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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2007Seek for a proverb
That proverb means something like " it is not what we know but WHO we know" > That proverb means something like " it is not what we know but WHO > we know" "It's not *what* you know, but *who* you know" is the usual form. Depending on the context, it may express cynical advice (don't waste your time studying; the important thing is to make contacts) or indignation (competent people don't have a chance against idiots with connections in this organization, world, etc.).  Signature--- Joe Fineman joe_f@verizon.net ||: The gravest beast is an a.s; the gravest bird an owl; the :|| ||: gravest fish an oyster; and the gravest man a fool. :|| >> That proverb means something like " it is not what we know but WHO >> we know" [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > indignation (competent people don't have a chance against idiots with > connections in this organization, world, etc.) Back in the '80s, there was a book out called "What Color is Your Parachute?" I never read it, but it was recommended at inservice (morale-boosting) meetings. As I recall, there was some statistic supporting the idea that 60% of the people who got jobs were those who had personal references from friends, relatives, and sometimes bosses who knew the new prospective boss. That was a statistic that was apparently valid even for people who had taken civil service tests. So that bore out the "It's not _what_ you know, but _who_ you know" even outside the palm-greasing, "you scratch my back. . .", "he's-our-kind-of-people" and "I want you to meet the son of a friend of mine" circles. > That proverb means something like " it is not what we know but WHO we know" The earliest sighting I could find all come from Google/Books: http://books.google.com/books?q=%22but+whom+you+know%22&btnG=Search+Books&as_brr=0 Christian Science Sentinel - Page 231 1898 ... time by means of a personal visit, the student was February 5, 1949] reminded of the saying that "it isn't what you know, but whom you know that counts. ... American Imago - Page 108 by Association for Applied Psychoanalysis, Project Muse - 1939 Advertising is thus creating a fake and phony world in which it is not what you know but whom you know that counts. Amidst the babel of advertisement, .. It's All Politics - Page 148 by Lewis Abrahams - 1944 - 306 pages It is not what you know, but whom you know, that counts. If one seeking judicial office had the sponsorship of the Citizens' Union, the Bar Associa-tion, ... Careers in Commercial Art - Page 264 by Jacob Israel Biegeleisen - 1944 - 276 pages "It is not what you know but whom you know" is unfortunately true to a large extent. Dr. Agha, the famous art director, in an address to a group of art ... Aloha ~~~ Ozzie Maland ~~~ San Diego > Christian Science Sentinel - Page 231 > 1898 > ... time by means of a personal visit, the student was February 5, > 1949] reminded > of the saying that "it isn't what you know, but whom you know that > counts. ... The search result did have the stuff before the close-bracket, including that 1949 date, but looking inside the book itself, an 1898 oldie, I didn't see that stuff. Aloha ~~~ Ozzie Maland ~~~ San Diego |
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