Report · Culture
"Don't judge a book by its cover" is the saying Americans most live by
Reading
Six-in-ten Americans (60%) count “Don’t judge a book by its cover” among the sayings that guide how they approach life, more than any other adage, according to an October 2024 Verasight survey of 1,000 U.S. adults.
Nearly half (48%) live by “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink,” and about four-in-ten each embrace “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” (41%) and “Slow and steady wins the race” (41%). Far fewer hold to “Children ought to be seen and not heard” (9%) or “It is better to be feared than loved” (8%), and 7% say none of these sayings describe how they live.
Topline
Selected responses
"Don't judge a book by its cover" is the saying Americans most live by.
There are many sayings that people use to guide decisions they make in life. Please read the following statements below and indicate which of them is how you approach your own life
- Don’t judge a book by its cover. 60.3%
- You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. 47.9%
- If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. 41.1%
- Slow and steady wins the race. 40.7%
- Children ought to be seen and not heard. 9.2%
- It is better to be feared than loved. 7.5%
- None of these apply. 7.1%
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View sourceMethodology
Full methodology- Mode
- Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
- Field dates
- 2024-10-01 → 2024-10-11
- Base (unweighted)
- 1,000
- Margin of error
- +/- 3.4%
- Module
- media_fin
Source
Citation
Verasight APSA Omnibus Survey #2024-103, fielded October 1-11, 2024, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.4%.