English proverbs

Proverbs are popularly defined as "short expressions of popular wisdom". Efforts to improve on the popular definition have not led to a more precise definition. The wisdom is in the form of a general observation about the world or a bit of advice, sometimes more nearly an attitude toward a situation.

See also English proverbs (alphabetically by proverb)

Action

• Actions speak louder than words.
  • One should pay attention to what people do rather than what they say; The head lies, but the rest of the body is telling the truth.
  • Hill Festetits, Kate Neely (2011). McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. BiblioBazaar. pp. 248. 1179034821. 

Advance

• He who does not advance goes backwards. (Strauss, 1994 p. 445)

Advice

• Advice most needed is least heeded.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. xxiv

Advisor

• Advisers run no risks. (Strauss, 1998 p. 34)
  • Don't forget that advisors don't put in any effort or money or risk any other peril.

Anchor

• Good riding at two anchors, men have told, for if the one fails, the other may hold. (Strauss, 1994 p. 879)

Apple

• One rotten apple will spoil the whole barrel. or One scabbed sheep mars the whole flock.
  • One person can be a bad influence on many others.
  • Evil spreads. One attractive bad example may be readily followed by others, eventually ruining a whole community.(Paczolay, 1997 p. 292).
  • Cf. Dan Michael of Northgate, Ayenbite of Inwyt (1340): "A rotten apple will spoil a great many sound ones." (Middle English: "A roted eppel amang þe holen: makeþ rotie þe yzounde.").

• An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
  • Taking care of your health at least somewhat will save you from much misfortune later on.
  • Cf. Notes and Queries magazine, Feb. 24, 1866, p. 153: "Eat an apple on going to bed, // And you'll keep the doctor from earning his bread." [1].
  • Adapted to its current form in the 1900s as a marketing slogan used by American growers concerned that the temperance movement would cut into sales of apple cider. (Pollan, 2001 p.22)

• A rotten apple injures its companions.
  • "This Proverb is apply'd to such Persons who being vicious themselves,
    labour to debauch those with whom they converse." - Divers Proverbs, Nathan Bailey, 1721 [2]

Art

• Art conceals art.
  • Effort or skill is hidden in a good work. No one notices pleasing plastic surgery, for instance.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. Ixii

Ass

• When all men say you are an ass it is time to bray. (Strauss 1994, p. 1221)

Baby

• Don't make clothes for a not yet born baby. (Strauss 1994, p. 683)

• Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
  • Don't reject an idea entirely because parts of it are bad.; Someone who is absolutely right about parts of an idea, can still be absolutely wrong about another part of it.
  • Brown, James Kyle (2001). I Give God a Chance: Christian Spirituality from the Edgar Cayce Readings. Jim Brown. p. 8. ISBN 0759621705. 

Bad

• A bad settlement is better than a good lawsuit.
  • Filipp, M. R. (2005). Covenants Not to Compete, Aspen.
• Good laws have sprung from bad customs. (Strauss, 1994 p. 879)

Bed

• As you make your bed, so you will sleep on it.
  • One has to accept the consequences of one's actions, as any result is the logical consequence of preceding actions.
  • Source for proverb and meaning: (Paczolay, 1997 p. 401)

Bear

• Some days you get the bear, other days the bear gets you.
  • You can't always expect only positive results.
  • The Economist (Economist Newspaper Ltd.), 2002

Beat

• If you can't beat them, join them. (Speak, 2009)

Beggar

• Beggars can't be choosers. (Speake, 2009)
  • If you are in a bad situation or do not have much to offer you must be content with whatever you can get.

Begin

• Well begun is half done.
  • Divers Proverbs, Nathan Bailey, 1721 [3]
  • Meaning: Starting properly ensures the speedy completion of a process. A – beginning is often blocked by one or more obstacles (potential barriers) the removal of which may ensure the smooth course of the process. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 228)

Bellyful

• A bellyful is one of meat, drink, or sorrow.
  • Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 45

Best

• The best things come in small packages. (Speake, 2009)
• The best things in life are free. (Speake, 2009)

Better

• Better is the enemy of good.
  • The aim for perfection or mastery might be in the way of progress.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. xcv
• Better late than never.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. xcv
• Better safe than sorry. (Speake, 2009)
• Better underdone than overdone. (Strauss, 1994 p. 589)

Beware

• Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, and inwardly are ravening wolves. (Matthew; bible quote). (Strauss, 1998 p. 170)
  • The seemingly most respectable people are quiet often scoundrels; Evil people often act innocently.
• Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.
  • Gifts from enemies are dangerous.
  • From Virgil's Aeneid Book II, line 48: timeo Danaos et dona ferentes. Translation: I fear the Grecians even when they offer gifts.

Bird

• A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
  • John Bunyan cites this traditional proverb in The Pilgrim's Progress, (1678):

    So are the men of this world: They must have all their good things now; they cannot stay till the next year, that is, until the next world, for their portion of good. That proverb, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," is of more authority with them than are all the divine testimonies of the good of the world to come.

  • Something small but certain may prove better than a more lavish promise/expectation. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 194)
• Birds of a feather flock together. (Simpson, 2009)
  • Alike people goes a long well.
• Deal gently with the bird you mean to catch. (Strauss, 1994 p. 689)
• Fine feathers make fine birds. (Simpson , 2009)
  • You will be judged by how you look.
• It is an ill bird that fouls its own nest.
  • Why wantonly proclaim one's own disgrace, or expose the faults or weaknesses of one's kindred or people? (Kelly, 1859 p. 109)
• It is the early bird that gets the worm.
  • Pioneers will get much: Those who start working early in the morning gets much done.
  • Ayres, Gene (2010). Inside the New China: An Ethnographic Memoir. p. 36. ISBN 1412813506. 

Bite

• Don't bark if you can't bite. (Sadler, 1873)
  • Don't give out threats you can't carry out.
• Don't bite off more than you can chew.
  • Heacock, Paul (2003). Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms (Illustrated ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 512. ISBN 052153271X. 
• Don't bite the hand that feeds you. (Wolfgang, 1991)

Bitter

• Bitter pills may have blessed effects.
  • Both a figurative and literal proverb.
  • The remedy might be bitter, but the cure might be wonderful.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 128

Blood

• Blood is thicker than water.
  • In case of need relatives usually help each other more than strangers. The bonds of relationship are more binding than other bonds. (Paczolay 1997, p. 233)
• Good blood always shows itself.
  • Mawr, E.B. (1885). Analogous Proverbs in Ten Languages. p. 34. 

Bloom

• Bloom where you are planted. (Szerlip, 2004 p. 320)
  • It is often better to escalate your commitment rather than starting over with something new.
  • Make use of your geographical advantages.

Book

• Don't judge a book by its cover.
  • Never judge something based on its outward appearance.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 311
• Fear the man of one book. (Strauss 1994, p. 851)
• No book was so bad, but some good might be got out of it. (Strauss 1994, p. 1104)
  • A proverb which almost is figuratively true: A book, especially a non-fictional one, typically at least contains something useful, such as anecdotes to tell others.

Bough

• The boughs that bear most hang lowest. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1169)
  • It is not the one who boasts the most that can achieve the greatest results.

Brave

• None but the brave deserve the fair.
  • John Dryden, Alexander's Feast

• Fortune favours the brave.
  • Meyer, Bruce (2004). Fortune Favors the Brave. St. Martin's Press. p. 8. ISBN 0312996802. 

Bridge

• Don't cross a bridge before you come to it. (Wolfgang 1991, p. 50)
  • Focus on a problem the moment you are facing it, and not earlier.

Broke

• A broken watch is right two times a day.
  • A person who comes up with enough assertions or predictions will eventually be right about something.
  • Honthaner, Eve Light (2010). I Hollywood drive: what it takes to break in, hang in & make it in the entertainment industry. Elsevier. p. 341. ISBN 0240806689. 
• If it ain't broke, don't fix it. (Perkins 2007, p. 123)

Broom

• A new broome sweepeth cleane.
  • "In the beginning one is usually very busy in a new post. - This is partly due to a genuine intention to produce something new, the wish to create a good first impression and to the ignorance of forces hostile to any change. (Paczolay 1997, p. 92)
  • John Lyly, Euphues. Arber's Reprint, p. 89; reported as a proverb in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 639.

Bull

• You can't milk a bull. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1040)
  • It is impossible to sway a hostile minded person.

Buy

• If you buy cheaply, you pay dearly.
  • Herrero Ruiz, Javier (2009). Understanding Tropes: At the Crossroads Between Pragmatics and Cognition. Peter Lang. p. 101. 3631592620. 
• If you buy quality, you only cry once.
  • Burch, Geoff (2010). Irresistible Persuasion: The Secret Way to Get to Yes Every Time. John Wiley and Sons. p. 138. 190731248X. 

Cake

• You can't Have your cake and eat it too.
  • Cf. George Herbert The Sizz "Wouldst thou both eat thy cake and have it.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 467

Candle

• A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.
  • You don't lose anything by enlightening others.
  • Groft, Jan (2010). As We Grieve: Discoveries of Grace in Sorrow. Greenleaf Book Group. p. 19. 0984230602. 
• Don't burn the candle at both ends.
  • Don't wake up early in the morning and stay up late into the evening as well.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 70

Canoe

• Paddle your own canoe.
  • Act independently.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 71

Carry

• Carrying coals to Newcastle
  • Don't do things in a needlessly laborious way.
  • Lane (1821). Carrying Coals to Newcastle!! .... G. Humphrey, 27 St James's st. 

Cat

• A cat may look at a king. (Speake, 2009)
  • We are all equals.
• All cats love fish but hate to get their paws wet.
  • One is often reluctant to take the risk, or to do the necessary worked involved in doing/getting something desirable. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 346)
• Curiosity killed the cat. (Strauss, 1994 p. 684)
  • Inquisitiveness is harmful to you.
• When the cat is away, the mice will play.
  • In the absence of the person in authority those under his control will often neglect the duties/rules imposed on them. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 114)
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 81
• The more you stroke the cat's tail, the more he raises his back. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1184)
  • Play hard to get, both in friendship and in courtship.

Chain

• A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Or, a chain is no stronger than its weakest link
  • A group is not stronger than its weakest member and its most lacking element.
  • Cf. Thomas Reid Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man, 1786, Vol. II, p.377, Essay VII, Of Reasoning, and of Demonstration, ch. 1: "In every chain of reasoning, the evidence of the last conclusion can be no greater than that of the weakest link of this chain, whatever may be the strength of the rest." [4]

Chicken

• Don't count your chickens before they're hatched.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 97

Child

• A burnt child dreads the fire.
  • You will avoid an activity which has given you a bad experience for the rest of your life.
  • "This Proverb intimates, That it is natural for all living Creatures, whether rational or irrational,
    to consult their own Security, and Self-Preservation; and whether they act by Instinct or Reason, it still
    tends to some care of avoiding those things that have already done them an Injury." - Divers Proverbs, Nathan Bailey, 1721 [5]
• The child is father to the man.
  • It is the spontaneously unselfish love of the small child which makes the transition to full adulthood possible.
  • The original version of this quote is "The child is father of the man" from William Wordsworth's poem "My Heart Leaps up When I Behold". See http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww194.html Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote a poem in answer to Wordsworth's use of this phrase, and uses the quote as given here on wikiquote. See http://www.bartleby.com/122/68.html
• Children are uncertain comforts but certain cares. (Strauss, 1994 p. 654)

Cobbler/Shoemaker

• Cobblers children are worst shod.
  • Working hard for others one may neglect one's own needs or the needs of those closest to him. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 65).
• Shoemaker, stick to your last.
  • Do not talk about things you do not know anything about.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 723

Cock

• As the old cock crows, so crows the young. (Strauss, 1998 p. 138)
  • Children will become like older generations.

Command

• Counsel is no command. (Strauss, 1994 p. 675)
  • He who gives you advice has not the ambition to control, and does not claim to necessarily know better than you; Beware of letting your feelings cloud your judgment.
• Who has not served cannot command. (Strauss, 1994 p. 758)
  • One must have been controlled in the same situation one wishes to properly control others.

Common

• Common sense is not so common.
  • From Voltaire's Dictionnaire philosophique portatif (1765)
  • Paraphrased by graphic designers as 'Comic Sans is not so comic'.

Company

• A man is known by the company he keeps.
  • You often take after those around you.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 125
• Better to be alone than in bad company. (Strauss, 1998 p. 162)
• Misery loves company.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 125
• Two is a company; three is a crowd.
  • A loving couple wants to be left alone.
  • William Ickes, P. D., & Ickes, W. K. (2004). Two's Company; Three's a Crowd: Booksurge Llc.

Confidence

• Confidence begets confidence. (Strauss 1994, p. 187)
  • Confidence spills over to your coworkers.

Corn

• Plough deep while sluggards sleep, and you will have corn to sell and keep. (Strauss 1994, p. 1001)

Counsel

• Give neither salt nor counsel till you are asked for it. (Strauss, 1994 p. 661)
• Though thou hast ever so many counsellors, yet do not forsake the counsel of thy own soul. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1044)

Courage

• Courage lost, all lost. or Faint heart never won fair lady.(Strauss 1994, p. 675)

Crow

• Crows will not pick out crows eyes.
  • One belonging to a group having common interests is not likely to act against or find fault with another member of the same group. Solidarity may prevail over law, justice or truth.(Paczolay, 1997 p. 96)

Day

• Praise the day at sunset.
  • Make sure a matter is really over before relaxing about it. Unforeseen unfavourable developments may intervene and change the expected final result. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 323)

Deep

• Deep calls to deep.(Strauss 1994, p. 695)
  • Deep thinking leads to deeper understanding.
• Still water runs deep
  • Slow but steady work can achieve much. or That a man says little does not mean that he does not think profounndly. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 323)
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p.872
  • Source for meaning: (Paczolay, 1997 p. 373)

Delay

• There is danger in delay. (Strauss, 1998 p. 695)

Desire

• First deserve, then desire. (Mieder 2006, p. 195)^{[specific citation needed]}

Devil

• Better the devil you know (than the one you don't.) (Speake, 2009)
• Give the devil his due.
  • Don't let a persons obnoxiousness cloud your judgment of his character in other regards.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 197
• Idle hands are the devil's playthings.
  • If you are bored or idle, start doing some work.
  • Lowry, Lois (1980). Autumn street. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 59. ISBN 0395278120. 
• If you sup with the devil, use a long spoon.
  • Someone who treats others poorly will eventually turn on you.
  • Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 138

Dig

• Who digs a trap for others ends up in it himself.
  • He who intends to harm others will himself suffer from his action. - As anger is blind, some aspects of an action - harmful for the doer - may be overlooked in the process. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 77)

Discretion

• An ounce of discretion is worth a pound of wit. (Mieder 2006, p. 906)^{[specific citation needed]}
• Discretion is the better part of valor.
  • Act valiant cautiously.
  • Derived from "The better part of valour is discretion, in the which better part I have saved my life." Falstaff in Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1.

Ditch

• Better go about than fall into the ditch. (Ward, 1842 p. 11)
  • Cut your losses.

Do

• Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
  • Based on the Bible (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31). "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets" in the King James version; "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." in the New International Version
• If you want a thing done right, do it yourself.
  • Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 139

Dog

• A staff is quickly found to beat a dog. (Strauss, 1998 p. 103)
  • Someone who wants to be mean will find things to be mean about no matter what.
• All are not thieves that the dogs bark at. (Strauss, 1994 p. 77)
• Barking dogs seldom bite.
  • Threatening does not always lead to action: Harsh words may disguise a different feeling, intention or ability. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 44).
• The dogs bark but the caravan goes on. (Strauss, 1998 p. 340)
  • Let the world say what it will. (Strauss, 1994 p. 710)
• Dogs wags their tails, not as much to you as to your bread.
  • He who acts friendly does not seek your affection, but a specific thing from you.
• Give a dog a bad name and hang him.
  • Once you have lost your reputation, it is very hard to regain it.
  • Dickens, Charles (1999). Our Mutual Friend. ARcade Publishing. p. 373. 1559705485. 
• Give a dog a bad name and he'll live up to it.
  • How well a dog or human behaves depends on how he has been treated.
  • Clarke, Nick (1865). Alistair Cooke: a biography. Routledge. p. 174. 1420931989. 
• Lie down with dogs, wake up with fleas.
  • You will become like your company.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 224
• Love me, love my dog. (Strauss, 1994 p. 952)
  • If you love someone, you will like everything about him.

Dog food

• Eat your own dog food.
  • Consume your own product in order to recognize its flaws.
  • Iles, Greg (2007). Third Degree. Simon and Schuster. p. 159. 0743292502. 

Door

• The door swings both ways.
  • What you do to me, I can do to you.
  • Borcherdt, Bill (1996). Making families work and what to do when they don't: thirty guides for imperfect parents of imperfect children. Routledge. p. 65. 0789000733. 

• When one door closes, another door opens. or God never closes one door without opening another.
  • Don't feel sorry that you have lost something, beceause now an opportunity for something else has presented itself!
  • Bachom, Sandi (2007). Hell in the Hallway: When One Door Closes Another Door Opens--But It's. Hazelden Publishing. pp. 125. 1592853684. 

Doormat

• If you make yourself into a doormat, people will wipe their feet on you. (Robinson, 2011)
  • Others will abuse you if you let them.

Doubt

• When in doubt, don't.(Strauss, 1994 p. 1223)

Drunkard

• Once a drunkard always a drunkard. (Strauss, 1994 p. 771)

Duck

• If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.
  • If something seems to be in a certain way, that is probably the case.
  • Reportedly coined by James Whitcombe Riley, sometime before his demise 1916. He wrote: When I see a bird that walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.
  • Made famous by the then Governor Ronald Reagan's use of the expression 1967, in an interview with a journalist. (Cryer 2011, p. 163)

Dwarf

• Dwarf on a giant's shoulder sees farther of the two.
  • Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 163

Early

• Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
  • Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack (1735 edition), "October"

Easy

• It's easy to be wise after the event.(Speake, 2009)

Eat

• Eat your own dog food.
  • Consume your own product in order to recognize its flaws.
  • Iles, Greg (2007). Third Degree. Simon and Schuster. p. 159. 0743292502. 
• You don't shit where you eat.
  • Different segments of your life must remain contiguous such as business, your love life and leisure.
  • Iles, Greg (2007). Third Degree. Simon and Schuster. p. 159. 0743292502. 

Egg

• Better an egg today than a hen tomorrow. (Strauss, 1998 p. 75)
• Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
  • First recorded 1662, G. Toriano, Italian proverbial phrases ("To put all one's eggs in a paniard"); 1710, Samuel Palmer, Moral essays on proverbs ("Don't venture all your eggs in one basket").
  • Apperson, GL (2006). Dictionary of proverbs. Wordsworth. p. 170. ISBN 978-1840223118. 
• Eggs and oaths are soon broken. (Strauss, 1998 p. 765)
• He that steals an egg will steal an ox. (Strauss, 1994 p. 962)
• You can't have an omelette unless you break the egg.
  • You may have to sacrifice something in order to gain something else.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 259

Empty

• An empty vessel makes the most noise. (Speake, 2009)
  • It is not he who advertises for himself the most that can achieve the greatest results.

End

• All's well that ends well.
  • Divers Proverbs, Nathan Bailey, 1721 [6]
• Whatever you do, act wisely, and consider the end. (Strauss, 1994 p. 600)

Enemy

• Do not think that one enemy is insignificant, or that a thousand friends are too many. (Strauss 1994, p. 718)
• The enemy of my enemy, is my friend. (Speake, 2009)
  • Meaning: The foe of your foe, is your ally.
• If you have no enemies it is a sign that fortune has forgotten you. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1008)
  • Success often gains adversaries, therefore, no adversaries might mean you lack success.
• There is no little enemy. (Strauss 1994, p. 718)

Every

• Every cloud has a silver lining.
  • There is nothing bad that does not bring about something good.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 115
• Every rose has its thorn.
  • No one is perfect.
  • Bradley, E. and H. Bradley, Every Rose Has Its Thorn: The Rock 'n' Roll Field Guide to Guys, Penguin Group USA.

Everyone/Everybody

• Everyone talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.
  • Everybody mentions a problem, but not anyone tries to solve it.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. 
• What everybody says must be true. (Strauss 1994, p. 77)

Evil

• Avoid evil and it will avoid thee. (Strauss, 1994 p. 520)
• Evil begets evil. (O'Donnell 1983, p. 71)
• Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
  • Don't worry about the future or regret past actions; focus on today's worries. (From Matthew 6:34)

Example

• Lead by example.
  • Be the change that you would like to see in others.
  • Baldoni, John (2009). Lead by example: 50 ways great leaders inspire results. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. 0814412947. 
• Example is better than correction.
  • (Ward, 1842 p. 31)

Exception

• The exception proves the rule. (Speake, 2009)

Eye

• The eye looks but it is the mind that sees. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1175)

Face

• Don't cut off your nose to spite your face. (Strauss 1998, p. 713)
  • Beware of letting spite lead you into self-destructiveness.

Fame

• Common fame is often to blame. (Strauss 1998, p. 662)
  • A general disrepute is true.

Fall

• Don't fall before you're pushed.
  • Don't give up in the face of adversity.
  • Mason, John (2000). Know Your Limits- Then Ignore Them. Insight International, Inc. pp. 206. ISBN 1890900125. 
• Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.
  • Confucius
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 153

Fence

• Good fences make good neighbors.
  • Robert Frost, "Mending Wall"

First

• First come, first served.
  • He who is first to arrive is the first to be served. (Speake, 2009)
• The first step to health is to know that we are sick. (Palta, 2006)
  • You must put an accurate diagnosis on a problem before you can solve it.
• First things first.(Speake, 2009)
  • The most pressing issues must be taken care of first.
• If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
  • A man should persevere if there still is hope.
  • Cf. William Edward Hickson's Try and Try again
    "Tis a lesson you should heed:
    Try, try, try again.
    If at first you don't succeed,
    Try, try, try again"
    
• The last will be first, and the first last. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1085)
  • Those who humbly serve the Lord will be rewarded, and those who are arrogant will be humbled; Humbleness is a virtue, pride is a sin.

Find

• Love is not finding someone to live with; it's finding someone whom you can't live without.
  • Lipper, D. and E. Sagehorn (2008). The Everything Wedding Vows Book: How to Personalize the Most Important Promise You'll Ever Make, Adams Media.
• Seek and ye shall find.
  • Christian New Testament
• You always find something in the last place you look.
  • Mass, W. (2008). Jeremy Fink and the meaning of life, Scholastic.

Fire

• Do not add oil to the fire.
  • One should not make a bad situation even worse by an improper remark. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 338)
• Fight fire with fire. (Strauss 1994, p. 688)
  • One must defeat evil with the same type of evil. For example, if someone is being ironic – be equally ironic in return.
• There is no smoke without fire.
  • Meaning: There is no effect without some cause.
  • Alternate meaning: It is supposed that if there is a rumour, there must be some truth behind it. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 33).

Fish

• All is fish that comes to the net.
  • We can make use of everything that happens to us: good and bad.
  • Mawr, E.B. (1885). Analogous Proverbs in Ten Languages. p. 4. 
• Sell a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach a man how to fish, he eats for the rest of his life.
  • Coined by Karl Marx.
  • D'Ambrosio-Crabtree, G. (2008). Secondhand Hope, Lulu.com.

Flaunt

• If you got it, flaunt it.
  • Jenkins-Sanders, Marsha (2007). The Other Side of Through. Simon and Schuster. p. 21. ISBN 159309115X. 

Fly

• You can catch more flies with a drop of honey than with a barrel of vinegar.
  • Mawr, E.B. (1885). Analogous Proverbs in Ten Languages. p. 100. 

Fool

• The first chapter of fools is to think themselves wise. (Strauss, 1994 p. 879)
• Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. (Speake, 2009)
• Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
  • Foolish people usually do not understand when a situation is dangerous, so they are not afraid to do things that would frighten more sensible people.
  • Alexander Pope, "An Essay on Criticism"
• A tongue of a fool carves a piece of his heart to all sit near him. (Strauss, 1994 p. 136)

Forewarned

• Forewarned is forearmed. (Simpson, 2009)

Forgive

• Forgive and forget.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 357

Fortune

• If fortune favours, beware of being exalted; if fortune thunders, beware of being overwhelmed. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1001)

Friend

• A friend in need is a friend indeed.
  • Beware of false friends. If one is in good circumstances many people pose as friends to have the benefits of friendship but only the true ones remain friends in adversity.
  • Source for meaning and specified as a proverb in: (Paczolay, 1997 p. 159)
  • A Dialogue Conteynyng Prouerbes and Epigrammes (1562) has Prove thy friend ere thou have need; but, in-deed. A friend is never known till a man have need.
• All are not friends that speak us fair.
  • He who flatters might not have your best interests in mind. (Strauss, 1998 p. 77)
• Do not think that one enemy is insignificant, or that a thousand friends are too many. (Strauss 1994, p. 718)
• He is my friend who grinds at my mill.
  • Those who are genuinely our friends will help us with their actions, and not their words.
  • Kelly, Walter Keating (1859). Proverbs of all nations. W. Kent & co. (late D. Bogue). pp. 238. , p. 42
• When thy friend asks, let there be no to-morrow. (Ward, 1842 p. 51)

Fruit

• Stolen fruit is the sweetest. (Strauss, 1994 p. 835)
  • Forbidden things are the most desirable.
• You know the tree by its fruit.
  • Note: A reversal of the proverb "The apple does not fall far from the tree." The meaning is that you can estimate how children's parents are based on children's behavior, because children takes after their parents and are of the same nature as them. (Paczolay, 1997 p. X)
  • Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 590)

Garbage

• Garbage in, garbage out.
  • Faulty instructions will only result in faulty results.
  • Manser, Martin H (2007). The Facts on File dictionary of proverbs. Infobase Publishing. 0816066736. , p. 98

Garden

• A man of words and not of deeds, is like a garden full of weeds.
  • Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 365

Give

• From those to whom much is given, much is expected. (Luke 12:48)
  • Resourcefull people carries a great responsibility.
• Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
  • Blue, Kevin (2006). Practical Justice: Living Off-Center in a Self-Centered World. InterVarsity Press. p. 51. 0830833684. 
• Give and take is fair play.
  • It is acceptable to treat someone equally bad as you have been treated yourself.
  • Manser, Martin H (2007). The Facts on File dictionary of proverbs. Infobase Publishing. 0816066736. , p. 133
• Give credit where credit is due.
  • Derived from Romans 13:7
• Give him an inch and he'll take a yard.
  • Give way slightly and he'll press home his advantage. Yielding a little to bad influence (or to a greedy perrson/group), one will be taken entirely or he/it will be encouraged to take much more. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 208)
  • Derived from Romans 13:7
    • Variant: Give a nigger an inch and he'll take an ell.
      • (Twain, 1885 p. 222)
    • Variant: Give him an inch and he'll take a mile.
      • (Strauss 1998, p. 240)
• He gives twice who gives in a trice.
  • Immediate aid is of more value. - A process of derioration can best be stopped in its initial stages, or a process of development can best be helped in the beginning. meaning: (Paczolay, 1997 p. 452)

Glory

• Follow glory and it will flee, flee glory and it will follow thee. (Strauss 1994, p. 832)

Go

• Don't go between the tree and the bark. (Strauss, 1998 p. 204)
  • Don't interfere when two people are having an argument.
• Go with the flow.
  • Go where the tide of time is heading, or less dramatically: Go where the others are going.
  • Ellis, Rex (2009). Go with the Flow. Wakefield Press. pp. 208. ISBN 1862548536. 
• What goes around comes around. (Speake, 2009)
  • Good acts will quite often reward you. Conversely, evil acts will quite often punish you.
• What goes up must come down. (Speake, 2009)
  • Anything that becomes popular or goes “up” must eventually turn unfavorable and decline in popularity, thus going “down.” It may also refer in a more literal sense to objects affected by gravity.
• When the going gets tough, the tough get going. (Speake, 2009)
  • A strong-willed person will take action when he faces difficulty.

God

• Where god has a church the devil will have his chapel.
  • Very seldom does any good thing arise but there comes an ugly phantom of a caricature of it.
  • Source for meaning and proverb: Kelly, Walter Keating (1859). Proverbs of all nations. W. Kent & co. (late D. Bogue). pp. 238. , p. 130
• Whom God will destroy, he first make mad. (1994, p. 841)

Gold

• All that glisters is not gold. or All that glitters is not gold.
  • An attractive appearance may be deceptive. It may cover or hide a much less favourable content. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 114)
  • William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, act II, scene 7.

Good

• Eaevesdroppers hear no good of themselves. (Strauss, 1994 p. 764)
• If it's too good to be true, then it probably is. (Speake, 2009 p. 284)
• If you can't be good, be careful. (Speake, 2009)

Goose

• Don't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. (Strauss, 1994 p. 715)
• Goose, gander and gosling are three sounds but one thing. (Strauss, 1994 p. 104)
• What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
  • If it is good for you, why would it not be good for others?
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. 

Grass

• The grass is always greener on the other side.
  • Manser, Martin H (2007). The Facts on File dictionary of proverbs. Infobase Publishing. 0816066736. , p. 105

Grasp

• Grasp all, lose all. (Strauss, 1994 p. 884)
  • Trying to get too much will often result in not gaining anything.

Great

• Great events cast their shadows before them.
  • The Edinburgh review, Volym 132. A. and C. Black. 1870. p. 231. 
• Great minds agree. (Strauss, 1994 p. 882)
• Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
  • Albert Einstein. Buziak, Cari (2011). Calligraphy Magic: How to Create Lettering, Knotwork, Coloring and More. North Light Books. p. 79. 
• A guilty conscience needs no accuser.
  • Manser, Martin H (2007). The Facts on File dictionary of proverbs. Infobase Publishing. 0816066736. , p. 112

Hair

• Fretting cares make grey hairs. (Strauss, 1994 p. 631)
  • Worrying is a negative activity that can age you prematurely.

Hand

• Never let the right hand know what the left hand is doing.
  • Charity should be done in secret, so you won't do things just for praise.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 447

Handsome

• Handsome is that handsome does. (Strauss, 1994 p. 879)
  • Being pleasant is more important than looks.

Hard

• Hard words break no bones. (Strauss, 1998 p. 17)
  • It is often good to tell someone a harsh truth constructively (including yourself); Don't lie to yourself.

Hare

• Drumming is not the way to catch a hare. (Strauss, 1994 p. 753)
  • Don't expect anyone to change his ways by scolding him.
• You must not run after two hares at the same time.
  • Concentratet on one thing at a time or you will achieve nothing. - Trying to do two or more thijngs at a time, when even one on its own needs full effort, means that none of them will be accomplished properly.
  • Mawr, E.B. (1885). Analogous Proverbs in Ten Languages. p. 102. 

Haste

• Make haste slowly.
  • Progress with discretion. Acting hastily one is likely to forget/overlook something important, leading to grave errors or failure.(Paczolay, 1997 p. 241)
• Haste makes waste.
  • Manser, Martin H (2007). The Facts on File dictionary of proverbs. Infobase Publishing. 0816066736. , p. 115

Hawk

• Hawks will not pick out Hawk's eyes. (Speake, 2009)

Have

• He that can have patience can have what he will. (Strauss, 1994 p. 87)

Health

• Health is wealth.
  • Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 273

Head

• He that hath a head of wax must not walk in the sun. (Ward, 1842 p. 54)
  • Know your limitations and weaknesses; Don't do something that is sure to damage you.
• We should not expect to find old heads on young shoulders. (Strauss, 1994 p. 77)
  • We ought not to except those younger than us to be as reasonable as ourselves, who have experienced more.
• When the head is sick, the whole body is sick. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1117)
  • If you suffer much mentally, you likely also suffer much physically.

Heat

• If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.
  • If the stress a task is giving is bothering you too much, abandon it.
  • Ammer, Christine (1997). The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 640. ISBN 039572774X. 

Hedge

• A hedge between keeps friends green. (Strauss, 1998 p. 68)
  • It is best to have some sort of wall towards your neighbours.
• Men leap over where the hedge is lower. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1087)
  • Also known as the Law of least effort.
  • Always do things in a way that requires the absolute least amount of labor.

Hell

• The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
  • Earlier variants of this proverb are recorded as Hell is paved with good intentions. recorded as early as 1670, and an even earlier variant by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux Hell is full of good intentions or desires.
  • Similar from Latin: "The gates of hell are open night and day; Smooth the descent, and easy is the way" — Virgil, the Aeneid Book VI line 126

Hindsight

• Hindsight is always twenty-twenty.
  • 20-20 refers to perfect vision.
  • It is easy to be prudent in hindsight.
  • Brenner, Gail Abel (2003). Concise dictionary of European proverbs. Wiley. p. 284. 0764524771. 

History

• History repeats itself.
  • Things that has happened will happen again. Religious myths for example, which are allegorical, will per definition reoccur. (Strauss, 1994 p. 977)

Hole

• If you're in a hole, stop digging. (Speake 2009, p. 388)
  • Cut your losses

Hope

• Who lives by hope will die of hunger. (Strauss 1994, p. 952)

Horse

• Don't put the cart before the horse.
  • Cf. Dan Michael of Northgate, Ayenbite of Inwyt (1340): "Many religious folk set the plough before the oxen." (Middle English: "Moche uolk of religion зetteþ þe зuolз be-uore þe oksen.")
• If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
  • It is useless to wish; better results will be achieved through action.
  • Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 637
• I'll hear it from the horse's mouth.
  • I will hear it from an authoritative or dependable source.
  • Ammer, Christine (1997). The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 640. ISBN 039572774X. 

• It's a good horse that never stumbles.
  • We all make mistakes from times to times.
  • Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 290
• Look not a gift horse in the mouth.
  • A present should not be criticized. It is an expression of respect and appreciation and any criticism would offend the donor. (The teeth of a horse reveal its age, i.e its real value.)
  • Source for proverb and meaning:(Paczolay, 1997 p. 54)
• Never look a gift horse in the mouth.
  • Don't critize gifts.
  • Goudreau, Colleen Patric (2011). Vegan's Daily Companion: 365 Days of Inspiration for Cooking, Eating, and Living Compassionately. Quarry Books. p. 133. 1592536794. 
• A golden bit does not make the horse any better. (Strauss, 1998 p. 52)
  • An ugly thing will remain ugly even if its appeareance is taken care of.
• You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.
  • You can give someone an opportunity, but you can't force him to take advantage of it.
  • Medlin, Carl (2008). Second Great Reformation: Man Shall Not Live by Faith Only. Xulon Press. p. 74. 1606476459. 

House

• People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
  • Variation: Whose house is of glass, must not throw stones at another.
  • George Herbert, Outlandish Proverbs, 1640; cited in "Proverbs 120". The Yale Book of Quotations. 2006. pp. p. 613. ISBN 0-300-10798-6. 
  • George Herbert, Jacula Prudentum, 1651, number 196

Insanity

• Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results.
  • Don't do the same thing repeatedly, and expect any other outcome.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang (2012). The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs. Yale University Press. pp. 312. ISBN 0300136021. 

Iron

• Don't have too many irons in the fire.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 588
• Iron sharpens iron. (Whiting, 1997 p. 235)
• Strike while the iron is hot. or Make hay while the sun shines.
  • Take advantage of an opportunity when it presents itself, before it passes away. A good opportunity is usually a rare coincidence of various factors, unlikely to be repeated. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 109)
  • George Farquhar, The Beaux' Stratagem, Act IV, scene 2; reported as a proverb in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 642. Walter Scott, The Fair Maid of Perth, Chapter V. Webster, Westward Ho, III. 2. Geoffrey Chaucer, Troylus and Cresseyde, Book II, Stanza 178.

Job

• If a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well.
  • Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 133

Journey

• A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.
  • Laozi, Tao Te Ching, Ch. 64, line 12. 千里之行，始于足下

Joy

• Joy shared, joy doubled: sorrow shared, sorrow halved. (Strauss, 1994 p. 249)

Judgment

• Hasty judgment leads to repentance. (Strauss, 1994 p. 196)
  • A quick evaluation is a terrible evaluation.

Justice

• Justice delayed is justice denied. (Legal Proverb, India) (Speake, 2009)

Keep

• Keep your mouth shut and your eyes open.
  • Wisdom has long ears and a short tongue.
  • Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 312
• Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.
  • Spending time among an enemy will help you recognize his weak spots. This might give the false impression that your enemies are your friends.
  • Matthews, Chris (1999). Hardball: How Politics Is Played Told By One Who Knows The Game (revisada, reimpresa ed.). Simon and Schuster. p. 91. ISBN 0684845598. 

Kill

• Kill your darlings.
  • Remove the favorite parts of your work.
  • Blacker (2001). Kill Your Darlings: A Novel. St. Martin's Press. 

Kingdom

• A good mind possesses a kingdom. (Strauss, 1998 p. 58)
  • Material assets are fleeting, but intellectual assets will basically stay with you for the rest of your life. Therefore, intellectual assets are much more worth than material ones.

Lady

• Faint heart never won fair lady.
  • Mawr, E.B. (1885). Analogous Proverbs in Ten Languages. p. 30. 

Knowledge

• Knowledge is power. (17th Century) (Speake, 2009)

Land

• In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. (Speake, 2009)

Laugh

• He laughs best who laughs last.
  • Do not celebrate prematurely while something is not yet achieved finally. - Unforeseen developments often lead to a less favourable final result. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 395)
• Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone.
  • Everyone likes a cheerful person, and everyone dislikes a growler.
  • Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 325

Lemon

• If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. (Speake, 2009)
  • If you have had many bad experiences, make something good out of it.

Less

• Less is more.
  • Campbell, Cimberly Hill (2007). Less is more: teaching literature with short texts, grades 6-12. Stenhouse Publishers. 157110710X. 

Let

• Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
  • Jesus Christ

Life

• Life imitates art.
  • What is found in life and nature is not what is really there, but is that which artists have taught people to find there, through art.
  • Events in the real world was inspired by a creative work.
  • Bloom, H. (2007). Arthur Miller, Bloom's Literary Criticism.
• Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.
  • Unknown origin, though sometimes attributed to Lou Holtz or Chuck Swindoll
• Life is what you make of it. Always has been, always will be.
  • Unknown origin, though sometimes attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt or Grandma Moses
• Life's battle don't always go to the stronger or faster man, but sooner or later the man who wins is the one who thinks he can.
  • Lucier, T. J. (2005). How to make money with real estate options: low-cost, low-risk, high-profit strategies for controlling undervalued property-- without the burdens of ownership!, Wiley.

Lightning

• Lightning never strikes twice in the same place.
  • Though not literally true in regards to physical locations, this proverb is often used to imply that the same event won't happen to a person or place twice.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 634

Like

• Like cures like. (Strauss, 1994 p. 648)
  • One thing is cured, or fixed, by something of the same nature.
• Like father, like son. (Speake, 2009)

Linen

• Don't wash your dirty linen in public. (Strauss, 1994 p. 702)
  • Don't speak ill of yourself and the groups you belong to.

Little

• Little by little and bit by bit.
  • Many incremental changes will after some time transform what is pathetic into something grand.
  • Dickens, Charles (1867). Nicholas Nickleby, Volumes 1-4. Hurd & Houghton. p. 145. 0814412947. 
• A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
  • A little Learning is a dangerous Thing;
    Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring:
    There shallow Draughts intoxicate the Brain,
    And drinking largely sobers us again.
    • Alexander Pope

Live

• Live and let live. (Speake, 2009)
  • Live yourself as you please, and let others live their life as they please..

Look

• Look before you leap. (Speake, 2009)
  • Think before you act.
• Look on the sunny side of life.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 788

Loose

• Loose lips sink ships.
  • Eugene, D. (2002). 20 Good Reasons to Stay Sober, Booksurge Llc.

Lost

• All is not lost that is in danger. (Ward, 1842 p. 11)
  • Alltough you are in a difficult situation or are facing tough adversity, it does not mean you cannot move forward.
• He who hesitates is lost.
  • The person who waits too long loses the opportunity.
  • Delay may have disastrous results.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 492

Love

• Love is blind.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 657
• Love is like war, Easy to start, Hard to end, Impossible to forget.
  • Kumar, E. S. The Unofficial Joke book of New SMS, Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd.
• If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. And if they don't, they never were.
  • Israel, Yahdon (2009). Show Me a Nigger and I'll Show You a Racist: The Mind of a Psychopathic Genius. AuthorHouse. p. 100. ISBN 1438976607. 
• It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. (Speake, 2009)

Make

• Make the best of a bad bargain.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. 

Man

• A man's home is his castle.
  • William Blackstone refers to this traditional proverb in Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–1769), Book 4, Chapter 16:

  And the law of England has so particular and tender a regard to the immunity of a man's house, that it stiles it his castle, and will never suffer it to be violated with immunity: agreeing herein with the sentiments of ancient Rome, as expressed in the works of Tully; quid enim sanctius, quid omni religione munitius, quam domus unusquisque civium?

  Translation: What more sacred, what more strongly guarded by every holy feeling, than a man's own home?

• A mans worst enemies are often those of his own house. (Strauss, 1994 p. 52)
• Wise men learn by other men's harms, fools by their own. (Strauss, 1998 p. 34)
• The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
  • Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 272
• Manners maketh the man.
  • We are what we do.
  • 'Manners makyth man' - the motto of William of Wykeham(1320 - 1404)

Many

• Many a mickle makes a muckle.
  • Many small parts will eventually create something impressive.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 698

Marry

• Marry in haste, and repent at leisure.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 463

Measure

• Measure twice, cut once.
  • Plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 171

Memory

• Repetition is the mother of memory. (Rowlingson, 1919 p. 15)

Mend

• Least said, soonest mended. (Strauss, 1994 p. 975)
  • Meaning: It is often best not bring up something bad that has occurred to someone else.
• It's never too late to mend.
  • It is never to late to do what we wish we would have done when we were younger.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 602

Mind

• Men talk only to conceal the mind. (Strauss 1994, p. 1088)
• Mind your own business. (Strauss, 1998 p. 719)
• Mind your P's and Q's. or British: Mind your manners
  • [7]
  • Makhene, E. R. W. (2008). Mind Your Ps and Qs, Lulu.com.

Milk

• It's no use crying over spilt milk. (Strauss, 1994 p. 631)

Misfortune

• Misfortunes never come singly.
  • One misfortune is often followed by another. - A mishap may weaken/frighten a person/group/relationship, making him/it more liable to fell victim to subsequent minor dangers too.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 704
  • Source for Meaning: (Paczolay, 1997 p. 60)

Miss

• A miss by an inch is a miss by a mile.
  • Cf. Scottish Proverbs Collected and Arranged by Andrew Henderson, 1832, p.103: "An inch o' a miss is as gude as a span." [8]
• Missing the wood for the trees.
  • While tending to every detail you might miss out the big picture. (Singh, 2006 p. 169)

Money

• Money talks, bullshit walks. (Speake, 2009 p. 388)
  • It is easier to accomplish goals using money instead of just talk.
• Put your money where your mouth is.
  • Invest in what you claim will happen, and put in your own effort or money in matters you praise, warn about, or complain about.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 714
• Time is money.
  • Leonard, F. (1995). Time is money: a million dollar investment plan for today's twenty- and thirty-somethings, Perseus Books Group.

More

• More haste, less speed.
  • Hurry, but work slowly to make sure what you attend to gets done properly. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1095)
• The more the merrier. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1094)
• The more things change, the more they stay the same. (Washington, 2007 p. 132)
  • When things seem to be new, it is in fact history repeating itself.

Mountain

• Don't make a mountain out of a molehill.
  • Don't make a big deal out of a trifle.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 708

Mouse

• Burn not your house to rid it of the mouse.
  • It is often the fact the cure/remedy/solution leads to a worse problem than it originally was intended to solve. (Strauss, 1994 p. 568)

Much

• Much is expected where much is given. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1095)
  • With great resources comes great responsibility.

Nail

• The nail that sticks up will be hammered down. (Whatling, 2009)
  • A person that sticks out will often be poorly treated.

Nature

• Nature is beyond all teaching. (Strauss, 1994 p. 764)
  • Nature is much more important than nurture when it comes to learning.

Never

• Never lie to your doctor.
  • Huler, Scott (1999). From Worst to First: Behind the Scenes of Continental's Remarkable Comeback. John Wiley & Sons. p. 200. 0471356522. 
• Never lie to your lawyer.
  • Huler, Scott (1999). From Worst to First: Behind the Scenes of Continental's Remarkable Comeback. John Wiley & Sons. p. 200. 0471356522. 
• Never put off till (until) tomorrow what you can do today.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 264
• Never say die.
  • Don't give up if there still is a chance that you can succeed.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 203
• Never say never.
  • (Speake, 2009)
• It's never too late to mend.
  • You are never to old to change your ways.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p.602

Nice

• If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.
  • Morem, Susan (2005). One hundred one tips for graduates. Infobase Publishing. p. 69. 0816056765. 

Night

• A night with Venus and a life with mercury.
  • Anti-promiscuity adage, alluding to a 18th-century mercury-based folk treatment for syphilis
  • Cited in Bartz, Diane (30 October 2006). "Har, me hearties! Excavating Blackbeard's ship". Reuters (via Yahoo! News). Retrieved on 2006-11-01. 

No

• No man can serve two masters.
  • Christian New Testament
• No man is an island.
  • We are all interdependent and influenced by each other.
  • Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 419 e
• No man is indispensable. (Strauss, 1998 p. 319)
• No news is good news.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 734 e
• No pain, no gain.
  • Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. 2006

Nothing

• Nothing for nothing. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1111)
  • He who works for nothing shall recieve nothing from others except complaint.
• Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
  • It is necessary to take risks in order to achieve something. (Manser, 2007 p. 207)
  • Variant: Nothing ventured, nothing have. - Divers Proverbs, Nathan Bailey, 1721 [9]

Oak

• Little strokes fell great oaks.
  • A difficult task, e. g. removing a person/group from a strong position, or changing established ideas cannot be done quickly. It can be achieved gradually, by small steps, a little at a time. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 252)

Old

• Old habits die hard. (Speake, 2009)
• Old is Gold, but never sold.
  • Mysore (India : State). Legislature. Legislative Assembly (1959). Debates; Official Report. s.n.. p. 1401. 

Offence

• The best defence is a good offence. (Strauss, 1994 p. 518)

Only

• The only free cheese is in the mouse trap.
  • Russian saying.
  • Gage, R. (2010). Why You're Dumb, Sick & Broke...And How to Get Smart, Healthy & Rich!, John Wiley & Sons.
• The only stupid question is the one that is not asked.
  • Hull, E., K. Jackson, et al. (2005). Requirements engineering, Springer.

Opportunity

• In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. (O'hara, 2011)
  • Opportunity knocks only once.
  • (Mieder, p. 752)^{[specific citation needed]}

Out

• Out of sight... Out of mind.
  • Cf. Fulke Greville's sonnet "And out of minds as soons as out of sight"
  • You will forget a thing which is out of your sight. (Speake, 2009)
• Out of small acorns grow mighty oaks. (Speake, 2009)
  • One has to start somewhere!

Over

• It ain't over till it's over.
  • You shouldn't celebrate or despair until you are 100% sure there is a reason to do so.
  • Goldman, Steven (2008). It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over: The Baseball Prospectus Pennant Race Book. pp. 480. 
  • Yogi Berra
  • Often attributed to sportscaster Dan Cook (1978)

Oyster

• The world is your oyster. (Opdyke, 2008)
  • In order to achieve something in this world, one has to grab the opportunity.

Pain

• No pain, no gain.
  • Nothing can be achieved without effort, suffering, or hardship. (Manser, 2007 p. 205)

Paradise

• There is no greater torment than to be alone in paradise. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1106)

Pardon

• Never ask pardon before you are accused. (Ward, 1842 p. 87)

Penny

• Penny wise, pound foolish.
  • Skimping on small financial matters can cause you to lose money overall. E.G. outsourcing customer service to a third-world country may save a small amount, but may cost a huge amount in lost customers.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. 

People

• The voice of the people is the voice of god. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1164)

Pig

• When the pig is proffered, hold up the poke. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1226)
  • We should accept the offers that has been given us.

Percent

• 80 percent of life is showing up.
  • Coined by Woody Allen.
  • Don't dream it, do it. According to Woody Allen, those who do this are 80 percent of the way to having something good happening to them.
  • Lewis, Carole (2009). Give God a Year & Change Your Life Forever: Improve Every Area of Your Life (Gospel Light Publications ed.). p. 17. ISBN 0830751327. 
• 50 percent of something is better than one hundred percent of nothing.
  • Talking is a long way from doing, thus a halfway done paltry project is better than an unstarted ambitious project.
  • (Scaffidi)

Pitcher

• Little pitchers have big ears. (Strauss 1994, p. 653)
  • (Small) children observes and understands more than one might think.

Plan

• If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.
  • Kreuger (2008). The college grad job hunter: insider techniques and tactics for finding a top-paying job. Adams Media. pp. 352. ISBN 1598695479. , p. 65

Poet

• Poets are born, but orators are trained. (Strauss, 1998 p. 331)
  • Some things can be improved by training, others require innate talent.

Pot

• Shit or get off the pot. ( W., 1975)
  • Fulfill your projects or give them up.
• A watched pot never boils.
  • If actively wait for something to happen, it seldom does.
  • Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 611

Poverty

• Poverty is the reward of idleness. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1146)

Power

• Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely. (Speake, 2009)
  • Attributed to Lord Acton

Pudding

• The proof of the pudding is in the eating. (Mawr, 2005 p. 77)^{[specific citation needed]}
  • The worth of a thing is however it practically comes to use.

Punishment

• Punishment is lame but it comes. (Strauss, 1994 p. 682)

Practice

• Practice makes man perfect. (Speake, 2009)

Prepare

• Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 512

Prevention

• An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. (Speake, 2009)

Price

• Everything is worth its price. (Strauss, 1994 p. 800)

Pride

• Pride comes before the fall. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1148)

Problem

• If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. (Adam, 2010 p. 25)
• A problem shared is a problem halved. (Strauss, 1994 p. 351)

Race

• Slow and steady wins the race. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1155)

Rat

• Rats desert a sinking ship. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1150)
  • A leader or organization in trouble will quickly be abandoned.

Reality

• Reality is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.
  • Caper, R. (1999). A mind of one's own: a Kleinian view of self and object, Routledge.

Reap

• What you sow is what you reap.
  • Goodwin, F. A. (2005). You Reap What You Sow. R.A.N. Pub id = 1411643550. pp. 203. 

Reason

• Reason does not come before years. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1150)
  • Only wisdom and maturity gained by age will (hopefully) make us sensible; Young people lack common sense.

Remedy

• The remedy is worse than the disease.
  • Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 486

Revenge

• Revenge is a dish best served cold.
  • The best revenge is to live a great life. Opportunity for the second best revenge presents itself. (Speake, 2009)

Rome

• All roads lead to Rome.
  • Do not stick to one way of solution or do not be disappointed meeting a failure as an objective can be achieved (or a problem can be solved) in different ways. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 437)
• Rome wasn't built in a day.
  • It takes time to create something impressive.
  • Coady, Linus J. (1984). Rome wasn't built in a day: the history of the foundation of Brent's Cove Parish, 1959-1965. L.J. Coady. pp. 86. 
• When in Rome, do as the Romans do. (Speake, 2009)

Rule

• Rules were meant to be broken. (Speake, 2009)
  • Breake rules in secret; Break rules if it leads to the best effect.

Say

• "Well done" is better than "well said". (Whiting, 1977)

Sea

• He complains wrongfully at the sea that suffer shipwreck twice. (Strauss, 1994 p. 898)
  • Don't do the same thing again and expect different results.

See

• Monkey see, monkey do.
  • People tend to do like others without thinking.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 709
• There are none so blind as they who do not want to see. (Strauss, 1998 p. 320)
• You can't see the wood for the trees. (Van Dertuin, 2006)
  • While tending to every detail you might miss out the big picture.
• What you see is what you get.
  • McLenighan, Valjean (1981). What you see is what you get. Follett Pub. Co.. p. 4. 0695313703. 

Service

• Proffer'd service stinks. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1149)

Shadow

• Catch not a shadow and lose the substance. (Strauss, 1998)
  • We should not waste time on trivial aspects of a matter and neglect the essential matter itself.

Shame

• Shame take him that shame thinketh. (Strauss, 1994 p. 806)
  • Don't think evil of others since they most likely act the way they do because of situational factors: Never attribute something to malice which can adequately be explained by stupidity.

Sheep

• One might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb. (Speake, 2009)

Shit

• You don't shit where you eat.
  • Different segments of your life must remain contiguous such as business, your love life and leisure.
  • Iles, Greg (2007). Third Degree. Simon and Schuster. p. 159. 0743292502. 

Shoe

• Before criticizing a man, walk a mile in his shoes. (Preston, 2004 p. XV)
• If the shoe fits, wear it.
  • Accept an unflattering yet accurate description of you. (Speake, 2009)
• No one knows where the shoe pinches, but he who wears it.
  • Mawr, E.B. (1885). Analogous Proverbs in Ten Languages. p. 4. 

Shoemaker/Cobbler

• Cobblers children are worst shod.
  • Working hard for others one may neglect one's own needs or the needs of those closest to him. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 65).
• Shoemaker, stick to your last.
  • Do not talk about things you do not know anything about.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 723

Sin

• There are sins of omission as well as of commission.
  • Harmful inactions are just as morally reprehensible as harmful actions.
  • Carson, D. A. (2006). How Long, O Lord?: Reflections on Suffering and Evil (2, reimpresa ed.). Baker Academic. p. 50. ISBN 0801031257. 

Snail

• By perseverance the snail reached the arc.
  • (Strauss, 1994 p. 127)

Snooze

• If you snooze you lose.
  • From the Aesop fable about the hare and the tortoise.
  • If you get distracted from your goals, someone else might beat you to them. (Lane, 2004)^{[specific citation needed]}

Sowing

• As you sow, so you reap.
  • The consequences are directly related to one's actions. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 38).
• Sow thin, shear thin. (Strauss, 1998 p. 1158)

Steed

• While the grass grows the steed starves. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1228)
  • Dreams or expectations may be realized too late.

Stone

• Constant dropping wears away the stone.
  • A steady effort can achieve, little by little, a great effect, as many drops do by gradually dissolving and eroding the stone. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 349)

Straw

• A drowning man will clutch at a straw.
  • A man in extreme difficulty will try anything which seems to offer even the slightest help to extricate himself. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 384)

Story

• A story never loses in the telling. (Ward, 1842 p. 7)
  • Lying a little might make the story better.

Success

• Failure is the stepping stone for success.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 291
• Nothing succeeds like success.
  • Success loves company.
  • Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited.
• Success grows out of struggles to overcome difficulties.
  • Peterson, C. W. and D. C. Jones (1989). Wake up, Canada!: reflections on vital national issues, University of Alberta Press.
• Success is a journey not a destination. (Puckridge, 2006)
• Try not to become a man of success but a man of value. (Wiersbe, 2001)

Sun

• There is nothing new under the sun.
  • It turns out very often that something 'never seen/experienced before' especially in human relationships - has, in fact, in some way or another, happened before. - Human nature and the basic human aspirations did not change.(Paczolay, 1997 p. 461)

Swallow

• One swallow does not make a summer.
  • Do not feel sure or rejoice noticing a favourable sign. The appearence of a single sign of a favourable event is not yet a definite indication of its coming. It may be unrelated, sporadic appearance. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 44)
  • Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics (c. 325 BC), I.1098a18

Swimmer

• Good swimmers are often drowned. (Strauss, 1994 p. 879)
  • Beware of letting your competence lead you into overconfidence.

Sword

• A blow with a word strikes deeper than a blow with a sword.
  • Robert Burton cites this traditional proverb in The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621) Part I, Section II, Member IV, Subsection IV:
  • It is an old saying, "A blow with a word strikes deeper than a blow with a sword:" and many men are as much galled with a calumny, a scurrilous and bitter jest, a libel, a pasquil, satire, apologue, epigram, stage-play or the like, as with any misfortune whatsoever.
• Live by the sword, die by the sword. (Speake, 2009)
  • He who is hostile towards others will often eventually be treated with the same hostility.
• The pen is mightier than the sword.
  • Mazer, Anna (2009). The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword. Baker & Taylor. 1442012889. 

Take

• Take things as you find them. (Strauss 1994, p. 722)
  • Adapt yourself to new surroundings or conditions. For instance, if you are ill, do what you still can instead of waiting to get healthy.

Tango

• It takes two to tango. (Oshry, 1996 p. 59)

Temptation

• Without temptation there is no victory. (Ward, 1842 p. 156)
  • Not being tempted is a sign that fortune has forgotten you.

Thief

• Once a thief always a thief. (Strauss, 1994 p. 771)
• Set a thief to catch a thief. (Speake, 2009 p. 388)

Thought

• Second thoughts are the best.
  • Mawr, E.B. (1885). Analogous Proverbs in Ten Languages. p. 73. 

Time

• Desperate times call for desperate measures. (Speake, 2009)
• Footprints on the sands of time are not made by sitting down.
  • Idle people will quickly be forgotten by history.
  • Manser, Martin H (2007). The Facts on File dictionary of proverbs. Infobase Publishing. 0816066736. 
• Nature, time, and patience are three great physicians.
  • Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited.
• Procrastination is the thief of time. (Speake, 2009 p. 233)
• A stitch in time saves nine.
  • Cf. Gnomologia: Adagies and Proverbs Collected by Thomas Fuller, 1732, Vol. II, p. 283, Nr. 6291 : "A Stitch in Time // May save nine." [10]
  • Keeping something tidy from the beginning will save you a lot of work later on.
• Time and tide wait for no man. (Spender, 1984)
  • Focus on the major worries you have today, because you will have even more major worries tomorrow; If you forsake the future, the future will forsake you.
• Time flies.
  • Cosby, B. (1988). Time flies, Bantam Books.
• Time is precious. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 428)
• Time will tell. (Speake, 2009)
  • Time will reveal the truth.
• There is no time like the present.
  • It is far better to do something now than to leave it for later, in which case it might never get done.
  • Elkin, A. (1999). Stress management for dummies, John Wiley & Sons.
• There is nothing more precious than time and nothing more prodigally wasted. (Strauss 1994, p. 722)

Tomorrow

• Avoid the pleasure which will bite tomorrow.
  • (Ward, 1842 p. 11)
• Never put off till tomorrow what can be done today.
  • "It may be more difficult or sometimes even impossible to do something later, which can be easily done now." or "One can have time later for something else if a job is done now." (Paczolay, 1997 p. 87)

Tool

• A bad workman blames his tools.
  • George Herbert reports early English variants in Jacula Prudentum; or, Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, Etc. (1640):
    • Never hand an ill workman good tools.
    • An ill labourer quarrels with his tools.
      • The Works of George Herbert in Prose and Verse; 1881, New York: John Wurtele Lovell, Pub.; pp. 440 & 454
  • Compare the older French proverb:
    • Outil: ... Meſchant ouvrier ne trouvera ia bons outils: Prov. A bungler cannot find (or fit himself with) with good tools.
      • Randle Cotgrave, A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues (1611)
  • Galen explains clearly, if less succinctly, in De Causis Procatarcticis (2nd c. A.D.), VI. 63–65:
    • They blame their tools: why did the carpenter make the bed so badly, if he was any good? He will reply: "Because I used a poor axe and a thick gimlet, because I did not have a rule, I lost my hammer, and the hatchet was blunt", and other things of this kind. [...] And who does not know that artisans make themselves responsible for the deficiencies in their work too, when they cannot pin the blame on material and tools?
      • Galen On Antecedent Causes, Tr. R. J. Hankinson, Cambridge University Press, 1998, ISBN 0521622506, p. 90–93

• Do not play with edged tools. (Strauss, 1994 p. 716)

Treasure

• A good name is the best of all treasures. (Strauss, 1998 p. 20)

Tree

• People only throw stones at trees with fruit on them. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1008)
  • It is only the successful ones who are criticized.
• The apple never falls far from the tree.
  • Children observe daily and — in their behaviour — often follow the example of their parents. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 259).

Truth

• A half truth is a whole lie. (Tal, 2005 p. 78)
• Truth gives a short answer, lies go round about. (Strauss, 1994 p. 221)
  • Latin equivalent: Obscuris vera involvens. Translation: Obscurity envelops truth.
• The truth shall set you free, or The truth will set you free.
  • The truth might relieve you from ill feelings.
  • In the Bible, John 8:32.
• Truth will out. (Speake, 2009)
  • Time will disclose the truth.

Vessel

• Empty vessels make the most sound.
  • Stupid, 'empty headed' people - lacking due consideration - are often verbose. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 146)

Virtue

• Virtue which parleys is near a surrender.
  • Divers Proverbs, Nathan Bailey, 1721 [11]

Walk

• Learn to walk before you run.
  • Learn the basics of any subject first.
  • Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 608
• Walk softly, carry a big stick.
  • Be affable, but be sure to have powerful punitive measures.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 752
• Walk the talk. (Manser, 2007)
• Walk the walk and talk the talk. (Skoll, 1992)
  • First do your task, then talk about it.

Wealth

• Wealth rarely brings happiness. (Strauss, 1994 p. 670)

Whale

• Set a herring to catch a whale. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1134)

Wheel

• Don't try to reinvent the wheel.
  • The thing you are doing, no matter how seemingly unique, has been done before. Take advantage of, and perhaps expand upon, your predecessors work.
  • Heacock, Paul (2003). Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms (Illustrated ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 512. ISBN 052153271X. 
• The squeaky wheel gets the grease. (Speake, 2009 p. 289)
  • A person that complains often gets much.

Wife

• A cheerful wife is the spice of life. (Strauss, 1998 p. 20)
• Choose a wife rather by your ear than your eye. (Strauss, 1994 p. 655)
• A man's best fortune or his worst is a wife. (Strauss, 1994 p. 65)
• Two things prolong your life: A quiet heart and a loving wife.
  • Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited.

Will

• He that will not when he may, when he will shall then have nay!
  • Kelly, Walter Keating (1859). Proverbs of all nations. W. Kent & co. (late D. Bogue). pp. 238. , p. 41
• Take the will for the deed. (Strauss, 1994 p. 881)
  • Judge by the well intentioned effort, and not it's effects.
• Where there is a will, there is a way.
  • Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 627

Win

• Slow and steady wins the race.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 734
• Winning isn't everything (it's the only thing).
  • (Titelman, 2000 p. IX)

Wind

• He that sows the wind shall reap the whirlwind.
  • Trouble once started can spark off a chain reaction, often resulting in a great trouble out of control. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 459)

Wine

• Life is too short (to drink bad wine).
  • Hoggart, S. (2009). Life's Too Short to Drink Bad Wine: 100 Wines for the Discerning Drinker, Quapuba.
• Good wine needs no bush.
  • It was customary since early times to hang a grapevine, ivy or other greenery over the door of a tavern or way stop to advertise the availability of drink within.
  • A good product does not need advertising: it will spread through word of mouth or by the sight of others using it.
  • Martin (2010). Good Wine Needs No Bush. Arthur Bruce Martin. pp. 200. ISBN 0646539477. 

Wish

• Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. (Potter, 2009)
• The wish is father to the thought.
  • People often engage in wishful thinking, which gives them overly optimistic ideas.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. 303

With

• He who is not with me is against me.
  • Originally from the Bible, Luke 11:23 and Matthew 12:30. Specificed as a proverb in (Strauss, 1994 p. 974)

Woeful

• Willful waste makes woeful want. (Wolfgang, 1992 p. 925)
  • Stubbornly or waywardly wasting or throwing away something you have now will later make you regretful.

Wolf

• The wolf finds a reason for taking the lamb. (Strauss, 1994, p. 68)

Word

• Fine words butter no parsnips. (Speake, 2009)
  • Merely talking about a problem will not solve it.
• Many a true word is spoken in jest.
  • Kelly, Walter Keating (1859). Proverbs of all nations. W. Kent & co. (late D. Bogue). pp. 238. , p. 57
• No need of words, trust deeds. (Strauss, 1994 p. 91)
  • One should pay attention to what people do rather than what they say.

Work

• All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
  • Be sure to take breakes from work and do something entertaining as well.
  • Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710. , p. xxiv
• Many hands make light work. (Speak, 2009)
• No man is born into this world, whose work is not born with him.
  • No man is so disabled that he can not be of use to society (at large). (Strauss, 1994 p. 1107)
• Quick at meat, quick at work. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1150)

Wrong

• If something can go wrong, it will.
  • Known as "Murphy's Law".
  • Dowis, Richard (2000). Autumn street. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. p. 242. ISBN 0814470548. 
• Two wrongs don't make a right. (Speake, 2009)

Wound

• It is not wise to open old wounds.
  • Mawr, E.B. (1885). Analogous Proverbs in Ten Languages. p. 45. 

Young

• They who would be young when they are old must be old when they are young. (Strauss, 1994 p. 841)
  • Regret and despondency is the reward of recklessness.; If you live your youth years diligently, it will save you from regret when you are old. That is, you take care of your health and do things you like that virtually only young people can do.

References

• • O'Donnell, Cynthia (1983). Evil Begets Evil in Mourning Becomes Electra and Desire Under the Elms. Manhattan College. pp. 71. 
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(Michael Pollan, The Botany of Desire, Random House, 2001, ISBN 0375501290, p. 22, cf. p. 9 & 50)

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See also

• Irish proverbs
• Maori proverbs
• Scots proverbs
• Shakespearian proverbs
• Welsh proverbs

External links

• Proverb Hunter English Proverbs Explained
• Proverbs and their meanings