If it were not for her encouragement, he would never have started his own business.

Were it not for her quick thinking, the accident would have been much worse.

If it had not been for Maya's quick thinking, the small fire in the kitchen would have spread to the whole house.

She insisted, not a word of a lie, that she had never seen him before.

When it came to solving the puzzle, Trevor proved to be not the sharpest crayon in the box, but everyone still appreciated his good intentions.

Everyone knew that Mark was not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but he had a heart of gold.

Don't try to fool me — I was born at night but not last night, so I can see through your lies.

As the old proverb goes, nothing is said that has not been said before, so instead of trying to be original we should learn from what came before.

When his friends dared him to text his ex, he realized he would not want to do that the next morning.

My grandmother always quoted the proverb 'revolutions are not made with rosewater' to remind us that transformative change requires sacrifice.