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Thursday September 9, 2004

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adage \AD-ij\ , noun:
An old saying, which has obtained credit by long use; a proverb.

Did she sense the proverbial limp in my walk: proverbial as the Somali adage in which it is said that a lie has a lame leg, truth a healthy one.
-- Nuruddin Farah, Secrets

We may find out too late the wisdom of the adage that cautions us to be careful what we wish for lest we get it.
-- Charles Murray, What It Means to Be a Libertarian

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me, the old adage goes.
-- Zachary Karabell, "No Left Turn", New York Times, September 24, 2000

Adage derives from the Latin adagium (akin to aio, "I say").

Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for adage

 

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