Who said mind is a terrible thing to waste

It means that it would be a great pity if intelligent and talened poor children didn't get the chance to study, such that their minds were wasted i.

It's not, to my knowledge, a set expression; I'm almost certain it is not. I expect it was created by the writer, although I wouldn't say that he or she was the first to come up with it as it is not an unlikely sentiment.

From what I can gather it is a phrase used by many people, but I do not know its origins. In answer to your question I suppose it is, or has become, just a regular phrase since it is so widely used nowadays! The first time I encountered it was in a long-running advertising campaign run by the United Negro College Fund. It was the tagline at the end of the commercial that said something like: "Give generously to the United Negro College Fund The idea, as I see it, is that the mind is wasted without the higher education it desires and should not be prevented from receiving.

Since then it has been used as a humorous or ironic comment on several topics, such as "I don't watch TV sitcoms situation comedies because a mind is a terrible thing to waste. In the U. Its meaning is as Gorgiewave already mentioned. For more information, visit www. Marketplace Interview With Elizabeth Sowell.

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