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Mini-contest 2012: "Yogi Berra Quotes"»  Source text notes: English

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Examples:
Source textPossible source text note
We're lost, but we're making good time.In US English, 'making good time' means 'making good progress' (not 'having fun').
If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be.Grammatically, a contradiction. This adds to the impact of the remark.
I'm not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did.'encyclopedia' sounds like something you could ride to school on. (That's the only reason this quote is notable.)

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Source text segment #3

- "You can observe a lot just by watchin'."

Notes about this source segment

Rank by:
+24 | -2
The usual saying is "you can learn a lot just by watching". This version simply says that you see things if you watch them.
+18 | -4
Trying to offer a profound piece of advice when in fact saying nothing is what makes this Yogi Berra quote humorous.
+12
That nice little apostrophe in "watchin'" - "You watchin' me, son?"; "Whatcha watchin'?" - lends a lovely dichotomy to the more professorial "observe". The quote's educational message is charmingly phrased. Don't know if Yogi really considered this, I
+5
This is the advising communication style, in contrast with the critical "Pay attention!". A close alternative could be "You can hear a lot by just listenin'." A more distant one could be "It pays off to pay attention".
+6 | -1
Want to know what's going on around you. Well just look around you
+4 | -2
I'm sure there's a technical term but it's just "logical obviousness" using synonymy (given that "observe" and "watch" are pretty much the same). It's obvious you can observe a lot just by watching.
+1
Just by evaluating these various segments, I'm beginning to realize how destabilizing this segment actually is: did Yogi mean a lot of observation (the action) or the many outcomes of one observation? AAAAAAAAAhhhh, philosophical questionings......!!!
You learn from the mistakes of others. Можно учиться на чужих ошибках.
+2 | -2
They say that this phrase was yelled to players in the dugout annoyingly not paying attention to the game. In a different book, Yogi says he gave that answer to reporters when asked if he could coach.
Sometimes multi-tasking limits our observations, one c
-2
observar is ver with intention. Ver is just to see, what happens when you open your eyes, very different to observe
-4
Not totally sure if Yogi meant it like this, but I see this as having a double meaning: one is the obvious, you can notice things if you look, but the other one would be: you can spare yourself some trouble if you take care. That's because observe is also
[Edited] -4
You've to work if you want to reach a goal as you have to watch to observe.
+1 | -5
"Observe" as a term is more intellectual and grammatically correct then " watchin' "... putting them together in this quote makes us think that we can achieve more valuable knowledge through a simple and humble way.
+2 | -6
In my opinion, it means you don't have to actually experience something to learn. You can still figure a lot of things out just by watching them carefully.
-8
Actions say more that words.

Source text

Full source text (2)

#1 - "I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous." (29)

#2 - "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." (18)

#3 - "You can observe a lot just by watchin'." (15)

#4 - "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded." (24)

#5 - "I can't concentrate when I'm thinking." (12)

#6 - "The future ain't what it used to be." (10)

#7 - "I'm not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did." (19)

#8 - "We're lost, but we're making good time." (12)

#9 - "Half the lies they tell about me aren't true." (8)

#10 - "A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore." (10)

#11 - "It's like deja-vu, all over again." (8)

#12 - "It ain't over till it's over." (11)

#13 - Mrs. Lindsay: "You certainly look cool." Yogi Berra: "Thanks, you don't look so hot yourself." (10)

#14 - "If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be." (22)