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Can't Cliches Quiz
Don't tell me what I can't do! But these cliches will try.
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Featured Quiz
Last updated: December 5, 2019
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| First submitted | June 1, 2011 |
| Times taken | 80,909 |
| Average score | 60.0% |
| Rating | 4.03 |
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buck1017
+2
Level 77
Jan 14, 2014
SILK purse...i tried leather purse. Crap
nycbarb
+2
Level 44
Feb 3, 2014
Got 'em all. I'm going to quit while I'm ahead :-)
cammie69
+1
Level 36
Mar 12, 2014
got them all with 1:18 left
SamusVII
+2
Level 44
May 12, 2014
dogs should work as hounds
foxpenguin
+2
Level 69
Dec 4, 2015
+1
notdatboy
+1
Level 15
Apr 15, 2024
+1
Dimby
+2
Level 77
Apr 12, 2021
Google nGram viewer suggests that dogs is not as popular and much newer cliche. Hounds is definitely the correct answer here, consistently quite a bit more popular than dogs since 1800.
LarryLovage
+6
Level 55
Jan 13, 2015
Isn't it much much more frequently "You can't squeeze ___ out of a stone? I mean, you could squeeze something out of a turnip. That's the point, surely?
worm
+2
Level 62
Mar 19, 2015
My thought entirely. Never heard the turnip version.
akwildrose
+1
Level 51
Apr 23, 2015
I've heard both.
samiamco
+1
Level 69
Jun 8, 2016
I've heard both, too.
Susie222
+1
Level 59
Jun 10, 2016
Whilst I may be able to squeeze turnip juice out of a turnip, I will not be able to squeeze blood out of it. Hence the saying still makes its point.
AlexThirkell
+3
Level 75
Apr 12, 2021
Personally I've only heard "like squeezing blood from a stone" referring to something that's very difficult, but that's not far off.
Jango
+2
Level 64
May 21, 2021
Never heard squeeze blood from a turnip before. I'd not want to; that'd be a nasty surprise for a vegetarian. I might go back and see if Scottish 'neep' works ;)
Dimby
+2
Level 77
Apr 12, 2021
I think I looked this up and explained it on a different quiz (and I don't care to re-research it), but I believe the turnip phrase came first and was more popular. The stone became more popular around 1860 and has become far more common today. The phrase itself appears to have become much more frequently used in the past 50 years than ever before, too.
ShaggaSparrow
+1
Level 68
Jun 1, 2015
Never heard "unring the bell", always just stop... Is unringing more common? Serious question, English is not my native language and I'd love to learn more about it :)
Malbaby
+6
Level 71
Oct 27, 2015
Unring is not a common word, it's really just been used for this saying.
ander217
+1
Level 75
Jun 8, 2016
I've never heard that one in any form.
Susie222
+2
Level 59
Jun 10, 2016
But you can stop a bell, so saying "You can't stop a bell." is both untrue and does not make a point. However "You can't unring a bell" meaning there are things that once said or done, can never be taken back or undone, does make a point.
PearlJoyster
+1
Level 22
May 7, 2016
I thought it was, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the sun."
DeusCaritasEst
+1
Level 55
Sep 9, 2016
I always think it's "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the oven" at first, and I have to remind myself that probably no one is going to be gathering in ovens and having parties in there.
MasterKenobi
+1
Level 60
Jun 25, 2018
Well, I've also heard if you can't stand the heat, get off the dance floor, but I guess that's only after being on a dance floor with a jillion other high school students back in the day and finding out just how hot it can get--in more ways than one har har..
ChaosQuizzer
+4
Level 22
Jun 8, 2016
Omelette, not omelet.
Grafakos
+3
Level 35
Jun 8, 2016
Omelet is legit: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/omelet
Grafakos
+1
Level 35
Jun 8, 2016
Never heard the last one. Also, I thought the phrase was "sow's arse".
Malbaby
+2
Level 71
Aug 5, 2016
Depends on the company you keep.
kalbahamut
+4
Level 82
Jun 8, 2016
I think I've heard "if you can't be good, be lucky".. or maybe just "better to be lucky than good" many times. Mostly by sore losers who have just lost a match online.
roleybob
+4
Level 75
Jun 8, 2016
+1 to please add lucky
CrazyBug
+2
Level 71
Jun 25, 2019
agree. Never heard "careful". Heard "lucky" all my life.
Dimby
+2
Level 77
Apr 12, 2021
Looking it up in Google nGram is difficult here, but it appears that the common term is careful, and the lucky variant doesn't appear at all, surprisingly. It might be related to the program's difficulty with commas, though.
SpacemanSpiff
+3
Level 63
Jun 8, 2016
Can't be good be careful? I always heard it "If you can't be good, be good at it." Oh well.
Twister11
+2
Level 18
Oct 27, 2018
I always heard: if you can't be good, be better
Zupity
+2
Level 66
Jul 12, 2021
Yep, "If you can't be good, be good at it" is the only version I've ever heard
cledun2
+1
Level 89
Mar 31, 2022
I tried smart
Willstown
+1
Level 34
Jun 8, 2016
Heard it as 'If you can't be good, be lucky' as well
Zefyrinus
+5
Level 71
Jun 11, 2016
I've only heard it as "don't judge the book by its cover".
AlexThirkell
+3
Level 75
Apr 12, 2021
Quite right - it's a warning not to do it rather than something that can't be done.
TheGreatArturo
+1
Level 76
Jan 19, 2024
It's also nonsense: we are meant to judge books by their covers. That's why publishing houses have art departments.
ChipOtley
+4
Level 74
Jun 12, 2016
Shame not to see my favourite: "You can't polish a turd"
idontkn1
+3
Level 90
Sep 20, 2016
Although it definitely not as common, I've heard "If you can't be good be interesting" from multiple sources.
Malbaby
+1
Level 71
Feb 10, 2017
I've also heard "If you can't be good ...... cheat!"
SpacemanSpiff
+1
Level 63
Sep 26, 2017
I always heard, "If you can't be good, be good at it!"
Sifhraven
+1
Level 67
Dec 13, 2018
Yes definitely heard that one (and I think others too, but not the one from the quiz)
scherre
+1
Level 56
Mar 20, 2020
I've heard 'memorable' as the end of that one.
divantilya
+1
Level 37
Jan 30, 2018
If you can't be good, be careful... or name it after me".
MDW
+1
Level 47
Apr 18, 2018
If you can't be good, be good at it.
stubart409
+1
Level 67
Jan 15, 2019
+1
llamedos
+1
Level 44
May 29, 2018
I always thought it was a leopard can't change his shorts
stubart409
+2
Level 67
Jan 15, 2019
No, s/he can't change his/her lederhosen, or tie his/her shoes. (Yes, I watched Life of Brian the other night..."His self.." "Or herself!")
Sifhraven
+1
Level 67
Dec 13, 2018
I tried : if you cant be good, be great, better, awesome, (also evil since the others all didnt work. But knew it wasnt evil) pretty sure I ve heard the great and awesome before. Definitely sure that i havent heard carefull (not debating if it excists though)
Sifhraven
+1
Level 67
Dec 13, 2018
Ok I googled the variations, the careful indeeds gets many hits. The others mentioned above not really. Guess I didnt hear them but made them up myself... they sound good though! And still feel familiar.. so maybe people do say it, but it isnt really a thing
Morpioniste
+1
Level 66
May 4, 2021
It's definitely a thing - if you plan to be naughty, don't get caught
Atkinson
+2
Level 63
Jan 15, 2019
When I was a kid I remember hearing "If you can't be good, be somewhere else", but that might have just been my hockey coach.
Archer1212
+2
Level 63
Feb 13, 2019
pretty sure it's blood from a stone, not blood from a turnip. who tf says that??
Malbaby
+2
Level 71
Feb 13, 2019
A vegetarian.
kogatora
+1
Level 93
Apr 12, 2019
the city hall one is odd, if its that bad people can change the system. And i know it's used in the context of having to pay taxes/fines or losing in court but I have known people to argue there case on both of those, and win. so doesn't seem to hold and if it does, do something about it people!
stylus
+1
Level 76
Jun 30, 2022
someone should have told the january 6 rioters that you can't fight city hall
Bdubz
+1
Level 43
Jul 31, 2019
But if you try sometimes... you get what you neeeed!!!
PoetsCorner
+1
Level 85
Jan 6, 2022
Thanks to the (brilliant) new movie Belfast, "If you can't be good, be careful" is gaining some new popularity.
FatSpartanJediLlama
+1
Level 67
Jun 30, 2022
Lol a couple of these make no sense to me
auraobvi1
+1
Level 18
May 31, 2023
kept putting join instead of join 'em. Really good quiz
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