Talk:have a mind like a sieve

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RFD discussion: December 2019–March 2020

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The following information has failed Wiktionary's deletion process (permalink).

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Delete entry content and redirect to mind like a sieve. You can have pretty much anything: skeletons in the closet, bats in the belfry, etc. The have isn't the important part, nor is it mandatory ("I've got a mind like..." is possible). We already redirect the similar have a memory like a sieve. We'll have to do something with the translations though (just delete them if also SoP?). Equinox 23:13, 23 December 2019 (UTC)Reply

Delete DCDuring (talk) 14:51, 24 December 2019 (UTC)Reply
If GBS results can be trusted, the original simile is the one with memory: 1812: “here is a corrupt memory, like a cage of unclean birds; or like a sieve which lets the precious liquor run out”; 1822: “there are some whose memory is like a sieve”; 1839: “Memory is like a sieve, that holds the bran, lets the flour go”; 1863: “My memory is just like a sieve”. All these are before the first reported use with mind: 1869: “your mind is just like a sieve; as fast as I pour water in, it runs out again”.  --Lambiam 19:50, 24 December 2019 (UTC)Reply