could some one please explain
18 July 2007, 05:53 PM
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could some one please explain
on what this means and where it came from
the grass is not always greener !!!!!!!
stu
the grass is not always greener !!!!!!!
stu
Last edited by stuart148; 18 July 2007 at 06:39 PM.
18 July 2007, 06:43 PM
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This idiom means that what other people have or do looks preferable to our life. The complete phrase is 'The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence'.
Does that help Stuart ?
Does that help Stuart ?
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18 July 2007, 07:01 PM
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thanks gias,,,as for the smug rhino,,,iv just look at your profile and you have asked some stupid questions in your time,,,,like ,,"Double Glazing....how to buy it?"
lol
stu
lol
stu
18 July 2007, 07:04 PM
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Asking the most efficient way to purchase an expensive addition to any family home V asking the meaning of a self explanatory saying that any 3 year old could have helped you with?
Yep...you got me!
18 July 2007, 07:04 PM
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People are never satisfied with their own situation; they always think others have it better... but more often that not they don't, ergo; the phrase "the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence".
I've never asked any stupid questions >>>SMUG<<<
I've never asked any stupid questions >>>SMUG<<<
18 July 2007, 07:09 PM
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Hola mate
"'The Grass is always Greener': An Ecological Analysis of an Old Aphorism" (1983).3 This scholar proves that optical and perceptual laws alone will make the grass at a distance look greener to the human eye than the blades of grass perpendicular to the ground. The "truth" of this metaphorical proverb can, of course, also be observed often enough in the countryside when a cow or a horse is trying to get at that juicy green grass just on the other side of the fence. And since people are equally dissatisfied with their lot in life, it should not surprise anyone that a modern psychologist has spoken of "the 'greener grass' phenomenon"4 by which modern individuals continually evaluate supposedly better alternatives for themselves.
The proverb thus expresses a basic behavioral truth in a rather universal metaphor - after all, grass and fences aren't exactly anything new. This should imply that the proverb belongs to those ancient bits of wisdom that everybody knows, but when one consults the standard paremiographical works, it comes as quite a surprise to see that the earliest recorded reference stems from 1957!5 This appears absurd, and there are bound to be native American speakers who will instantly claim that they have heard or even used this proverb long before the 1950's. But that claim needs to be proven in light of what Archer Taylor has called the apparent "incompleteness of collections of proverbs".6 The following remarks will present a few precursors to this proverb as well as some synchronic variants, and it will be established that the "grass is always greener" proverb is at least a bit older than proverb collections would have us believe. In addition to tracing the lexicographical history of the proverb it will also be studied in its traditional and innovative use as the title of novels, plays, and magazine or newspaper articles. Its iconographic depiction in cartoons, caricatures, comic strips, postcards, and photographs will also be analyzed with a special emphasis on modern parodies.
The renowned Oxford Dictionary of English Proverbs (1970) does not even have a separate entry for the proverb "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence". Instead it lists the Latin proverb "Fertilior seges est alieno semper in arvo" cited by Erasmus of Rotterdam which was published in English translation by Richard Taverner in 1545 as "The corne in an other mans ground semeth euer more fertyll and plentifull then doth oure owne".7 While this proverb gained some currency in the 16th and 17th centuries, it is not in common use any longer. But the editor of this proverb collection is of the opinion that it might be an early precursor of the "grass is always greener" proverb, for he lists Hugh and Margaret Williams' play with the title The Grass is Greener (1959) with the addition of "[on] the other side of the hedge" as a modern variant.8 While the idea of the two proverbs is clearly similar, it is certainly questionable to consider the "grass" text as a variant of the earlier proverb.9
After all, there are some other proverbs with the same meaning that come to mind as possible precursors as well. There is the proverb "Hills are (look) green (blue) far away" that was recorded as early as 1887 and continues to be in use in a number of variants to the present day.10 The same is true for the proverb "Distant pastures always look greener"11 which dates back at least to 1936. The proverb "Distant fields look greener"12 was recorded by field researchers between 1945 and 1980, and Muriel Hughes registered the proverb "Cows prefer the grass on the other side of the fence"13 in 1960 in Vermont. These texts contain at least some elements of the proverb under discussion, as for example the color green, the grass, or the fence. While the first text predates the earliest citation of the "grass is always greener" proverb, all the others are actually of a later date and could be considered variants of that very proverb.
hth
"'The Grass is always Greener': An Ecological Analysis of an Old Aphorism" (1983).3 This scholar proves that optical and perceptual laws alone will make the grass at a distance look greener to the human eye than the blades of grass perpendicular to the ground. The "truth" of this metaphorical proverb can, of course, also be observed often enough in the countryside when a cow or a horse is trying to get at that juicy green grass just on the other side of the fence. And since people are equally dissatisfied with their lot in life, it should not surprise anyone that a modern psychologist has spoken of "the 'greener grass' phenomenon"4 by which modern individuals continually evaluate supposedly better alternatives for themselves.
The proverb thus expresses a basic behavioral truth in a rather universal metaphor - after all, grass and fences aren't exactly anything new. This should imply that the proverb belongs to those ancient bits of wisdom that everybody knows, but when one consults the standard paremiographical works, it comes as quite a surprise to see that the earliest recorded reference stems from 1957!5 This appears absurd, and there are bound to be native American speakers who will instantly claim that they have heard or even used this proverb long before the 1950's. But that claim needs to be proven in light of what Archer Taylor has called the apparent "incompleteness of collections of proverbs".6 The following remarks will present a few precursors to this proverb as well as some synchronic variants, and it will be established that the "grass is always greener" proverb is at least a bit older than proverb collections would have us believe. In addition to tracing the lexicographical history of the proverb it will also be studied in its traditional and innovative use as the title of novels, plays, and magazine or newspaper articles. Its iconographic depiction in cartoons, caricatures, comic strips, postcards, and photographs will also be analyzed with a special emphasis on modern parodies.
The renowned Oxford Dictionary of English Proverbs (1970) does not even have a separate entry for the proverb "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence". Instead it lists the Latin proverb "Fertilior seges est alieno semper in arvo" cited by Erasmus of Rotterdam which was published in English translation by Richard Taverner in 1545 as "The corne in an other mans ground semeth euer more fertyll and plentifull then doth oure owne".7 While this proverb gained some currency in the 16th and 17th centuries, it is not in common use any longer. But the editor of this proverb collection is of the opinion that it might be an early precursor of the "grass is always greener" proverb, for he lists Hugh and Margaret Williams' play with the title The Grass is Greener (1959) with the addition of "[on] the other side of the hedge" as a modern variant.8 While the idea of the two proverbs is clearly similar, it is certainly questionable to consider the "grass" text as a variant of the earlier proverb.9
After all, there are some other proverbs with the same meaning that come to mind as possible precursors as well. There is the proverb "Hills are (look) green (blue) far away" that was recorded as early as 1887 and continues to be in use in a number of variants to the present day.10 The same is true for the proverb "Distant pastures always look greener"11 which dates back at least to 1936. The proverb "Distant fields look greener"12 was recorded by field researchers between 1945 and 1980, and Muriel Hughes registered the proverb "Cows prefer the grass on the other side of the fence"13 in 1960 in Vermont. These texts contain at least some elements of the proverb under discussion, as for example the color green, the grass, or the fence. While the first text predates the earliest citation of the "grass is always greener" proverb, all the others are actually of a later date and could be considered variants of that very proverb.
hth
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