That someone can not see the individual parts and/or people that make up a larger group.

[justamom]

What do they actually mean? In the literal sense?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder-Some girl mashed the mascara brush in her eye while trying to apply and drive at the same time.
Forest for the trees-Sonny Bono
Cut off your nose to spite your face. Michael Jackson

Forest for the trees...

I always thought that it was an example of being unable to see
the beauty of or the entirety of something (depending on how you used it) because you were too focused on one or two elements.

Example-You join a GLO. You see see a bunch of GLOs on campus, but forget to keep in mind ALL GLOs make up the Greek System. You may be busy putting down other GLOs-being critical- when someone walks up, shakes their head and says-"You can't see the forest for the trees." You didn't realize that by hurting a small part of something much bigger, you were really hurting the entire forest. It also works if a few GLOs get bad PR, many will judge the entire Greek system. They can't see the forest for the trees either.

[wptw]

2. Cut off your nose to spite your face.

Going so far to hurt someone else that you actually hurt yourself in the process.


3. Can't see the forest for the trees.

No, ZTAngel is right. It's getting so caught up in the details that you miss the bigger picture.

...both common GCer afflications.

Any more?

wptw

I stand corrected