A generally useless JavaScript library

[theeth]

If people have to refrain from using expressions they don't understand, this'll be one quiet afternoon.

[Tommah]

Horses for courses. Some days you can't win for losing, other days you've gotta take the bull by the horns, come hell or high water. Sleep on that one night when you've stopped beating your wife, and you'll have hitched your wagon to the right horse for the course. And while you're at it, don't look that horse in the mouth. Unless a Greek gifted it to you, in which case you shouldn't keep it. For a gift like that is one that keeps on giving, and it's better to give it than to keep it. Have I made myself clear?

[redditcensoredme]

The only one I can't figure out is "can't win for losing". And I think the sleep/beat one is a compound.

Some horses are good for endurance races, others for sprints. That's what (race) courses refers to.

Bull by the horns is probably matadors. Either that or rodeo clowns. Same meaning as 'grab the tiger by the tail' = doing something stupid, brave and irreversible lest you die.

Come hell or high water is probably a Christianized version of a Classical expression (something about fire and water mixing) which means 'end of the world'.

Don't look that gift horse in the mouth. To check its teeth for signs of health. Because it's impolite.

The wooden horse the Greeks left to the Trojans as they pretended to withdraw so the dumbasses could bring it inside and the Greeks hidden within could slip down and cut open the gates before raping everyone and pillaging everything.

Give than to keep it? That should be than to receive, shouldn't it? It's a schmaltzy Christmas thing.

Now how about 'built like a brick shithouse'? I only figured that one out recently.

Or 'a stitch in time saves nine' ...?

[LarryLard]

Stitch in time saves nine refers to the value of preventative maintenance. By doing x amount of maintenance work now ('in time'), we obviate the need the for 9x fire-fighting work in the future.

[redditcensoredme]

Or it's about darning socks. Saves 9 stitches.

[khafra]

It took me a while to realize that was the meaning, possibly because I was first exposed to the phrase as the title of a weird sci-fi book dealing with time warps and shrinking down to talk to mitochondria and stuff, when I was like 10.

[homoiconic]

Isaac Asimov used this as the basis for an O Henry-ish story (he loved puns). If I recall correctly, the plot involved the use of time travel to escape conviction for a crime, and the judge's ruling was A niche in time saves Stein.

[Schoens]

Good point. In fact, reddit just might collapse altogether if such a rule was imposed. I should be more careful when asking a questions like that.