Random Mode Keyboard shortcut: Command/Ctrl + Shift + R
thumbnail

"Is" Cliches

Guess the first part of these cliches.
Quiz by Quizmaster
Rate:
Last updated: June 17, 2015
You have not attempted this quiz yet.
First submittedMay 21, 2013
Times taken53,948
Average score63.6%
Rating4.32
4:00
Enter answer here
0
 / 22 guessed
The quiz is paused. You have remaining.
Scoring
You scored / = %
This beats or equals % of test takers also scored 100%
The average score is
Your high score is
Your fastest time is
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
First Part
Second Part
the grass
is always greener on the other side
the pen
is mightier than the sword
hindsight
is 20/20
time
is money
beauty
is only skin deep
a bird in the hand
is worth two in the bush
laughter
is the best medicine
blood
is thicker than water
a mind
is a terrible thing to waste
the love of money
is the root of all evil
necessity
is the mother of invention
First Part
Second Part
variety
is the spice of life
truth
is stranger than fiction
home
is where the heart is
ignorance
is bliss
life
is like a box of chocolates
talk
is cheap
cleanliness
is next to Godliness
the devil
is in the details
imitation
is the sincerest form of flattery
a penny saved
is a penny earned
the road to hell
is paved with good intentions
+10
Level 65
Feb 6, 2014
Can mimicry be accepted for imitation?
+8
Level 46
Mar 13, 2015
Surprised not to find this discussion already -- I would classify these most generally as proverbs, adages or sayings. The term "cliche" is largely subjective but means the phrase has been so over-used as to be trite or nearly meaningless. Many of the "is" sayings in this list contain some wisdom and are useful at times, in my opinion. Here is an "is" cliche I wouldn't mind to be stricken from language: "it is what it is". Final observation, "cliches should be avoided like the plague"!
+2
Level 68
Dec 17, 2021
But "cliché" more commonly means a phrase that is overused, trite, and suggests a lack of original thought - see e.g. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/cliche.

Whilst some of the phrases in this quiz do contain some wisdom, nearly all of them are clichés. A good writer will almost never use them.

+4
Level 56
Jun 16, 2015
"Imitation." "A penny saved." "THE ROAD TO HELL." That certainly escalated in epic intensity.
+2
Level 74
Jun 16, 2015
I've always known it as "God is in the details" which, as far as I know, is where "the devil is in the details" originates from. Any chance of you accepting this?
+1
Level 75
Jun 16, 2015
Easiest quiz I've taken. 100%
+1
Level 70
Jun 16, 2015
100%.
+1
Level 20
Feb 29, 2016
where i'm from we have always said "rearview is 20/20" but we're just awkward MidWesterners
+1
Level 65
May 7, 2023
You are not. Every place has generational and cultural richness. I'd treasure having a bit of that left, if I were you. The wars of the 20th century and the rise of mass electronic communication decimated native language, culture and custom. Laws have replaced trust, and chains have wiped out city character and strength.

I have lots of examples of how it sux where I am, but the worst was being 7 months pregnant, stuck on the office elevator, and having the emergency call go to a hag who wouldn't help because her firm sold the property.

It's not all that horrible, but I don't belong here.

Happily, after years of working customer service for the Midwest, I finally got to visit friends in some of the ignorantly labeled fly-over states.

Lost and found a cat by the Mississippi (he was truck-sick), could borrow a ladder to get into an apartment I locked myself out of, experienced the wonder of a fridge filled with beer and cheese, avoided lutefisk.

Regretting that last one now.

+2
Level 45
Mar 25, 2016
I've used Mockery before
+1
Level 69
May 12, 2016
Isn't "a mind is a terrible thing to waste" just the tagline from a United Negro College Fund commercial and not an actual adage as such?
+5
Level 75
Jun 13, 2016
I agree. And "life is like a box of chocolates" is from Forrest Gump.
+2
Level 78
Oct 19, 2016
I think the primary reason I remember "A mind is a terrible thing to waste" is because of the time George W Bush misquoted it as "To lose one's mind is a terrible thing.".
+1
Level 71
Oct 19, 2016
What George said sounds right to me.
+8
Level 75
Oct 19, 2016
My favorite version is, "A waist is a terrible thing to mind."
+4
Level 37
May 2, 2017
Former President Bush was probably confused because he might have been junk punker who was constantly bombarded by idiots who wanted to change all of the adages to suit themselves instead of making an attempt to remember them as learnt.
+1
Level 89
Jul 17, 2018
I agree.
+1
Level 82
Nov 5, 2017
Are you thinking of Dan Quayle?
+2
Level 37
Apr 20, 2018
^ Ha, Ha! Actually, I think Quayle's faux pas actually helped many, who then learned to spell "potato" correctly!
+1
Level 82
Apr 10, 2019
I'm not kidding. This was the quote from Quayle, speaking to the United Negro College Fund and mangling their slogan "a mind is a terrible thing to waste":

"When you take the UNCF model that, what a waste it is to lose one's mind, or not to have a mind is being very wasteful, how true that is."

Anyway that was Quayle, not Bush. I think it was also the title to a book of Quayle quotations we once had. "What a Waste it is to Lose One's Mind"

+4
Level 84
Jun 9, 2017
Cleanliness is not next to Godliness. "Goggles" is next to Godliness. I looked it up. :-P
+1
Level 57
Aug 23, 2017
How about "the proof is in the pudding"?
+4
Level 71
Oct 15, 2017
should be 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating'
+1
Level 53
Dec 17, 2021
Clever!
+3
Level 69
Jan 7, 2018
Interesting- ‘a mind is a terrible thing to waste’ doesn’t seem to have made it across the pond over the last 45 years. Or maybe just not to me. Can see why it has permeated into US culture
+1
Level 48
Oct 7, 2018
can we have Macgyver is the mother of invention??
+1
Level 78
Jan 21, 2021
Surely he is the Godfather of all invention.
+1
Level 66
Dec 16, 2018
knew all but hindsight, but for some i didnt know the exact word.

(like I tried a penny wellspend)

+1
Level 76
Apr 10, 2019
These aren't clichés.
+1
Level 59
Apr 10, 2019
I'm Dutch, so I don't know a lot of these cliches, but some are the same in Dutch or gives me an Aha-Ergebnis.
+1
Level 44
Apr 10, 2019
Felt like I could hear my grandma saying all of these as I was typing haha XD Great quiz!
+3
Level 68
Nov 13, 2019
Avarice/Greed for, "the root of all evil"?
+2
Level 45
Mar 21, 2020
I’ve always heard “The road to ruin” is paved with good intentions, anyone else?
+1
Level 72
Dec 17, 2021
I came to the comments to see if I was the only one who grew up hearing "road to ruin." Glad to know someone else got thrown by that.
+1
Level 52
Mar 21, 2020
"Greed is the root of all evil."

The quiz is wrong.

+1
Level 34
Aug 31, 2020
I've always heard it as ""mockery" is the sincerest form of flattery" perhaps if others have heard it as well it can be included?
+1
Level 59
Nov 3, 2020
I've only ever heard mimicry or imitation... But I've never heard mockery. But maybe someone else has heard that :)
+4
Level 59
Nov 3, 2020
Could you also accept "Fact" for "Truth" ? I've heard both used lol
+1
Level 79
Dec 16, 2021
Agree with this. I've only ever heard 'fact is stranger than fiction'.
+1
Level 56
Dec 17, 2021
ditto
+1
Level 57
Oct 27, 2021
Many of these are really dumb and should definitely be used more.
+2
Level 65
Dec 17, 2021
Please accept all my answers :D
+1
Level 76
Dec 17, 2021
could you accept 'one bird in the hand'?
+3
Level 65
Dec 17, 2021
The often misquoted "Money is the root of all evil" comes from the Bible verse, 1 Timothy 6:10. The actual quote from that verse is "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil..." The misquoted cliche implies that all evil comes from money, which of course isn't true. This often leads many Christians into the false belief that it is wrong for them to have money. As the verse says, it is the "Love" of money, not money itself that is the problem. I believe the clue here is still appropriate for this quiz since that is how the cliche is known to most.
+1
Level 56
Dec 18, 2021
I was waiting for someone to point this one out. So misconstrued.
+2
Level 43
Dec 17, 2021
Instead of imitation I tried "copying" and "mimicry". Can you include at least one of these?
+1
Level 48
Dec 22, 2021
I tried mimicry as that's how I've always heard it.
+1
Level 71
Dec 17, 2021
Better versions of many of these are available in Tom Weller's Minims.
+2
Level 60
Dec 18, 2021
Home isn’t where the heart is… it’s where all the creepers explode 🤣
+1
Level 68
Dec 19, 2021
I tried highway to hell.
+2
Level 83
Feb 25, 2022
I tried “path to hell”
+1
Level 36
Apr 11, 2022
I've always heard that mockery is the sincerest form of flattery.
+1
Level 67
Sep 30, 2023
Not the most original quiz. Oh well, it is what it is.
+1
Level 67
Sep 30, 2023
Jk, it was fun!
+1
Level 69
Jan 30, 2024
I always thought it was "God is in the details"? Any chance of that being accepted?