rolling stone gathers no moss

a rolling stone gathers no moss

proverb A person who wanders or travels often and at length will not be burdened by attachments such as friends, family, or possessions. Can be used as a negative (to suggest that such a person won't find a fulfilling place in life) or as a positive (to suggest that they will have a more interesting and unpredictable life). I never knew my father very well. Apparently he got really restless after my sister was born, anxious not to be tied down to the one place or job, so he just started moving around the country on his own. A rolling stone gathers no moss, as they say. I was just so eager to get out there and see the world, living in as many countries and trying as many new things as possible. A rolling stone gathers no moss, and I felt allergic to moss at the time.
See also: gather, moss, no, roll, stone
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

rolling stone gathers no moss

Prov. A person who does not settle down is not attached to anything or anyone. (Can be said in admiration or in censure, depending on whether or not the speaker feels it is good to be attached to something or someone.) I worry about Tom. He's never lived in the same place for two years in a row, and he keeps changing jobs. A rolling stone gathers no moss.
See also: gather, moss, no, roll, stone
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

rolling stone gathers no moss, a

Someone who keeps moving and changing will not settle down and progress. This ancient proverb, first stated in this form by Erasmus in Adagia (1523), appears in numerous languages. For the first three hundred years or so it was nearly always voiced as a kind of reprimand to those who would not settle down and make good. By the mid-nineteenth century, however, the validity of this sentiment was being questioned. In Edward B. Ramsay’s Reminiscences of Scottish Life (1858) a character replied to this adage, “Ay, but can ye tell me what guid the fog [moss] does to the stane?” Shaw later wrote (Preface to Misalliance, 1914), “We keep repeating the silly proverb that rolling stones gather no moss, as if moss were a desirable parasite.” Today we may call the inveterate traveler, job-changer, or mover “a rolling stone.” The term gained further currency in the 1960s with a very popular British rock group that called itself the Rolling Stones and a popular song by Bob Dylan, “Like a Rolling Stone” (1965).
See also: gather, no, roll, stone
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • teach a man to fish
  • it takes a village
  • village
  • tomorrow never comes
  • a man is judged by the company he keeps
  • a man is known by the company he keeps
  • best-laid plans go astray, the
  • the best-laid plans
  • the best-laid plans go astray
  • the best-laid plans of mice and men
References in periodicals archive
Now, purely as an example, I am sure that we are all familiar with the proverb, 'a rolling stone gathers no moss' (motion) whereas static objects, such as museum exhibits, no matter how regularly they are cleaned, will still gather dust and not necessarily from neglect.
Mini-saga over city locomotive goes on; Get in touch - tell us what you think Email: letters@birminghammail.co.uk Twitter: @birminghammail Facebook: facebook.com/birminghammail Post: Birmingham Mail, 60 Church Street, Birmingham B3 2DJ
THEY say a Rolling Stone gathers no moss and when it comes to Mick Jagger, it seems even at 75 he has no plans of slowing down.
Rock stars are Rolling back the years; STATE SIDE
THEY say a Rolling Stone gathers no moss and when it comes to Sir Mick Jagger, it seems even at 75 he has no plans of stopping.
Sir Mick hopes to be jumpin' back in a flash after surgery
In my younger days, I had once adhered to the call of 'a rolling stone gathers no moss' and lived, as a rambling musician would.
Honoring My Mother / Ode to travel
A rolling stone gathers no moss, but the tire of the future might.
Goodyear's Greenwalls
Take "A rolling stone gathers no moss." As a child, he said, he wondered whether moss was good, maybe a metaphor for money.
Why scientists solve the harder problems first
Using the Lemout & Hauspie Simply Translating program which translates English to French, German, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish and from those languages back to English, I picked six common aphorisms to test, converting each first to the foreign language and then back to English: A stitch in time saves nine Many hands make light work Absence makes the heart grown fonder A rolling stone gathers no moss Out of sight, out of mind Too many cooks spoil the broth
Of visa for the mind
A Rolling Stone gathers no moss, but it certainly gets hurled across plenty of movie ads.
It's a banner year for serious blurb biz. (No Stone Unturned)
THEY SAY that a Rolling Stone gathers no moss and Mick Jagger would doubtless agree wholeheartedly.
Rake away the flood damage
A rolling stone gathers no moss. Postmodernism disrupts tradition.
At the desiring vine
TEARING up the fret board, Ronnie Woods defies his years and proves that a Rolling Stone gathers no moss.
Great do Ron Ron