Our lives are not as limited as we think they are; the world is a wonderfully weird place; consensual reality is significantly flawed; no institution can be trusted, but love does work; all things are possible; and we all could be happy and fulfilled if we only had the guts to be truly free and the wisdom to shrink our egos and quit taking ourselves so damn seriously.

Meaning: Affection or personal attachment can make someone see what is theirs as especially admirable. The saying points to partial judgement without making a loved person or cherished work objectively inferior.

Meaning: Do not add burdens to someone already overwhelmed. Pouring more water onto a drowned mouse gives a stark image of effort that cannot help and may only worsen an already hopeless situation.

Meaning: Removing G from glass gives lass, and removing L from lass gives ass. The wordplay mocks a person who becomes foolish through romantic attachment, but the verbal trick does not prove its judgment about love.

Meaning: No individual can do everything. The saying recognises limits of skill, time and capacity, encouraging cooperation or priorities without deciding that a particular person cannot learn, develop or take on a new challenge.