Puzzle of the Day

Bureaucracies have their own version of the English language with which you must become familiar. To help you do so, here are some common phrases. See if you can translate them (the answers are on the other side).

Complex Ways of Saying Simple Things

1. Scintillate, scintillate, asteroid minikin.
2. Members of an avian species of identical plumage congregate.
3. Surveillance should precede saltation.
4. Pulchritude possesses solely cutaneous profundity.
5. It is fruitless to become lachrymose over precipitately departed lacteal fluid.
6. Freedom from incrustations of grime is contiguous to rectitude.
7. The writing implement is more potent than the claymore.
8. It is fruitless to attempt to indoctrinate a superannuated canine with innovative maneuvers.
9. Eschew the implement of correction and vitiate the scion.
10. The temperature of the aqueous content of an unremittingly galled saucepan does not reach 212 degrees Farenheit.

Translations

1. twinkle, twinkle, little star
2. birds of a feather flock together
3. look before you leap
4. beauty is only skin deep
5. it's no use crying over spilt milk
6. cleanliness is next to godliness
7. the pen is mightier than the sword
8. you can't teach an old dog new tricks
9. spare the rod and spoil the child
10. a watched pot never boils