Don't be such a tool

To the man who only has a hammer, everything he encounters begins to look like a nail. Abraham Maslow

So many people keep just one tool in their hand and most often it is the wrong tool. I love the way Maslow phrases the thought behind today's quote. And it's unfortunate that I can immediately think of several people who fit this description. They have chosen to take up a hammer, and only a hammer, and everything they say or do is a hard hit meant to drive deep. It's not in my personality to behave that way nor even appreciate those who do behave that way. Here's your warning, in case you care, if you are someone who behaves like a hammer and treats everyone as a nail to hit I have zero respect for you. Nor do I care to interact with you much at all. Nobody, even the person behaving like a hammer, wants to be around someone who "hits" them every time there is interaction!
We behave like a hammer every time we "hit" someone for their opinions that differ from ours, their beliefs that differ from ours, their career that differs from ours, their look (fashion, style, etc) that differs from ours, etc etc. I think you get my point. Certainly we are going to differ on many things, but when discussing those difference don't let a hammer be the tool that defines your behavior.
What tool would best describe your interactions with others? (Be honest, after all you are the only one who will know the answer!)

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.

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.

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