Sayings with a wider application than intended.

[Kaputnik]

There are many fields of interest with little sayings of their own, meant to apply to that skill, hobby, art, sport, job, or whatever it might be. For example, although I'm not particularly interested in guns, I can see the sense of the following:

"Never, never let your gun,
Pointed be at anyone.
That it may unloaded be,
Matters not the least to me."

But how about sayings that were meant to have a narrow application, but in fact might refer to life in general? Since I'm interested in chess, I thought I'd see if any chess sayings were like that. Let's see...

"All rook and pawn endings are drawn." Nope, although it has been getting rueful smiles from chess players for a while.

"The winner is the player who makes the next to last blunder." Closer, but not quite. I like the touch of cynicism, though.

"Tactics is knowing what to do when there is something to do. Strategy is knowing what to do when there is nothing to do." Closer yet. These three have all been attributed to one Savielly Tartakower, although with uncertainty on the first.

But perhaps my favorite chess quotation comes from Henry Thomas Buckle, one of the stronger British players for a period in the middle of the 19th century, although he would have preferred to be remembered as a historian.

"Sir, the slowness of genius is hard to bear, but the slowness of mediocrity is insufferable."

Applying to excessively slow play in the time before chess timers became standard, this could apply to other fields where one must wait a long time for people to make up their minds.

If the above hasn't bored everyone who started reading it, what sayings can you add from your own fields of interest and skill? What sayings from your hobbies, favorite sports, or jobs would have something to say to people outside of those fields?

And for that matter, are there fountain pen sayings? I can think of common advice, but not in aphoristic form.

[SIR]

The winner is the player who makes the next to last blunder.

I like that one.

[Chrissy]

I found a couple of fountain pen quotes:

My two fingers on a typewriter have never connected with my brain. My hand on a pen does. A fountain pen, of course. Ball-point pens are only good for filling out forms on a plane. Graham Greene

The material came bubbling up inside like a geyser or an oil gusher. It streamed up of its own accord, down my arm and out of my fountain pen in a torrent of six thousand words a day. C. S. Forester

[RocketRyan]

Not sure it has any relevance in the context you are asking for, but I just like the saying "don't piss on my back, then tell me it's raining"

[penwash]

Donald E. Knuth which to a lot of us computer geeks are the father of Computer Science:

"If we understand something enough to explain to a computer, that's science, else, it's Art"

[catbert]

'If in doubt, take it out' might apply to surgeons and editors (and writers - so a vague fountain pen connection there).

[Jon Szanto]

In drumming: "When in doubt, roll."

[AzJon]

Hooboy. With my background we in East Asian Medicine have a whole load of sayings that probably don't make a load of sense to those outside, but one of my favorites, and a sort of foundation of asian healing philosophy is : "To cure disease after it has appeared is like digging a well when one already feels thirsty, or forging weapons after war has already begun." While slightly pessimistic, it does get the point across to take care of things now before they get worse. A sort of "health is your first wealth" sort of idea.

Outside of that, you can find a number of practical application in older texts such as the Scandinavian Hávamál.

[Lady Onogaro]

Writing Center wisdom:

"We don't make better papers--we make better writers."

[Paddler]

"At the end of the game, the pawn and the king go back in the same box."

[Sammyo]

Hundreds from my martial arts life... hundreds from Miyamoto Musashi alone...
“Do nothing that is of no use” ― Miyamoto Musashi
“If you wish to control others you must first control yourself” ― Miyamoto Musashi
“from one thing, know ten thousand things” ― Miyamoto Musashi (about reapplying knowledge and experience)
“You can only fight the way you practice” ― Miyamoto Musashi (this could easily be "You can only WRITE the way you practice”
“Today is victory over yourself of yesterday; tomorrow is your victory over lesser men.” ― Miyamoto Musashi

[SIR]

"What would Modesty do?"

[Chrissy]

Not sure it has any relevance in the context you are asking for, but I just like the saying "don't piss on my back, then tell me it's raining"

This is very similar to a quote that Judge Judy uses on a fairly regular basis. However, for TV purposes she starts it off by saying 'don't pee on my leg...

[BayesianPrior]

'If in doubt, take it out' might apply to surgeons and editors (and writers - so a vague fountain pen connection there).

And airport security screeners

IMG_20170226_121628.jpg

[BayesianPrior]

George Box:

"All models are wrong. Some models are useful."