What are some "rules of thumb" that you've found to be mostly true?

“There is no free lunch.”

Measure twice, cut once.

50 Ga @janbb!

Don’t shit where you eat.

Well, in my own personal experience, the person who plays the highest scoring word in WWF usually wins the game.

Humans are evil.

If Clinton writes an email it will be investigated by the CIA.

“Don’t get your “meat” the same place you get your “bread.””

If something can go wrong it most likely will.

NEVER assume ANYTHING!
If you must assume something then assume that you must
NEVER assume ANYTHING!

Honesty is always the best policy but some things are better left unsaid.

Murphy’s Law: If something can go wrong, it will.

A corollary my husband quotes about people who think that if you make enough rules, nothing can go wrong.

The saying that any group tends to be dominated by its most neurotic member.

And this one, attributed to H. L. Mencken: No one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American people.

Help someone in trouble and they will remember you when they are in trouble again!

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will drive the fish into extinction.

Don’t dip your pen in the company ink.

You don’t need to be liked by everyone.
Your friend circle needs to be renewed once in a while.
Don’t agree to help unless you know you can.

I’m going to share some of these on FB!!

- It’s perfectly fine to arrive one hour late than the prescribed starting time in wedding party. People tend to be loose with time here

- A crock pot is all you need if you’re a lazy but novice person in cooking

- Your underwear can actually be worn inside-out to save yourself from changing cloth/doing laundry work. This is not applicable only to men.

“Never argue with a fool…” (Mark Twain)

And then this one is a quote on my profile: “I’ve learned that it’s a bad idea to curse when you’re in trouble, but a good idea to sing, if you can.” (Tobias Wolff)

@Dutchess_III Some that I’ve heard, that I haven’t bothered to verify myself, is that the higher a button up shirt is buttoned, the more intelligent the person is

So people who show skin are less smart than those who don’t? Funny, but false.

I used a few rules of thumbs at work, e.g.:

- It will take you about as much time to analyse data as it took you to collect it.
– A sample of 1000 people is good enough, whatever the size of the “mother population”.

Don’t rub another man’s rhubarb

You don’t tug on superman’s cape
You don’t spit into the wind
You don’t pull the mask off that old lone ranger
And you don’t mess around with slim (or Jim, before him)

The person who does the inviting should expect to pay the bill. But, the invited guest should vigorously attempt to pay or at least contribute in some way.

@olivier5 My best friend in HS was really into fashion and make up and stuff. She liked “sexy.” I was much more reserved. She was forever making me over. Sat me down once in the bathroom and plucked my eyebrows for the first time. I’m going, “This shit hurts! Why would anyone do this?!”

When we were going to the club, I’d do my hair and make up, carefully pick out what I wanted to wear, and meet her at her house. More than once she, and her sister, would take one look at me and drag me off to the bedroom and redesign my outfit, using clothes from their closet. Here is the result of one of their fashion make overs (I’m on the left, the tall one.) I vetoed several shirts as being too revealing before I agreed to the one I have on.

We were at a party once. Suddenly she came up to me and unbuttoned the top button of my shirt and said, “You look so stuffy! Loosen up!” I didn’t have it buttoned to my throat, probably 3 buttons down, but I was loath to show any skin too close to my cleavage. I got enough unwanted attention for my boobs as it was.

I heard that saying about the buttons when I was in my early 20’s, and I immediately thought of everything I shared above.

I didn’t know it in high school, but as we matured, and parted ways, but still getting together now and than, over the last 40 years, I eventually realized that she is not the sharpest tool in the shed.

I know this is a personal experience and means nothing, but there is that.

@CWOTUS ♪ A doo doo dah dee dee dee dee dum! ♫

I would go so far as agreeing that the people (male and female) who routinely try and use their sex appeal to succeed do tend to neglect their skills and smarts as a result, if that’s what you’re saying.

Well, using ”based on experience or practice rather than theory.” I have to say:

• A well-placed strong rumor will be believed more than a weakly placed truth.
• Three can keep a secret if two are dead.
• Tolerant people or often the least tolerant.
• If I take care of His business, He will take care of my business.

Oh, I don’t know @olivier5. I wasn’t saying anything, really. Those incidents were just a connection I made when I heard that.

There’s no such thing as an accident.

Pretty girls are hard to please.

Beautiful women… impossible.

^^^^ Please how?

“Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.”

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”

“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.”

“Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups traveling 80 mph.”

Even when you are wrong…you are right.
Because knowing you were wrong…..makes you right!