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A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush

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  This idiom has its roots in the sport of falconry where falcons are used to hunt birds and other animals. It was a sort of ancient advice to not send out your falcon in conditions where the falcon may be lost, such as attempting to target multiple birds at once in the sky. Over time the phrase evolved and was used as a generality applied to other potentially risky situations. The premise is that you shouldn't take the risk of giving up something that you have in favor of the low chance of getting something that appears to be better. You already have a bird in hand, so don't let go of the bird you have to chase the two you see in the bush. The two birds could fly away and you will be left with no birds at all. This sort of occurrence, and the usefulness of the idiom, can be seen in many aspects of life. How many times have you heard the story, or perhaps even done it yourself, where someone gets a win at a casino then can't help but be enticed by the thought of winning eve...
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The Pot Calling the Kettle Black

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This idiom is typically used as a response by someone after having received criticism by another. The user's point is to say that the person bringing about criticism is just as bad and has faults of their own. That the critic doesn't have a right to judge if they themselves have the same faults or also engage in the actions that they are criticizing. For example, a wife tells her husband that he smokes too much. However, the twist is that the wife also smokes and the husband knows that she smokes just as much, or even more than he does. So the husband's response is "Well that's the pot calling the kettle black!" As with many idioms, the meaning and intended use isn't immediately obvious if the idiom is learned by itself without any context. The reason for the use of pots and kettles as well as the use of the word "black" isn't immediately apparent. Someone may ask why pots and kettles are assumed to be black. They may recall the many shiny si...
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