Dear Don: Thanks for the very complete description of proverb use as we have discussed for many years. Some interesting additional comments: Our colleague, Charles Dick, M.D. once asked a woman to explain the proverb, "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" She replied, "Oh you mean 'glass stones'? Since there was no dynamic reason, or even an exact concrete interpretation, he suggests that her condensation if you will was a product of her rapidly expanding thalamic tumor he soon discovered in her exhaustive workup. Secondly, I use the same three rpoverbs you do and have for over 25 years. I have never seen it published, but I believe that "Glass Houses..." elicits concrete repsonses in paranoid people eg "I know, I have to keep curtains at my windows to keep people from seeing inside me", "Rolling Stones..." elicits concrete answers in those with problems in relationships notably personality disorders, and "Spilt Milk..." is often interpreted concretely by those with major depression or loss. My rule, as yours, is that you ask them of EVERYONE. You just never know - even the most intact appearing people may have a thought disorder. Finally one exception, those with various learning disorders may have some concreteness in their own right and may not indicate deeper pathology - so one must not be too rigid in reaching one's conclusions. Peter