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The Kitchen Table

Stupid is as Stupid does

13 years ago

I believe it means that a smart person who does stupid things is stupid.

Do you believe this? I'm not believing this at the moment.

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Comments (12)

jel48
13 years ago
This is from: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_meaning_of_the_saying_%27stupid_is_stupid_does%27

What is the meaning of the saying 'stupid is stupid does'?
Answer:
"Stupid is as stupid does" indicates that a person is judged stupid by the stupid acts they commit.

A1. The phrase "beauty is as beauty does" is a common southern expression. It conveys the notion of judging someone on their actions as opposed to superficial appearance. The mom (played by Sally Fields) in the movie Forrest Gump twisted this saying into "stupid is as stupid does" as way of placating her slow-witted son. It is sort of a meaningless expression, and generated a laugh at theaters in the south. The play on phrases was apparently lost in other regions where the original saying was not known.

A2. Stupidity is demonstrated by one's actions.

A3. It means that although you may be slow, stupidity is based more on your actions than on the speed at which you think.

A4. It means that people think of you as stupid if you act stupid or perform stupid acts.

This is my take on it. "Stupid is as stupid does" was coined in the movie "Forrest Gump". I think that in that movie it was meant to say that while Forrest might not be the brightest person in the world, he didn't have to act stupidly. And if he didn't act stupidly, what did it matter what the world called him (stupid) or thought of him?

The phrase that has been used for years and years is "beauty is as beauty does" and I think it means that no matter how beautiful someone might be on the outside, if their actions are ugly than they are an ugly person. It's more important what you are on the inside.

Here is a link that might be useful: Stupid is...
chisue
13 years ago
I never heard that saying using 'stupid' or 'beauty'. I'm familiar with: "Pretty is as Pretty does." Also: "She's beautiful inside and out."
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I feel your pain! I wanted a sectional last year, and was really sad about the size and quality at my $3000 budget point. I found a large sectional, 12' by 8' on craigslist. Stanford furniture, 8-way hand-tied springs, down cushions, hardwood frame, good construction, with matching ottoman. It was described as being in excellent condition. The loose back cushions were a little slouchy, the fabric was very red, and the arm style was a little dated. So i paid them $800, and planned to get my friend, a local upholsterer to redo it for me probably in blue in a year or so.. So i will probably put another $1500 to 2000 in fabric and labor, but i can have the arm style altered cushion density altered. But... When i arrived with moving truck, the seller happily told me that she had pulled it out from the wall and vacuumed it all over for me and she was going to give me all of her decorative pillows too. We went in the room to inspect it and the entire sofa had been pulled apart into 4 or 5 sections, and Seat cushions, back cushions and decorative pillows were stacked in piles everywhere. She proudly announced, "i've been putting them in bags for you, so they will stay clean for transport." I felt a little rude but i told her as politely as possible, that i would need to see the cushions before i bought them. (trying to be wary here, i was afraid of stains, etc....). The cushions were clearly invery nice condition. We paid and loaded and drove 2 hours home. We unloaded and discovered that Four of the seven back cushions were missing! At first i thought we had maybe left them there or dropped them in the snow, lol, but when you looked at her photo in the ad -- - i dont know how to describe it exactly - but she had plumped the decorative pillows forward, so they looked like they were resting on back cushions. And with the deep red sofa, and the kind of grainy photo... It just wasnt easy to see that there were back cushions missing, even when you knew! At her home, with all the sectional pieces apart and the pillows and cushions stacked in piles ---- i thought to examine the condition of them, but i never thought to count them! So i was furious, but to best salvage the situation for myself, i politely emailed her, told her that 4 cushions were missing, and that i assumed that they had gotten damaged or something. i was aware on CL it was caveat emptor, but if the cushions were damaged, i would still apprecite having the down bags that go inside the cushions. She apologized and offered to mail me back $200, and said she didnt have the cushions. Never heard from her again. Definitely didn't receive the $200. Anyway, since i was planning to reupholster it anyway, it is not a complete disaster, but now i have the additional cost of having 4 large down cushions made. And it looks goofy right now. But it is exceedingly comfortable and solid. So ultimately it will come out right. I hope. But as an aside, if you want revenge - ask high school students! They are all secretly creative evil geniuses with enough free time to hatch a plan. I tutor, and one of the vocb words was "dupe" During breaktime, we were laughing about my experience being Sofa-Duped and my students suggested that since i knew the seller's address, that i could use google earth to locate all the addresses of neighbors in her community. My students offered to write a letter describing my experience, paste in a copy of her ad showing the deceptive "staging" of the sectional, paste in a copy of the sofa as it actually is, and close by saying that "i cant fix my transaction but i can publicize her behavior" andmail the story to everyone in her neighborhood. I did NOT do that, and instead assigned an SAT style essay on whether revenge is ever justified ; ) (apologies for typos, i have a terrible time typing on ipad screen!) Here is a link that might be useful: This is exactly my ottoman, shows color of sectional.
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bee0hio
13 years ago
If I may ask, why are you not believing it, Cheerful1?

With respect to the "beauty" version, it was one of my dear Mom's oft repeated sayings as I was growing up... her version being: "Pretty is, as pretty does."
jel48
13 years ago
I think I know what Cheerful means. I totally admit to doing stupid things sometimes! And when I do, I can't help but share then with my family or friends :-) But I think you could ask anyone who knows me and they would tell you that I'm a fairly smart person and (to be even better) have plenty of common sense. Doing something stupid doesn't mean that I'm stupid. I think that's what Cheerful was talking about.
jel48
13 years ago
I didn't mean 'to be even better'. I meant 'to me, even better', meaning that I think having common sense is often far better than being super smart!
cheerful1_gw
Original Author
13 years ago
jel48 - exactly!

I think I'm a smart person who does stupid things.
chisue
13 years ago
"A smart person who does (some) stupid things." Well, join the crowd! You must be *normal*.
joyfulguy
13 years ago
Yeah - sometimes smart people (me, for instance) ... can do stupid things (me, again) ... but they better not try it too often!

"Normal" means living up to a norm, or standard, doesn't it?

"Average" being somewhat different, to my way of thinking.

Somewhat of a different emphasis, but possibly related, was Dad's saying,
"What you do speaks so loudly ...

... that I can't hear what you say!".

(Dad died in '86: I guess this is related to keeping his memory green ... or just being stuck in a rut, possibly).

ole joyful
cynic
13 years ago
Doing stupid things is stupid. Period. Pretty arrogant to think you do stupid things and you're super smart! When you do something stupid, you're stupid for that moment. Drop your ego and accept it. Doesn't condemn you to being retarded the rest of your life. Hopefully it's something that's soon over. You don't fool anyone but yourself. And if you don't learn from it, you're REALLY stupid.

I'm surprised the tantrums haven't been thrown like the last time the word "stupid" was used on this forum! THAT was stupid! And really funny! LOL
joyfulguy
13 years ago
Hi cynic,

Possibly ... the folks who didn't like "stupid" ...

... have departed?

(or learned something ... like "not to take life so seriously")?

o j
chisue
13 years ago
This might be a good time to add: "You're known by the company you keep." (AKA "Birds of a Feather Flock Together."

Are you living in the company of The Stupid Birds? LOL
joyfulguy
13 years ago
Stupid ... reiterated ... starts building a record!

Three or four times (especially in short order) adds substantially to that record, no?

o j o j ... indefensible and accidental, I assure you, reiteration

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