watched pot never boils, a

a watched pot never boils

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 isntead of just sitting there waiting for the doctor to call. A watched pot never boils, after all.See also: boil, never, pot, watch

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

watched pot never boils, a

Anxious waiting does not speed up matters, as in Stop running downstairs for every mail delivery-a watched pot never boils, you know. This hyperbolic adage reflects the experience of anyone who has ever been in a hurry to bring water to a boil, which eventually occurs but can seem to take forever. [Mid-1800s] See also: never, pot, watch

a watched pot never ˈboils

(saying) used to say that when you are impatient for something to happen, it seems to take longer: Looking out of the window won’t make him arrive any quicker! Don’t you know that a watched pot never boils?See also: boil, never, pot, watch

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