The problem is that many of these phrases don't mean what we think, and the meaning has gotten lost precisely because they're so confusingly worded. We're talking about proverbs like ...

For the last few thousand years, us humans have decided that citing old, time-tested proverbs and expressions is a great substitute for actual wit or insight. The fact that many of these sayings barely make sense anymore ("Well, you know what they say: Curiosity killed the cat!") actually makes them seem more wise. You know they came from another era, and have been passed down from grandparent to grandchild across a hundred generations.

5 "Carpe Diem"

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How We Use It

"I know I'll probably regret going to this drug-fueled frat party the night before an important final exam, but you know what they say: Carpe diem! Seize the day!"

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"Carpe diem" has long been the rallying cry for college students who need a Latin proverb to defend their live-for-the-now attitude. The popular interpretation is that you should make the most out of today, because there's no point worrying about tomorrow when, for all you know, you could get hit by a bus. In recent years, it's been overtaken on the Internet by a different phrase that means basically the same thing -- YOLO, or "You only live once," which is kind of "carpe diem" for the acronym generation.

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"Wait, make that TWO pizzas. Carpe diem!"

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The phrase was brought back into popularity by the feel-good Robin Williams movie Dead Poets Society, but if you think his character was trying to motivate his students to forget about tomorrow and seize the chance to spend the night naked BASE jumping instead of studying, then you missed the point of that film. Like, really missed it.

What It Originally Meant

"I should seize my chance to study for this exam, lest I wind up spending the rest of my life smoking crack in a McDonald's parking lot. Carpe diem!"

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"Consider this diem motherfucking carped."

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The original, extended form of the phrase is "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero," which roughly translates to "Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future." Note that it's not about ignoring the future, but rather not trusting that everything is going to fall into place for you someday. It was compared to picking the fruit as it grows on the tree, taking life as it comes and doing the work that's before you.

Of course, that's kind of boring, and so the phrase would probably never have come back into popularity if it weren't for kids thinking it's all about seizing the chance to ramp a motorcycle into your neighbor's pool. YOLO!