One man’s – or woman’s – trash is another’s treasure...

THE TRASH TO TREASURE RULE: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”         A popular proverbial saying in America since the late 20th century. Its basic meaning is that something which seems worthless to one person is often deemed valuable by another. This modern proverb is, of course, a variation of the much older English proverb “One man's meat is another man's poison,” which dates back to sometime before 1709, when it was recorded by language scholar Oswald Dykes in his book English Proverbs.

THE TRASHY MEN RULE: “One woman’s trash is another woman’s boyfriend.”          Laura Ruby         American novelist        Quip made by a character in Ruby’s novel I’m Not Julia Roberts (2007)

THE TRAMP STAMP VARIATION: “One woman’s tramp stamp is another woman’s declaration of undying love — until she dumps the lying SOB and is stuck with his name forever.”          Alexis Munier        American-born writer currently living in Switzerland        From her entry about the term “tramp stamp” in The Little Red Book of Very Dirty Words (2009)

THE FAMOUS COHEN V. CALIFORNIA FREE SPEECH DECISION: “One man’s vulgarity is another man’s lyric.”        U.S. Supreme Court Justice John M. Harlan II (1899-1971)        In majority opinion he wrote for the Supreme Court’s decision on Cohen v. California (1971)        The case involved an anti-Vietnam War activist named Paul Cohen, who had been convicted of “offensive conduct” and sentenced to 30 days in jail for publicly wearing a jacket that had “FUCK THE DRAFT” printed on it. The Court reversed Cohen’s conviction, finding that it violated his Constitutional right to free speech under the First Amendment.

THE OGDEN NASH QUIP: “One man’s remorse is another man’s reminiscence.”               Ogden Nash (1902-1971)         American poet and humorist         From his poem “A Clean Conscience Never Relaxes” (1936), included in his book I’m a Stranger Here Myself (1938)

THE BOOB JOB QUIP: “One woman’s self-objectifying excess is another woman’s décolletage.”        Ann Scales (1952-2012)        American law professor and author         In her book Legal Feminism (2006)

THE CHARLIE SHEEN SPIT JOB QUIP: “One man’s saliva is another man’s mousse.”        Charlie Sheen, as the character Charlie Harper        In an episode of his former TV series Two and a Half Men (“Can You Eat Human Flesh with Wooden Teeth?”, first aired February 14, 2005)

NICK MANCUSO’S OBSERVATION ABOUT RELIGION: “One man’s superstition is another man’s religion!”          Nick Mancuso, as the Indian police officer Youngman Duran         One of his lines in the batty horror movie Nightwing (1979)

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Related reading: books about proverbial sayings and idioms...