Idiom: If you watch a kettle, it never boils

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hello!. How is it going? Thanks in advance!

I have trying to know what the following idioms
mean, but I haven?t got a clue.

1.- If you watch a kettle, it never boils.

2.- Let sleeping dogs lie.

Can you tell me what they really mean?

By the way, I?ve got some more, well,
actually I have got a (Huge?? :oops: )
list, so I would like you to recommend
me a site you think I can find most of them.
Maybe on this site, but I don?t know where :oops:

Thanks a lot!

Jes?s

2

Hi Jes?s

I know the expression “If you watch a kettle, it never boils.” a little differently:
“A watched pot never boils.”
Look here, for example:
idioms.thefreedictionary.com/pot

You can find lots of various websites by doing a Google search for “English idioms” :smiley:

For example, Google found this:
Let sleeping dogs lie: Look here under L
idiomconnection.com/animal.html#A3

Amy

3

I once had a boss from Sicily, and his version this English proverb was different. He said, “You put a pot on to boil, you watch it boil, it never boil.” :smiley:

4

Hello!. Thanks a lot for your replies, and for the websites, Amy!.

Well, I have been looking for another one, but
I can?t find it. I just found one pretty similar.

The Idiom is:

“Like a cat on hot bricks”.

Does it mean the same as
“Like a cat on a hot tin roof”?

If you know it, please, tell it to me right now.
Otherwise I will be like a cat on a hot tin roof
because I have got an exam about idioms
in two hours!. :smiley:

Thanks a lot!

5

Hi Jesus

Yes, that sounds about right.

Here’s a link to this forum :wink:

Like a cat on hot bricks…
[size=75]http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic950.html[/size]

6

One of Russian colloquial versions of the saying is almost the same - but about the milk.
To be more precise – not is, but rather was, as now milk is sold pasteurized and no one boils it at home to sterilize. :slight_smile: