I was on bluesky about to comment on some art someone made and was going to comment it is a diamond in the rough but I did a search to make sure it was rough and not ruff because it is not an expression I use much. When I searched it I found out it meant. “a person who is generally of good character but lacks manners, education, or style; a rough diamond.” I just thought it meant hidden gem. Has anyone else misunderstood the meaning of an expression?
Pretty sure the “original” meaning of “blood is thicker than water” came later. There’s a popular bit of misinfo that it’s short for “the blood of the covenant is stronger than the water of the womb” but no one can point to a single historical usage of it.
I prefer the version that doesn’t prioritize family ties, but I don’t think it’s the original.