"A Watched Pot Never Boils" Idiom Meaning, Origin & History | Superduper English Idioms

0:00 - How to Say, “A Watched Pot Never Boils.” 0:51 - Meaning of “A Watched Pot Never Boils.” 2:12 - Origin of “A Watched Pot Never Boils.” 3:00 - Examples of “A Watched Pot Never Boils.” 3:23 - Conclusion “A Watched Pot Never Boils.” If you’ve ever sat around waiting for something, someone might have come by and said to you, “A watched pot never boils.” They are giving you an analogy, comparing what you are doing to watching and waiting for a pot of water to come to a boil. This idiom doesn’t really mean that if you put a pot of water on the stove and wait for it to boil that it will never boil. It just means that if you are doing nothing else besides waiting for your pot of water to boil, it will seem like it’s taking a very, very long time. In other words, time seems to slow down if you’re watching the clock. You can watch the clock if you’re at home and waiting for your pot of water to boil, but don’t let anyone catch you watching the clock at work! “Watching the clock,” is another time-related idiom that means you’re standing there doing nothing, simply waiting for time to pass. It’s better not to watch the clock. If you set a timer for your pot of water and go off and do something else, it will feel like not much time has passed at all. This idiom can be attributed to Poor Richard, which was the pen name of Benjamin Franklin used to publish his annual “almanack” between 1732 and 1758. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, published in his almanac many idioms and proverbs that are still popular today. You could use this idiom if you see someone wasting time waiting for something. Suppose you see your cousin looking out the window, waiting for a package delivery. You could say, “A watched pot never boils! Go and do something else and in no time, your package will be here.” Putting your time to good use rather than “watching the pot” is never a bad thing, even if it’s only a few minutes per day. Nowadays however, you probably won’t find anyone waiting for something to happen, because people will distract themselves with their mobile phones. There are both educational and mindless apps available for your mobile phone - what will you choose? #superduperenglishidioms #englishidioms #idioms #proverbs