The phrase, patience is a virtue, means “it is good to be patient,” where patience means “the ability to wait peacefully for what you want—without becoming anxious or angry.” This meaning of patience is not related to the word a patient, which is “a person under medical care.” The word virtue has a long history in Western philosophy. […]

The idiom, …have come a long way, is based on one of the most common metaphors in English: Life is a Journey. In this case, the distance traveled symbolizes change in a person’s life or character—or in the development of a project or practice, such as a business or art. So, to come a long […]

The phrase, another trip around the sun, refers to the time period of one year—the length of time it takes for the Earth to travel around our sun. The word trip means journey, which creates the idea that each of us makes a journey around the sun, each year. Therefore, the phrase is often used on […]

The popular phrase, burning the candle at both ends, now means “to live in an unsustainable way, being too busy, using too much energy and resources—especially in a foolish way, such as by staying active all night long”: If this society keeps burning the candle at both ends, we will run out of natural resources. […]