Some expressions that never made sense to me

How does cutting off one's arm spite one's face? (Edit: I had this wrong. It is "nose.")

How does an exception "prove" a rule?

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bijouxbroussard · F

I’d always heard the first one as "cutting of one’s nose to spite one’s face". That idiom, I believe, applies to doing something spiteful to others that backfires and hurts you as well.

DrWatson · 70-79, M

@bijouxbroussard Yes, I corrected my post. While the application makes sense, the saying still does not really convey that to me. But I am that way with lots of sayings like this.

Like wanting to have your cake and eat it too. Shouldn't it be "wanting to save your cake and eat it too?" I can't eat a cake that I do not have!

bijouxbroussard · F

@DrWatson That’s a funny one. My husband never quite accepted it; he’d say "you just want to have your cake and ice cream, too !" Logical—but wrong. 😊