Out of sight, out of mind: Daily Vocabulary

(TESOL Worksheets--Daily Vocabulary)

Youtube Video--Google: docs, pub Slideshow (slides, pub)
(This is re-purposed from my lesson on proverbs).



Today's vocabulary is a proverb. A proverb is a wise saying which gives you advice about how to live your life. Today's proverb is: Out of sight, out of mind. So sight means the things that you can see. So if something is out of sight, it means you can't see it. Mind means your brain, or it means what you are thinking about. So if something is out of mind, it means that you are not thinking about it. So out of sight, out of mind means if you can't see something, you don't think about it.
It's quite often used to describe relationships, particularly romantic relationships. For example, imagine this situation: Jason and Beth were boyfriend and girlfriend. They saw each other every day and Jason was madly in love with Beth. But then one day, Jason had to move to another city for university. He was very sad about having to say goodbye to Beth. “I’ll think about you every day,” he said to her. Once he got to University, Jason quickly made new friends. He went out drinking with his new friends and he forgot about Beth almost immediately.You know what they say: Out of sight, out of mind.
So again, this is usually used for romantic relationships, but we can use it for other things as well. For example, imagine you're at work and you're really concerned about things connected with work, but then as soon as you go home, you forget about work. Out of sight, out of mind, at least for some people. But it's most often used, I think, for romantic relationships.
Now interestingly, we have another proverb in English with the exact opposite meaning. That proverb is: absence makes the heart grow fonder, which means if you can't see somebody for a long period of time, you will start to love them more, whereas out of sight, out of mind means if you can't see somebody, you will forget about them. So two proverbs, two very different meanings. What do you think? Do you agree with out of sight, out of mind or do you agree with absence makes the heart grow fonder. And do you have any similar proverbs in your own language. Please let me know.