You know what they say — if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. If your New Year’s resolutions are in the rearview mirror, don’t give up hope. Instead, keep one of these catchy, timeless idioms in mind to encourage more self-improvement.
Get Back on the Horse
This Wild West saying is a shortened form of the expression, “Get back on the horse that bucked you.” Taming wild horses led to many a cowboy landing in the mud — but they learned to pick themselves up and give it another go, as this idiom describes. “Back in the saddle” describes the results after getting on the horse, so giddy up, partners!
Cut Your Losses
This prudent expression has financial origins in the early days of the London Stock Exchange around the turn of the 19th century. The full expression, “Cut short your losses,” was one of political economist David Ricardo’s three golden rules for investing. The phrase’s meaning has since been extended to letting go of any investment — time, money, love, you name it — before getting burned.
A Foot in the Door
Sometimes all it takes is one little step forward (or inside) to gain traction. It comes from an old-school sales tactic employed when door-to-door salesmen would literally wedge their foot in someone’s door frame so the person couldn’t fully close the door on them, or whatever they were selling. Today’s meaning is a little less aggressive, suggesting there's an open opportunity, if someone is only given a chance.
Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained
Fortune favors the bold, as they say — and this expression is a different take on the same feeling. Essentially, risks are necessary for advancement. History has proven the longevity of this idiom to be true; its origins date back to the 1300s (although it first appeared in print in 1624).
Live to Fight Another Day
Many have embraced this lesson to believe if one can survive a tough day — or weather a storm, to use another idiom — there’s always tomorrow to take on your foes. It comes from a snippet of a Greek rhyme composed by Menander, a comic playwright: “He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day.”
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