Everyday sayings inspired by...AESOP?

We’re learning about fables in Language Arts right now — and of course, we’re talking about Aesop. No matter how old (or young) you are, chances are good that you know a few of his stories. Like, The Tortoise and the Hare. (Side note: Cut! To the Chase… the sixth book in the Superman Duffy adventure series is actually a RE-TELLING of this classic story…fun, right?)

Anyway.  Even if you don’t know the specific details about each of Aesop’s fables (other than most of them are about animals), you probably know quite a few of the expressions we use EVERY DAY that were inspired by his writing.

“Slow and steady wins the race” is obviously from The Tortoise and the Hare. But, did you know that “Honesty is the best policy” is from Aesop’s tale Mercury and the Woodsman or that “Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill” is from the story, The Mountain in Labor?

My mom always tells me not to “count my chickens before they hatch” — she probably doesn’t even realize that expression comes from Aesop’s fable, The Milkmaid and her Pail. And sometimes, I forget to “look before you leap” which is, you guessed it, another expression from an Aesop story, The Fox and the Goat.

“Birds of a feather flock together” comes from the Farmer and the Stork and to have “sour grapes” was first used in Aesop’s tale, The Fox and the Grapes. Who knew?

Wow. Aesop really did write a lot about animals! I guess it comes down to “quality, not quantity” — <grin> see what I did there? That saying is from Aesop’s tale, The Lioness and the Vixen.

Gotta jet! Looks like I’ve got some reading to do!

— Chase Superman Duffy