I unwittingly confused folks here today by mentioning ‘a make do and mend philosophy’. To my surprise, it’s not an expression ‘mericans use. So I checked the etymology and it seems to date back to the title of WWII booklet about repairing clothes and other rationed items that would normally have been discarded.
So I asked, ‘Well, what would you say in ‘merican then?’ My friends were a bit stumped. They wondered if ‘do more with less’ might come close – though these days that phrase seems to be associated more with cutting headcounts and expecting everyone to do the work of their colleagues who have been laid off.
I think ‘do more with less’ is probably the older of the two expressions and might come from Ben Franklin:
“Lost time is never found again; and what we call time enough, always proves little enough. Let us then up and be doing, and doing to the purpose; so by diligence shall we do more with less perplexity… Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise, as Poor Richard says.”
So here’s my question: might we be seeing a glimpse of two different psyches in operation here – Brits with more limited natural resources being focused on trying to repair and avoid buying new, and ‘mericans being focused on trying to get more stuff done with that other finite resource – time? And of course, I’m probably reading way too much into this, but I thought I’d ask anyway.
This may explain the American obsession with: Time is money
Ah! Sabrina, I think that metaphor is so rich – I’ve had so many good times in different lessons exploring it.
Interesting idea, and yes, I think there is a cultural nod to a British aversion to flamboyant spending. Less common these days, now that consumerism has established itself as a main driver of the economic and social model. The USA has always been less apologetic about owning things, and more honest in its approach to Capitalism, in my view.
I remember hearing someone remark on a difference between British and American attitudes to ownership – in the 1970’s I think – that whereas a British trades unionist would object to the poverty gap by expressing a wish that no one should own a Rolls Royce, an American teamster would do all he could to ensure that everyone could drive a Cadillac.
I wondered of some of your readers would be interested in this link to the IATEFL conference.
Some of the presentations from the link below may be useful for anyone taking Delta diplomas – or just with an interest in various aspects of teaching and learning. If the volcanoes keep coming, then online teaching could be the major way forward 🙂
https://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2010/sessions/videos
You’ve got Dave Willis on grammar, Anthony G. on teacher training unplugged, implications of globalisation for Business English, fluent speech by Melanie Ellis etc .. all good stuff …
I particularly found Robin Walker’s talk on the Globalization of English very interesting.
Many thanks for that link, Chris. The IATEFL online crew really did us proud this year – so many gems that I know I’ll go back to revisit – plus they gave us interviews and the pecha kucha night.
I found the talks you mention really, really interesting as well – you clearly knew what would turn me on. Marjorie Rosenberg shared some nice speaking activities for business classes too, and there was, well, so much good stuff to check out.
[…] Make do and mend […]
There is a similar saying that I know, “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” There are some variations on this phrase, but that’s the one I know. I learned it from my mom, who was 5 years old at the beginning of WWII. I don’t know that many people my age would come up with that saying on their own, but I think lots of Americans would recognize it. 🙂 And I have seen a slight revivification in it lately, on Etsy (reworded to “make it over”), frugal living blogs, and so on. I think that’s the same spirit, anyway, isn’t it? 🙂
(Sorry for the belated comment–I’m finally getting around to adding all the links from my blogroll into my feed reader, so I should be able to keep up better from now on!)
Oh Clarissa, thank you for this lovely saying! Yes, absolutely the same spirit.
A search came up with a US WWII poster for it here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mohistory/4159810515/
(That needle wheeling lady looks amusingly dangerous to me!)
And in the search process I came across another angle on these thrifty measures: Don’t use it up (take sparingly) and don’t wear it out (take good care of it so it lasts)
And yes, the sentiment is making a come back in the recession. I was very surprised this week though to discover Philadelphia was planning to reward its citzens for recycling – like just knowing it was good for the environment wasn’t going to be enough to persuade us to do it.
http://phillyrecyclingpays.com/
Glad you liked it! I need to keep it in mind when I’m tempted to buy new things. The negative version has merit too.
(I should have said 5 years old at the beginning of WWII for the US–how US-centric of me!)
And she does look dangerous–hasn’t she noticed that he’s moving around and doing something? Oh dear!
That is a bit odd about Philadelphia, but it is pretty appalling how few people recycle, even in the San Francisco Bay Area. :/