A Broken Clock Might Not be Right Twice a Day
Most people are already aware of this old adage that goes something like this.
This expression typically implies that even when something or someone is broken or incorrect for whatever reason, it may sometimes work or be correct some of the time.
I have two (nit-picky) problems with this expression.
First, digital clocks that are broken typically do not tell any time, thus they are not correct twice a day.
Second, analog clocks that completely stop working are correct twice a day. For instance, if a clock completely stops working at 12:30, then the clock is correct at 12:30AM and 12:30PM. In other words, the stopped clock is correct twice a day. However, if an analog clock is running slightly fast or slow, such as adding or subtracting a single minute per hour, then it is possible that an analog clock will never have the correct time in a single day.
As a result, I would like to suggest this replacement saying.
Or you can not be as picky as I am.
by Phil for Humanity
on 06/16/2009