Wheel Waiting Phrase Pot Squeaky Watched Water Ability

American English has many "expressions" (idioms; phrases) about "patience" (the ability to wait without becoming upset) and waiting. For example, "Patience is a virtue" means that the ability to wait for things without becoming upset or annoyed is a "virtue" (a very good, respected, and admired quality). If someone is becoming impatient, another person might say "Patience is a virtue" to try to tell that person to calm down.

The phrase "The squeaky wheel gets the grease" has the opposite meaning and is used to tell someone to not be too patient and instead make sure that someone asks for what he or she needs or is waiting for. A "squeaky" wheel is a wheel that makes a lot of noise. "Grease" is fat or oil, and is put on a squeaky wheel so that it stops making noise. The phrase "The squeaky wheel gets the grease" means that sometimes people need to complain or ask about something, or else nobody will pay attention to their needs.

The phrase "A watched pot never boils" describes how waiting can be more difficult when we are focusing on waiting. A watched pot, or a pot that we are looking at, seems to take a very long time to make water "boil" (for water to become very hot, so that large bubbles form on the surface). If we don't pay attention to the pot and instead become involved in some other activity, the water seems to boil more quickly. So the phrase "A watched pot never boils" might be used to advise someone to become involved in some other project or activity as a distraction while waiting for something else to happen.