Bad news travels fast (Proverb)

BAD NEWS TRAVELS FAST

Meaning: People love to gossip about the troubles of others.

• This may be a matter more of perception than reality; it has probably never been tested scientifically!

Mini-Dialogue: A teacher named Wayne sees his colleague Betty in the teachers' lounge.

Wayne: Howdy, Betty. What's happening?
Betty: Oh, did you hear? Celia left school; her grandma's really sick.
Wayne: Yeah, I heard. That's a shame.
Betty: You already knew it? But we just found out this second!
Wayne: Yeah, "Bad news travels fast."
Betty: For sure. But why is that? I mean, why do you think it travels faster than good news?
Wayne: I don't know. It seems like people prefer negative gossip to positive.
Betty: True. And the newspaper is mainly full of bad news.
Wayne: Yes. Bad news sells. And what about the TV news?
Betty: Ay ay ay!

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Question: When would you use this proverb?

   A. When you watch TV.
   B. When you hear bad news.
   C. When you hear good news.

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ANSWER: B

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)