'Waste Not, Want Not' Is Good Advice
2020-06-14
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2Waste. It is something we are often told not to do.
3At home, parents tell us not to waste food.
4In the classroom, teachers tell us not to waste time.
5On a sports team, coaches tell us not to waste energy.
6People who do not want to hear our ideas, tell us not to "waste our breath."
7Whether it is food, time, energy or breath -- waste is a loss of something valuable.
8Waste happens because we use too much of a resource or because we do not use it well.
9We often use "waste" in arguments.
10If we are unhappy with someone, we can say: "Don't waste my time."
11If we are really unhappy with someone, we can say to them, "You are a waste of space!"
12And if you are not happy with the result of something you have done, you can say, "Well, that was a complete waste of time."
13There are other ways we use the word "waste."
14If someone is very sick or is losing a lot of weight, we can say they are "wasting away."
15And if someone has too much alcohol and cannot control their words and actions, we can say they are "wasted."
16So, those are some ways we use the word "waste."
17We also find it in some useful expressions.
18Here's the first one: "Haste makes waste."
19The online dictionary Merriam-Webster says this expression was first recorded in 1678.
20The full saying was: "Haste makes waste, and waste makes want, and want makes strife between the good-man and his wife."
21"Haste" means doing something very quickly.
22"Haste makes waste" means if you hurry and rush while doing something, you could make mistakes.
23And it takes more time and effort to fix mistakes.
24So, if someone says, "Hurry up! It's taking you forever to cut that wood for the house project."
25You can simply say: "Haste makes waste. I want to do it right the first time!"
26The other common expression is: "Waste not, want not."
27This means that if a person never wastes things, he or she will have what is needed.
28We often say this as a response to being very frugal.
29Frugal people are careful about spending money or using things.
30They are not wasteful.
31Here is one way to use it. Let's say I am carefully putting paper into a pile.
32Some of the papers have writing on them, but most do not.
33And I think I can still use it for something.
34If someone sees me and says, "Why don't you just throw that paper away? We have lots of paper."
35I can say to them, "Waste not, want not."
36It is a simple way to say, "I don't want to waste this paper. If I need it for something later, I'll have it."
37Now let's hope learning about "waste" in this Words and Their Stories was not a "complete waste of your time."
38Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo!
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2Waste. It is something we are often told not to do. 3At home, parents tell us not to waste food. 4In the classroom, teachers tell us not to waste time. 5On a sports team, coaches tell us not to waste energy. 6People who do not want to hear our ideas, tell us not to "waste our breath." 7Whether it is food, time, energy or breath -- waste is a loss of something valuable. Waste happens because we use too much of a resource or because we do not use it well. 8We often use "waste" in arguments. If we are unhappy with someone, we can say: "Don't waste my time." If we are really unhappy with someone, we can say to them, "You are a waste of space!" 9And if you are not happy with the result of something you have done, you can say, "Well, that was a complete waste of time." 10There are other ways we use the word "waste." 11If someone is very sick or is losing a lot of weight, we can say they are "wasting away." And if someone has too much alcohol and cannot control their words and actions, we can say they are "wasted." 12So, those are some ways we use the word "waste." We also find it in some useful expressions. 13Here's the first one: "Haste makes waste." 14The online dictionary Merriam-Webster says this expression was first recorded in 1678. The full saying was: "Haste makes waste, and waste makes want, and want makes strife between the good-man and his wife." 15"Haste" means doing something very quickly. "Haste makes waste" means if you hurry and rush while doing something, you could make mistakes. And it takes more time and effort to fix mistakes. So, if someone says, "Hurry up! It's taking you forever to cut that wood for the house project." You can simply say: "Haste makes waste. I want to do it right the first time!" 16The other common expression is: "Waste not, want not." 17This means that if a person never wastes things, he or she will have what is needed. We often say this as a response to being very frugal. Frugal people are careful about spending money or using things. They are not wasteful. 18Here is one way to use it. Let's say I am carefully putting paper into a pile. Some of the papers have writing on them, but most do not. And I think I can still use it for something. 19If someone sees me and says, "Why don't you just throw that paper away? We have lots of paper." I can say to them, "Waste not, want not." It is a simple way to say, "I don't want to waste this paper. If I need it for something later, I'll have it." 20Now let's hope learning about "waste" in this Words and Their Stories was not a "complete waste of your time." 21Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo! 22Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. At the end of the program the music group Crosby, Stills & Nash sings "Wasted on the Way." 23________________________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25coach - n. one who instructs players in the fundamentals of a sport and directs team strategy 26strife - n. formal : very angry or violent disagreement between two or more people or groups 27rush - v. to move or do something very quickly or in a way that shows you are in a hurry 28frugal - adj. careful about spending money or using things when you do not need to : using money or supplies in a very careful way 29pile - n. a large number of things that are put one on top of another