watched pot never boils
a watched pot never boils
proverb When you want something to happen, paying attention to it will make the wait feel much longer. Would you stop refreshing the page? The results will be posted soon enough, and a watched pot never boils! You should do something with your time instead of just sitting there waiting for the doctor to call. A watched pot never boils, after all.
See also: boil, never, pot, watch
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
watched pot never boils
Prov. Something you are waiting for will not happen while you are concentrating on it. Don't just sit there staring at the phone while you wait for Lucy to call. A watched pot never boils. I'd better do something besides look out the window waiting for Emily to drive up. A watched pot never boils.
See also: boil, never, pot, watch
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
watched pot never boils, a
Anxiety does not hasten matters. This homely piece of kitchen wisdom, whose truth is readily attested by anyone who has ever been in a hurry to cook something in boiling water, dates from the mid-nineteenth century. Clare Boothe Luce, reporting during the early years of World War II (Europe in the Spring, 1940), wrote, “A watched pot never boils, they say—only this one finally did.”
See also: never, pot, watch
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- teach a man to fish
- it takes a village
- village
- the best-laid plans
- the best-laid plans go astray
- the best-laid plans of mice and men
- best-laid plans go astray, the
- a little knowledge is a dangerous thing
- a little learning is a dangerous thing
- better bend than break