{"id":3417,"date":"2022-05-16T18:01:25","date_gmt":"2022-05-16T18:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=3417"},"modified":"2022-05-16T18:01:25","modified_gmt":"2022-05-16T18:01:25","slug":"a-watched-pot-never-boils-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/a-watched-pot-never-boils-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"A Watched Pot Never Boils\u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you looking for a way to tell someone to stop obsessing over future events? You can use the saying \"<em>a watched pot never boils<\/em>\" to get them to take their mind off it and pass the time. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The expression \"<em>a watched pot never boils<\/em>\" means that focusing on something arriving in your life makes it take longer to manifest. It means that time somehow slows down when we think about something continuously during the day, making the wait for it seem longer.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It's a similar concept to Einstein's \"<em>Theory of Relativity.\"<\/em> The idea is that time moves at different speeds relative to the observer's experience in their life. That's why we can react in seconds to something, but it feels like minutes \u2013 like holding your breath underwater.<\/p>\n<p>So, by telling someone that <em>a watched pot never boils,<\/em> you're telling them to take their mind off their desires and focus on something else to fill the time.<\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cI told you to stop thinking about the summer all the time. It will get here when it gets here. A watched pot never boils.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMan, it feels like the weekend is never going to arrive, it\u2019s only Wednesday, and it feels like it should be Friday. I need to put the calendar away. A watched pot never boils.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hear you. There\u2019s no point obsessing over the vacation now. It\u2019s months away. A watched pot never boils, and you\u2019ll just make it feel longer till we leave.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA watched pot never boils. So, stop thinking about your birthday all the time, or it will never get here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know you\u2019re excited about going to camp in the summer, but it\u2019s still weeks away. Focus on your classwork, and the time will go by faster.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCollege is only a few weeks away, but it feels like it\u2019s taking forever. A watched pot never boils, so I suppose I should take my mind off it for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3418\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/A-Watched-Pot-Never-Boils.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"276\" height=\"193\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-3419\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/A-Watched-Pot-Never-Boils2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"276\" height=\"184\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>Benjamin Franklin coined the phrase \u201ca watched pot never boils.\u201d The American legend wrote an iteration of the saying in a report published in 1785, where it reads as follows.<\/p>\n<p>\u200b \u201cI was very Hungry; it was so late; \u2018a watched pot is slow to boil,\u2019 as Poor Richard says.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The earliest rendition of the modern version of the saying appears in the newspaper \u201cCobbett\u2019s Political Register,\u201d Volume 14, published in 1808, where it reads as follows.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I had a laborer, who was to become a notorious drunkard, I would dismiss him, because it would be my duty strongly to shew my disapprobation of so beastly a vice; but, after a good deal of observation, I am thoroughly convinced, that, as a \u2018watched pot never boils,\u2019 so a watched penny never breeds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"&quot;A Watched Pot Never Boils&quot; Idiom Meaning, Origin &amp; History | Superduper English Idioms\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/d_D9o2jR2LE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to A Watched Pot Never Boils<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Clock watching.<\/li>\n<li>Playing the waiting game.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to A Watched Pot Never Boils<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Good things come to those that wait.<\/li>\n<li>Time flies when you\u2019re having fun.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>A watched kettle never boils.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say A Watched Pot Never Boils Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>The phrase has nothing to do with boiling water or kettles. The kettle in the saying is the object of your desire, and \u201cboiling\u201d the water is the journey to that future event. The phrase doesn\u2019t mean watching a kettle will prevent it from boiling.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase A Watched Pot Never Boils<\/h2>\n<p>You can use the phrase, \u201ca watched pot never boils,\u201d when you\u2019re trying to tell someone to stop obsessing over future events. It\u2019s a way of telling them that focusing on future events won\u2019t make them come any sooner.<\/p>\n<p>The saying suits social and professional use. You could use it at the office to tell a colleague to stop wishing for the weekend. Or you could use it at home to tell your kids to stop anticipating the coming summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Are you looking for a way to tell someone to stop obsessing over future events? You can use the saying \"a watched pot never boils\" to get them to take their mind off it and pass the time. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression. Meaning The expression \"a watched pot never [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3417"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3417"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3552,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3417\/revisions\/3552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}