Don't worry, no cats were harmed in the making of this post (although Evander still has some concerns). The title is an expression that was in common usage where I grew up and was used to indicate that there was more than one way of doing something.
It was interesting to see all the different meanings that can be drawn from a single phrase. My first thought upon reading it was to think of a different phrase with almost the opposite meaning. As I pondered this it occurred to me that for most of the pithy sayings that we toss around there's at least one that says the opposite and sounds equally true.
For example, here's two more that I grew up with:
The squeaky wheel gets the grease
The nail that sticks out gets hammered
The first carries positive connotations for attracting attention while the second one is of the negative variety.
With that being the case, is what's good for the goose really good for the gander? Do we just pick and choose the sayings that support the conclusions we want to come to? What do you think? Do you have ones you follow?
The title of this post is a phrase that is something of a regional flavor, I've not really heard it since moving from the area. Anyone else have sayings/advice that are particular to their local area?
I'll leave y'all with a phrase that's more paradox than proverb, I just enjoy telling it to people and watching them try and puzzle it out:
Disregard everything I say because everything I say is a lie