How Common is Common Sense?

@owlwings (43910)
Cambridge, England
April 9, 2016 7:37am CST
Common is an odd word. We use it mostly to denote something which occurs frequently or something which is lowly, undignified or unremarkable. "Puddles are common when it has rained." "Only common people neglect to cover their mouths when they cough!" "He's common as muck!" was sometimes heard in the North of England as a pejorative meaning that the person behaved and spoke like one of the 'lower class' or common people. (A common rejoinder might have been "Ay, but where there's muck there's brass", meaning that there are often riches to be made from dirt!) My mother used to tell me (she was a terrible snob) to speak properly and not like the common 'village boys'! I think that she thought that we didn't have much in common. "Commons" is an old word meaning ordinary or day-to-day food as eaten in a family (but really refers to any daily meal taken with other people). So what about 'common land', the common speech, a common language? Is it all just 'Common Sense' or should we think more about the words we commonly use?
30 people like this
27 responses
• United States
9 Apr 16
Think about words? It is uncommon that people think at all, let alone about words.
6 people like this
@andriaperry (117141)
• Anniston, Alabama
10 Apr 16
LOL. Was that a little snobby? :) You made me laugh @ElizabethWallace
3 people like this
@Bluedoll (16773)
• Canada
10 Apr 16
The etymology of the word common appears to be open land for public use or more specifically gardening/agriculture. That goes along nicely with the phrase, words are food for thought or even we are what we eat? lol .. @andriaperry are you a little snobby for suggesting that @ElizabethWallace might be being so or for that matter perhaps I am an extra extra snob for mentioning this. Just as @Just an Owl liked this which could be considered snobby as well but I think “like” to him means “read it.” What does any word mean? lol
3 people like this
• United States
10 Apr 16
@andriaperry No. I do not aspire to social prominence. I just wish more people would think more often. I guess watching reality TV dulls the inclination.
2 people like this
@Lucky15 (37374)
• Philippines
9 Apr 16
All i know is...ironic that common sense is not that common
4 people like this
@vandana7 (100597)
• India
9 Apr 16
There are five specific senses...sense of touch, sense of smell, sense of taste, sense of hearing, and sense of seeing. Then there is the sixth sense, which some have, and others are sadly denied by the lord almighty for whatever be their sins. Common sense, I presume is the seventh sense...hotchpotch of all these.
2 people like this
@vandana7 (100597)
• India
10 Apr 16
@pgntwo ... Aw..why does it have to belong to everyone..
2 people like this
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
9 Apr 16
Common, as in it belongs to everyone, sense as in the opposite of nonsense. Also called 'naus' or knowledge.
2 people like this
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
10 Apr 16
@vandana7 Apparently, many lose, or choose not to use, it....
2 people like this
@RasmaSandra (80708)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
9 Apr 16
@owlwings actually I think common sense is boring. I like to have fun
2 people like this
@andriaperry (117141)
• Anniston, Alabama
10 Apr 16
Common sense is not Boring! Is it not common sense to jump off a bridge with water underneath than a dry bed of rocks?
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
10 Apr 16
@andriaperry And is it not common sense to tie an elastic rope to your heels before you jump off a bridge?
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (117141)
• Anniston, Alabama
10 Apr 16
@owlwings Not if your going swimming :)
1 person likes this
@nanette64 (20364)
• Fairfield, Texas
9 Apr 16
I don't think the word common is usable anymore @owlwings especially conjoined with the word sense; cause there ain't any.
2 people like this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
9 Apr 16
If common sense were really common, we'd have far fewer troubles in the world!
3 people like this
• China
10 Apr 16
I guess in "be on short commons",the commons refer to the day-to-day food,otherwise I can 't understand it means not having enough to eat .
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
10 Apr 16
Yes, you are right. 'Being on short commons' means that the daily ration of food is less. I think that the word 'commons' mostly comes from military usage (Army and Navy) and one doesn't hear it used at all these days.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (472041)
• Switzerland
9 Apr 16
Common sense is quite uncommon. I believe that in most languages words can have different meanings, there is nothing uncommon about identical words with different meanings (omofonia in Italian - an example miglio means mile but also millet).
2 people like this
• United States
9 Apr 16
This is way too deep for me in y ill condition! LOL
2 people like this
@amnabas (14672)
• Karachi, Pakistan
9 Apr 16
I think the word "common" is very commonly used in my language too.
2 people like this
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
9 Apr 16
Yes. Common sense isn't! In fact, it's so uncommon that it should really be called "Proper Sense".
1 person likes this
@Bluedoll (16773)
• Canada
10 Apr 16
@pgntwo Yeah I know you mean and i do agree that so many people in the world are confused/sick/helpless sad really. I wonder if the sense we are talking about is not the same as intelligent knowledge?
2 people like this
@Bluedoll (16773)
• Canada
10 Apr 16
I want to disagree. May I? It is still common only being ignored or in some states confused with something else.
1 person likes this
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
10 Apr 16
@Bluedoll True, that little whisper at the back of your brain that is ignored could well be the common sense of which we speak. But there are those who say "Ignorance is bliss.". Confusing!
@euphie (573)
• Ballymena, Northern Ireland
10 Apr 16
I don't think a lot of people have much in the way of common sense these days. It seems a rare sense rather than common. You can also have a picnic on the common as well...
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
10 Apr 16
There's also the Book of Common Prayer (so far, I haven't heard of a Book of Extraordinary Prayer or a Book of Rare or Infrequent Prayer!)
@Morleyhunt (21744)
• Canada
10 Apr 16
Context. It's all about context, and common sense does not seem to be common at all.
1 person likes this
@BettyB (4117)
• Summerville, South Carolina
9 Apr 16
I told a student to use some common sense once and he looked at me like I was speaking another language. Some people have little common sense. Part of that is that they don't stop and think before acting.
1 person likes this
@Bluedoll (16773)
• Canada
10 Apr 16
I wonder if we are too rushed in our life that makes us feel we can't stop. Even some occupations can train people to go quickly. If it is beyond their capacity mistakes in judgement will occur.
2 people like this
@BettyB (4117)
• Summerville, South Carolina
12 Apr 16
@Bluedoll That's definitely part of it.
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (160940)
• United States
10 Apr 16
I once saw a sign in a restaurant favored by truck drivers that says "common sense is not that common" and many people who have to be on the road a lot see that in the drivers who share the road with them.
1 person likes this
@scheng1 (24649)
• Singapore
9 Apr 16
Ever since they teach that everyone of us is unique and special, there is no need for "common sense", since nobody is common at all. Everyone is unique,and so everyone has unique perspective which sometimes means unique stupidity.
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
9 Apr 16
It's the same with a lot of words in the English language - they have multiple meanings, don't they?
1 person likes this
@SHOHANA (16093)
• Bangladesh
10 Apr 16
the word 'common" often used by me like such something uncommon lol
1 person likes this
@Traceyjayne (1784)
• United Kingdom
9 Apr 16
Unfortunately I do not think that common sense is at all common these days !
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
9 Apr 16
We live in a society where it is uncommon to have common sense.
1 person likes this