Big things begin with "small" acts

Everybody here wants a revolution, but nobody here wants to do the dishes. Shane Claiborne

If you want something big to happen you'd better be willing to put your hands in and get them dirty. The biggest things (movements, revolutions, etc) start with the smallest of acts and the humblest of leaders. People won't join you in your efforts for change if you aren't willing to get down in the trenches yourself. Don't be above what you are asking others to believe in and do. Lead the way and do so while "washing dishes."

Comments

Butter someone up

There are two probable origins for this idiom and I think both are equally plausible. The first one is that when you spread butter on bread you are buttering it up like one would do when trying to flatter someone. The second is in ancient India there was a practice of throwing balls of butter at statues to ask for favor, i.e. buttering them up. ( source ) When we use the phrase today we generally mean that extreme flattery is used to gain information or favor. It's not always necessarily a compliment.

Call it a Day

The literal use of this phrase hails from 1838 when the phrase originally was "call it half a day" to mean leaving work early. (source) The modern use of the phrase is to indicate ending something due to false sense of accomplishment.

More bang for your buck

This phrase was used a lot in 1953 but an earlier citation puts it at 1940 in a Metals and Plastics Publications advertisement. Read about it here . The phrase means you get more for your money.

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