What Does The Grass Is Always Greener On The Other Side Mean?

The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side Meaning

Definition: When someone is not satisfied with their own lot in life và always assumes that there are better things in other places.

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This idiom encapsulates the human unique of always wanting something different than what you have sầu. It assumes that your neighbor’s yard is greener than yours, when, in reality, they are the same or your neighbor is actually coveting what you have sầu.

It expresses the idea that people often think a different mix of circumstances would bring them greater joy; however, the phrase is often used in the context of reminding people that this is not usually the case.

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Origin of The Grass is Always Greener

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A Latin proverb cited by Erasmus of Rotterdam was translated inlớn English by Richard Taverner in 1545, as:


“The corne in an other mans ground semeth euer more fertyll & plentifull then doth oure own.” (The corn in another man’s ground seems ever more fertile and plentiful than our own does.)

The poet Ovid takes this further, saying in his “Art of Love” (1 BC) that “the harvest is always richer in another man’s field.”

As far as modern English sources, this idiom has been popular since at least the early 1900’s, evidenced by the fact that a tuy nhiên recorded in 1924 by Raymond B. Egan và Richard A. Whiting carried its wording, “The Grass is Always Greener in the Other Fellow’s Yard.”

That said, it is clear that the sentiment of this idiom has been expressed in some khung or another for thousands of years, và the true origin may never be known.


Examples of The Grass Is Always Greener

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Today, people use many variations of the phrase. They may simply say, “the grass is always greener…” to lớn bring lớn the attention of a friover that they are complaining about something they can fix themselves, or they may say the phrase in entirety, as in, “Susie’s never happy. Every time she gets what she wants, she forgets it và starts looking for something new. She always thinks the grass is greener on the other side.”

A new phrase has sprung up lớn counter this idiom, saying, “the grass is greener where you water it.” This suggests that good situations come from the energy you put into lớn them, not from dreaming about them.


More Examples

Summary

The feeling that the grass is always greener on the other side is experienced by people who believe that others have sầu it better than they vị.