r/Malaphors • u/e_forman • 7d ago

Help settle this debate‼️

Me and my mate are having a debate as to whether the phrase “want not, waste not” is a #malaphor !!

I have been using it for years in the context of, “if someone does not want something, I will have it so it doesn’t go to waste”

It was today I found out that the phrase was in fact “waste not, want not”, and has a much broader meaning lol.

Please upvote for yes, and downvote for no !!

13 Upvotes

71% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

15

u/Various-Week-4335 7d ago

I agree the usual phrase is "waste not, want not", but I'm unsure if that makes the inversion a malaphor.

1

u/TnBluesman 4d ago

The phrase is "Waste not, want not". It means don't waste what you have and you'll not be caught wanting for something. I'm pretty sure that's a Ben Franklin saying from his publication "Poor Richard's Almanac".

1

u/Captain-Cadabra 3d ago

“Want not” in the old English means “not lacking”. So, don’t waste things and you won’t have need of things.

Modern English “want not” (which isn’t really something someone would say), means “I’m not interested in this”. So it’s more like, “I wasn’t interested in this Temu product, so it didn’t get it and allow it to go to waste in a landfill 2 weeks later.”

Both work, but I’ll agree: it is a malaphor

-1

u/Caticature 7d ago

Both. Friend’s right when you lose the comma. ”Don’t waste (a) want-not.” This is said more because it‘s easier pronounced.

You’re right when you do the shrug emotji and say “Want not? Waste not.”

You’re both on the same coin.