Talk:a mind is a terrible thing to waste
Add topicLatest comment: 9 years ago by BD2412 in topic RFD
RFD
[edit]
The following information passed a request for deletion.
This discussion is no longer live and is left here as an archive. Please do not modify this conversation, but feel free to discuss its conclusions.
- Delete. This is really just a slogan. bd2412 T 22:09, 23 July 2015 (UTC)
- Yeah, it sounds like a quotation from somewhere, rather than having any unguessable meaning. What's the origin? Equinox ◑ 21:49, 24 July 2015 (UTC)
- Possibly the United Negro College Fund. They popularized it, in any case. - -sche (discuss) 21:50, 24 July 2015 (UTC)
- The UNCF website gives this:
- The Motto
- The UNCF motto, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste,"® was created in 1972 by Young and Rubicam advertising executive Forrest Long.
- The UNCF website gives this:
- Possibly the United Negro College Fund. They popularized it, in any case. - -sche (discuss) 21:50, 24 July 2015 (UTC)
- But what difference does origin make? It can't be that we can credit a specific person with first attestation or we'd have to get rid of Shakespeare-originated expressions. DCDuring TALK 23:08, 24 July 2015 (UTC)
- User:Talking Point mentioned "significant history of usage" as one indicator of proverbhood. As per google books:"a mind is a terrible thing to waste", I see no significant history of usage. When I restrict the search to 19th century, I get a sole hit. When I check hits in 20th century, suspectly many refer to United Negro College Fund; I mention it not for origin but for each occurrence that has that reference since I consider such occurences non-proverb ones, e.g. 'For example, we, via United Negro College Fund, have been saying this slogan loudly for a while: “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”' --Dan Polansky (talk) 23:18, 24 July 2015 (UTC)
- Right. Talking Point's point does not require a long timespan of usage. I would argue that a proverb could be quite recent if its usage was "proverbial". I would think that any proverbial usage would be recent. I also note the UNCF has made it a trademark, so WT:BRAND might have implications. DCDuring TALK 02:17, 25 July 2015 (UTC)
- Two things that suggest its having become part of the language: people make puns (w:Anti-proverbs?) based on it (e.g. "a waist is a terrible thing to mind"), and a public figure (w:Dan Quayle) got ridiculed for not saying it right. It reminds me of phrases like w:I've fallen, and I can't get up! and w:Where's the beef?, that also came from advertising. Chuck Entz (talk) 03:16, 25 July 2015 (UTC)
- Right. Talking Point's point does not require a long timespan of usage. I would argue that a proverb could be quite recent if its usage was "proverbial". I would think that any proverbial usage would be recent. I also note the UNCF has made it a trademark, so WT:BRAND might have implications. DCDuring TALK 02:17, 25 July 2015 (UTC)
- Keep It's a proverb, included in proverb dictionaries; it's a set phrase; and per Chuck Entz. DCDuring TALK 21:58, 1 September 2015 (UTC)
No consensus to delete. bd2412 T 18:16, 25 September 2015 (UTC)