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"Shooting the messenger" (also "killing the messenger" or "attacking the messenger" or "blaming the bearer of bad tidings / the doom monger") is a metaphoric phrase used to describe the act of blaming the bearer of bad news, despite the bearer or messenger having no direct responsibility for the bad news or its consequences.
An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example "kick the bucket" below).
Breaking a mirror is said to bring seven years of bad luck [1]; A bird or flock of birds going from left to right () [citation needed]Certain numbers: The number 4.Fear of the number 4 is known as tetraphobia; in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages, the number sounds like the word for "death".
The story exemplifies the view of Taoism regarding "fortune" ("good luck") and "misfortune" ("bad luck"). The story is well-known throughout the East Asian cultural sphere and is often invoked to express the idea of " silver lining " or " blessing in disguise " in Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese.
in bad faith: Said of an act done with knowledge of its illegality, or with intention to defraud or mislead someone. Opposite of bona fide. Mala Ipsa Nova: Bad News Itself: Motto of the inactive 495th Fighter Squadron, US Air Force: mala tempora currunt: bad times are upon us: Also used ironically, e.g.:
A proverbial phrase or expression is a type of conventional saying similar to a proverb and transmitted by oral tradition. The difference is that a proverb is a fixed expression, while a proverbial phrase permits alterations to fit the grammar of the context. [1] [2] In 1768, John Ray defined a proverbial phrase as:
Most people look forward to doing the monthly budget about as much as they look forward to going to the DMV or fishing a dropped cell phone out of the toilet. Explore: Your Biggest Money Etiquette...
Another idiom of improbability is 畑に蛤 (Hata ni hamaguri) which means "finding clams in a field". Latin – ad kalendas graecas ("to the Greek Kalends") signified indefinite postponement, since the Greek calendar had no Calends period; also cum mula peperit = "when a mule foaled".