When family gives you grief about "loyalty"...

[bansidhe]

I can't get to Cracked at work. Does anyone know where they're getting their information about this quote? I ask because virtually every other source I've ever seen says that "Blood is thicker than water" means exactly what everyone thinks it means.

I found one source that says otherwise, but it appears to be pretty dubious and contains convoluted arguments that cite sources that have nothing to do with the origin of the quote.

In other words, I'd take the Cracked article with a big grain of salt.

[kherbert05]

Was it Emily or Anne of Green Gables that said


"but who wants water to be thick"

[Kaora]

I can't get to Cracked at work. Does anyone know where they're getting their information about this quote? I ask because virtually every other source I've ever seen says that "Blood is thicker than water" means exactly what everyone thinks it means.

I found one source that says otherwise, but it appears to be pretty dubious and contains convoluted arguments that cite sources that have nothing to do with the origin of the quote.

In other words, I'd take the Cracked article with a big grain of salt.

I can't find a proper source, but I did find this interesting page.

http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/40/messages/121.html

Though apparently the phrase we think of is from tales of a Germanic folk hero.

[Softly Spoken]

I can't get to Cracked at work. Does anyone know where they're getting their information about this quote? I ask because virtually every other source I've ever seen says that "Blood is thicker than water" means exactly what everyone thinks it means.
I found one source that says otherwise, but it appears to be pretty dubious and contains convoluted arguments that cite sources that have nothing to do with the origin of the quote.
In other words, I'd take the Cracked article with a big grain of salt.

Okay based on what I read from this link the original article gave, the whole blood/water thing is 6 of one, a half dozen of the other. People either use it to mean family (blood) is more important than friends, or that a blood covenant is more powerful than "the water of the womb." Obviously people will use the interpretation that is the most beneficial to them. If your family wants your loyalty, they tell you they are your blood. If the military or a fraternity wants you loyalty, then you become brothers/bonded in blood. The prevailing theme is the pressure of loyalty and the forsaking of one person or group in favor of another.

I posted the link here because the second I read it, I thought of all the ehell posts that describe rude relatives playing the "but we're your faaaaaamily" card. IMHO, this just gives that practice an interesting perspective.

[yokozbornak]

Was it Emily or Anne of Green Gables that said


"but who wants water to be thick"

I remember that quote from The Blue Castle.  That's my favorite L.M. Montgomery book.

[Venus193]

I wish I could have read that in my teens.  This phrase is usually joined up with "What happens at home stays at home."

Which -- if you are familiar with the Law & Order SVU episode "Home" -- is designed to maintain a bad status quo.

[Shalamar]

Or the X-Files episode by the same name.   

[heartmug]

Was it Emily or Anne of Green Gables that said


"but who wants water to be thick"

I remember that quote from The Blue Castle.  That's my favorite L.M. Montgomery book.

That is my favorite book of her's as well.

[PastryGoddess]

I can't get to Cracked at work. Does anyone know where they're getting their information about this quote? I ask because virtually every other source I've ever seen says that "Blood is thicker than water" means exactly what everyone thinks it means.

I found one source that says otherwise, but it appears to be pretty dubious and contains convoluted arguments that cite sources that have nothing to do with the origin of the quote.

In other words, I'd take the Cracked article with a big grain of salt.

I've seen the Cracked interpretation in other places as well.  Now I have to go and find where.

[bansidhe]

My instincts tell me that if you have to get into long, convoluted explanations of why a phrase means the exact opposite of what everyone thinks it means, it probably doesn't really mean that.

"You've always thought this but really it's just the opposite" articles pop up fairly often and I'm always a bit suspicious of them.

[Piratelvr1121]

I wish I could have read that in my teens.  This phrase is usually joined up with "What happens at home stays at home."

Which -- if you are familiar with the Law & Order SVU episode "Home" -- is designed to maintain a bad status quo.

I was pretty sure I knew which one you meant but looked it up to be sure and yep it was the one I was thinking of, with the mother who homeschooled to isolate her kids, had them on a very restrictive diet and tried to make them paranoid about everything. 

I thought of that episode when a poster in the homeschooling thread mentioned her mother, a social worker, saw home schooling being used as isolation in abusive homes.

I mentioned this to a friend of mine who said she felt that like just about everything else from the bible, it's open to interpretation.