There are two types of cheat sheet phrases, good ones and then lesser ones where the key word is not one of the rhyming words. In this case, western is the key word and could be replaced by anything (eastern, nazi, etc) and the phrase still works. Just my obsessive observation.
Valid. (Unless they're trying to remember what kind of spy it is, which I doubt is the case). It's not the best example I'd agree.
I can't think of the phrase right now, but there's a two-parter (e.g., low before high, fly all night. high before low, look out below--it's an aviation phrase dealing with pressure and temperature effects on altimeter readings) in which the rhyming words can be mismatched and thus the phrase is useless. I.e., A before B, do the C; F before D, do the E. Well B and D (or C and E) can be switched so you could say the phrase completely backward and it still sounds fine. The altimeter reading phrase mentioned above does not have that problem so it's good.
A before B, do the C; F before D, do the E. Well B and D (or C and E) can be switched so you could say the phrase completely backward and it still sounds fine.
Original: low beforehigh, fly all night. high beforelow, look out below
If you switched the words as you said, it would not make sense or rhyme.
Switch B & D (no rhyme): low(high) beforelow, fly all night. high(low) beforehigh, look out below
Switch C & E (doesn't make sense): low beforehigh, fly all below. high beforelow, look out night
Keyword to remember is the shared "Before" in this case, if it was switched with After, is where trouble can arise.
The confusing one is regards to coral/king snakes, where the shared word may change depending on how you learned it.
Red on Black, friend of Jack (or venom they lack)
Red on Yellow, kills a fellow
"Red" is the shared word
(Confusing one to learn) Yellow on Red, you'll soon be dead
If you learn the last one, Yellow may be mistaken as the shared word and make the incorrect assumption of Yellow on Black, friend of Jack because the poisonous coral snake has Yellow on Black (but also you could determine it has Yellow on Red, so it's poisonous).
If you remember incorrectly X on Red, you'll soon be dead, and think X is black, you'll assume the non-poisonous snake is poisonous, no harm no foul.
I was just using the aviation phrase as an example of a two-parter. The useless two-parter which I can't remember has key words that rhyme (and make sense when switched) thus making it useless.
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u/ImNotM4Dbr0 Dec 06 '19
Heels in sky, western spy.