A Hill to Die On!

[kaytieeldr]

I have heard it before, outside the dis, but it's not as common as "pick your battles" which is the same meaning.

Has anyone heard the expression recently "in the weeds"? I heard it on Top Chef and then two other places. Never heard it before that.

Can't help with "hill to die on" (except that I found it used four years ago in relation to Congress's approval of Samuel Alito), but "in the weeds" is, according to wikipedia, diner lingo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_weeds

 

[C.Ann]

I learned it here on the DIS - passed it on to my DD and her DH in terms of dealing with issues with my DGD - and they love it!

The things you learn here - huh?

 

[mrsklamc]

I am familiar with this phrase.

Someone else mentioned phrases getting overused in the corporate world- I hated 'It is what it is' at my old job because it meant "You are right, and the company is choosing to do something morally and ethically wrong, but we're more concerned with making money so don't worry your little head about it!"

 

[OK!]

I had a supervisor who used to use that expression. I've found myself using it recently, too.

 

[A4Disney]

Years ago(Probably late 90's) I used to listen to Dr Laura Schlessinger in the car.She said this phrase a lot"You have to decide if this is a hill you want to die on" I can still hear her shrill voice lol

 

[lovesmurfs]

Some other odd sayings I use often at work: "I don't have a dog in that fight"; "The more you run over a dead cat, the flatter it gets"; and "When you've reached the bottom of the hole, stop digging".

Disclaimer: I have never actually run OVER a cat, alive or dead. No flames.

 

[Luv2Scrap]

Some of my favorite sayings are all wrapped up in this thread!

My grandma used to tell me, "you may have won the battle, but you're losing the war" Most of the time, she was right, God rest her soul.

 

[disykat]

I've been using it for years, here and IRL.

 

[Imzadi]

Here is a list of other infamous Dis Board Sayings.

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

Okay, I've been on the DIS for years.

Over the past 2-3 days, I have been on numerous threads where the term "this is not a hill to die on" has been stated (mainly parenting and in-law threads).

Is this a new DIS phrase, do people use it all the time in real life? I've never heard it before until a few days ago and now it's all over the place.

I've definitely heard it in real life, too.

 

[dislaney]

I have heard it before but don't usually hear it on a regular basis.

 

[geogat]

I manage in a union enviorment. I tend to use this line when I am dealing with grievences and/or union concerns. Mostly it is when I am giving in!

"It's just not the hill I am going to die on"..

 

[Inigo]

Some of my favorite sayings are all wrapped up in this thread!

My grandma used to tell me, "you may have won the battle, but you're losing the war" Most of the time, she was right, God rest her soul.

I use that expression, as well as "Is this a hill you want to die on" a lot in my job as a juvenile probation officer, with both juveniles and parents.

 

[NotUrsula]

As others have said, it's a reference to military tactics, and is an ironic reference to Pyrrhic victories. Most battles that are Pyrrhic victories involve hills, because trying to climb UP toward an enemy that can see you coming and throw things down on you is a nasty offensive challenge that tends to generate a LOT of casualties. If the objective is not really very important (see Pork Chop Hill, for example), then a lot of people will die for no good reason.

In the weeds was originally military, too. It was a reference to falling behind on a march, when soldiers would literally get stuck in weeds crossing fields of marshland and have to slowly slog their way through.

 

[MrsPete]

Okay, I've been on the DIS for years.

Over the past 2-3 days, I have been on numerous threads where the term "this is not a hill to die on" has been stated (mainly parenting and in-law threads).

Is this a new DIS phrase, do people use it all the time in real life? I've never heard it before until a few days ago and now it's all over the place.

This isn't a common phrase, but it is one that I've heard occasionally all my life. I KNOW I heard it when I was a child.

 

[dalt01]

around here its phrased a little different. when someone is upset about something that is what it is and the person responsible is a superior, which means you have no chance of winning, the statement is..........are you sure you want to die on that hill?.....on the serious side my late father was in Korea, one day they sent 240 of them out to take a real hill..........they did it........there was only 18 of them left.....they all got bronze stars..........the next day they abandoned the hill and moved on.

 

[Judy from Boise]

Heard all my life, and use it often at work.I use it a lot with my managers to indicate how much political capital I am willing to expend on their issue.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I heard it for the first time when my son started a new school two years ago. My son has Asperger's and we made the decision to take him out of mainstream school and put him in a specialized school. We were talking to the head teacher and my son's classes, homework, etc. We said our son has a lot of difficulty with math and perhaps he should have math homework every night to catch up. The teacher said math is a big issue for many kids in the school and most parents don't want math homework because "that's not a hill they want to die on." I understood immediately what he meant but that was the first time I heard that phrase.

 

[powellrj]

I had never heard it before, but I used it many times this week at work. Unfortunately, it was a hill they wanted to die on!!!

Another one I just recently learned that I have been using many times is Cowboy up!! I just love that one! I use it with my kids and while it REALLYYYYYY annoys them, it does seem to work!

With my kids I have always use the phrase, pick my battles. I remember Jane Pauley using it on the Today show and it really seemed appropriate!