Confusion

Confusion with
 

“Time and Tide wait/waits for no one”

Wait

Waits

1.     Conjunction and needs a plural verb – wait 2.     Time and tide wait for no one. Cambridge dictionary 3.     The idiom remains same in all cases. Time and tide WAIT for (no man)/none.

1.     What you seem to be confused about the comparison with sentences like: a)     Rajma and rice is my favorite food. - Here, it is the same idea. b)    Early to bed and early to rise, makes you healthy wealthy and wise - again, it is the same idea, and hence singular verb, ‘makes’ is used 2.     The proverb actually goes: “Time and tide waits for no man.” It's a poetic expression using the archaic definition of ‘tide’ as ‘a period of time.’ (This use survives in words like "Christmastide" and "Eastertide.") So, because "time" and "tide" are synonyms and two different words for the same thing, the subject is singular. The same thing happens in modern English, as in the following:       a)     My friend and colleague stands  by me. Here the friend and the colleague are the same person, and so the subject is singular.       b)    The richest nation in the world and the most wasteful nation in the world is the United States. Here the richest nation and the most wasteful nation are the same nation, and so the subject is singular. 3.     The proverb indeed has many variations. It always begins “Time and tide...” and concludes: waits for no man waits for none wait for no man wait for none The variation would be the best from the GMAT point of view. It shows more logical subject-verb agreement and it is politically correct. In any case, you won't find this proverb on the GMAT in any form.