A soft answer turneth away wrath

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A gentle reply to someone who is angry will pacify that person. This saying comes from the Book of Proverbs in the Bible (see also Bible).

QUIZZES

Were you ready for a quiz on this topic? Well, here it is! See how well you can differentiate between the uses of "was" vs. "were" in this quiz.

Question 1 of 7

“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

Something like fluoride, which is too small for normal filters, yanks away that feeling of agency.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
He observes the bodies floating away on the river, pulling on his cigarette with a sneer.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
We need to recover and grow the idea that the proper answer to bad speech is more and better speech.
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
So it might be me projecting my desires onto Archer to want to just get away from work for a few weeks.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

But sources said that the evidence so far is pointing away from an ISIS connection.
U.S. Spies See Al Qaeda Fingerprints on Paris Massacre|Shane Harris, Nancy A. Youssef|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It was a decayed house of superb proportions, but of a fashion long passed away.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
She walked away toward another door, which was masked with a curtain that she lifted.
Confidence|Henry James
If you throw away this chance, you will both richly deserve to be hanged, as I sincerely trust you will be.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2)|Charles Dickens
The bear laughed and joined his companion, and the torpedo thundered away.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
Nevertheless the evening and the night passed away without incident.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various