If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them.

(If you can’t defeat your opponents, join forces with them)

Mrs. Kowalski had never been much of a sports fan – unlike her husband and two children. On weekends the others would take in either a baseball or a football game, while she stayed home alone. After a while the situation became a source of annoyance to her. One weekend, to the utter amazement of her husband and children, she announced that she wanted to attend the football game with them. She thought, if you can’t beat them, join them. Mrs. Kowalski realised that since she could not talk her family out of attending the games, she might as well join them in one of their favourite pastimes. By joining her family on the weekends she would alleviate her loneliness, and in time she might even come to like sports as much as her husband and children did.

From 101 American English Proverbs – Understanding Language and Culture Through Commonly Used Sayings (by Harry Collins and Illustrated by Mario Risso)

Related posts:

1. Proverb of the week - Beggars Can’t Be Choosers
2. Tip of the Week - You Can’t Have you Cake and Eat It Too
3. Tip of the Week - You Can Lead a Horse to Water, but You Can’t Make Him Drink

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