Talk:English proverbs

Recommend All "meanings" Be Deleted

The majority of meanings are incorrect or take the less intelligent interpretation. It is funny because proverb-like expressions are used in IQ tests and you can see why in many of the meanings. They do this on IQ tests because there are many "right" answers but the more intelligent you are you will read it differently as you ply into the depth of the statement. I'm sure many of the visitors to this page feel the same but don't want to waste time discussing it. Therefore, the best course is to simply remove these subjective meanings and allow the reader to take from it what they will. Otherwise, this page will continue to spread potentially incorrect interpretations regarding world famous and historic proverbs.99.35.227.129 22:53, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

Deletion

Deleted the following, because it is not a proverb.

• A Believer cannot interpret his scriptures until he gains enlightenment, but he cannot gain enlightenment until he interprets his scriptures.
  • Meaning: fundamentalists and "true believers" are caught in a "catch 22" that limits their understanding.
  • Loren Dean - songwriter 2002

173.52.3.185

A bit baffled by...

This:

A camel is a horse designed by committee.

   * Meaning: a vision is more perfect from the individual rather than a group of people where it becomes anodyne.

Doesn't anodyne mean pain relief?

   * Meaning: Mind your manners (Please and Thank You)

I believe "Mind your Ps and Qs" is a shortening of "Mind your pints and quarts," so a better meaning would be not only to mind your manners, but also mind how much you drink.

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I believe it comes from typesetting, in which lower-case p's and q's are easy to mistake for one another. It means pay close attention to details. --Jdcrutch 22:32, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Particularly in movable type where you need to reverse the characters to make an impression anyway. 81.158.231.168 15:44, 9 June 2010 (UTC)

Anodyne means bland. You mean Anadin!

Actually an "anodyne" is a pain reliever (NefariousWheel)

Yeah, but that's precisely because it means bland. It means that it dulls sensation in that area. 81.158.231.168 15:44, 9 June 2010 (UTC)

It might be a good idea eventually to check all these English proverbs against a reference book, like "Everyman's Dictionary of Quotations and Proverbs."

"Meanings" are mostly off the mark

Most of the interpretations of these proverbs ("Meaning: ...") seem to hit rather wide of the mark. It might be worth discussing whether to include them at all; after all, a proverb is the evolutionary reduction of a meme to its simplest expression. It appears pointless to expand on these refined kernels of English thought with such an expansion, especially when there is poor consensus as to their validity. (User:NefariousWheel 27-Aug-2008)

A few things

"A man's home is his castle"

The correct version is "An Englishman's home is his castle" since the rising of the yeomanry, it has been both a symbol of wealth and a tradition among english men to own their own home. The idea of renting a home (as is popular on the continent) is seen as undesirable.

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It's also correct as written, particularly in common-law jurisdictions outside England, such as the USA. It means not mere bourgeois pride of ownership but that a householder is entitled to security and privacy in his home, be it owned or rented, and may defend it with force. --Jdcrutch 22:35, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

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It appears in many films, televison programmes and given time i will cite a source. I have also heard the "little strokes, fell big oaks". In the yorkshire area, especialy rural villages. I believe it has become rather archaic but it does still exist. alternativly "Small strokes..."

it this farewell there's no blood there's no alibi cause I drawn regret from the truth of a thousand lies

so let mercy come and wash away what I've done

I'll face myself to cross out what I become erase myself and let go what i've done

put the rest what you thought of me while I clean slate of a uncertainty

so let mercy come and wash away what i've done

Suggestions

What about: Don't pee against wind.

• Used like: Doing this is like peeing against wind

(this one tends to be a big issue for me.... I enjoy peeing against the wind.... The wind in my hair the piss in my face... Tasty. --Hurda

The proverb "Steter Tropfen höhlt den Stein" is closest to the English "A small leak will sink a great ship." The idea of "Little strokes fell big oaks." is nice but not a traditional proverb that I know of. The idea of the proverb that constant action will have a large effect means that the one with the ship is maybe the closest equivalent.

-- Takuan Soho

Native Southern American English speaker here, I have heard of "Little strokes fell big oaks" before in the US, but it is fairly rare (I may have heard this three times tops in my entire life). A more appropriote proverb in America which isn't *really* a proverb would be "Loose lips sink ships" from the infamous US World War II poster. Zidel333 17:18, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

you are one racist basterd i'm just playing this a rare proverb

How about "There's a thin line between love and hate"

Meaning

I think the meaning of each proverbs should be also there. I know most of them are obvious for English speaking people, but may not for people having English as a second language. This page value for them would increase dramatically. Ervinn 22:51, 5 November 2006 (UTC) yes u should provide the meanings too.so how do we get to the meanings now of the proverbs we want?

I agree that it's good to supply meanings, but (in my 'umble opinion) you guys should reach some consensus on the exact meanings before you supply them on the page proper. E.g.:

   * A calm sea does not make a skilled sailor. (African proverb)
         o Meaning: calm times do not show anything; it's the tough times that make you what you are.

I agree with the first half of this, but not the second. It's not so much about tough times making you what you are (i.e., "That which does not destroy me can only make me stronger"), but rather that the tough times are when you prove yourself.

I'd say:

         o Meaning:  anyone can look good when the task is easy.

To supply an analogy, I would use this to describe a new sports manager who seemed to be doing really well, if I wanted to remind people that he had inherited a very strong side and had only played crappy teams since he took over. In other words, I'd be saying, "Let's see how good he is when a storm hits!"

   * A chain is no stronger than its weakest link.
         o Meaning: The strength of any group depends on the individual strength of each of its members.

I think the meaning of this analogy is slightly more specific than that - it reminds listeners that *a single* weak member can undermine an otherwise very strong group. I'd say:

         o Meaning:  Even a good team can fail if one weak member lets it down.

Or, to borrow the phrase visible on the page itself:

         o Meaning: The strength of any group depends on the strength of its weakest member.

I'm not saying that these definitions are... er... definitive (or I'd put them on the main page) but thought I'd offer them here to prompt a little debate.

Why is nobody checking on this page

there have been about 15 revisions by unregistered users that don't make sense. Please stop. Lord GaleVII 13:37, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

I'm not registered yet myself, but as someone who comes here often, I too have noticed an awful lot of weird edits. (For example the only two that are outlined in blue from "vapocolypse"--whatever that's about...) 125.246.85.194 05:58, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

TONGA SUCKS!

Non-proverbs, origins of Proverbs and too many duplicates

Please check the list carefully for duplicates before you add your entry. I have removed many duplicate entries, but people continue to add well-known proverbs before checking and seeing that someone else has already added it (perhaps in a slightly different wording).

Many of the supposed proverbs are quotes or witticisms, and not proverbs at all. A proverb has to give some kind of life rule or guidance.

Also, many of the proverbs in this list do not originate from English, therefore they are not English proverbs at all, they are merely proverbs translated to English. Should we exclude known foreign and translated proverbs, or indicate the national origin of a translated proverb? 91.106.237.140 16:38, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

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A proverb may be just a common saying that expresses a truth, not necessarily guidance. All proverbs originate as quotations from somebody. For instance, a great many of our proverbs come from the poets, particularly Shakespeare.

That’s a pretty bold and unsubstantiated claim there, surely? Some proverbs may have originated from poets, but you’d be hard pressed to prove it – a poet is as likely to be quoting something they’d heard elsewhere. Proverbs might be found written down for the first time in Shakespeare, but nothing says he created them…79.67.148.152 15:07, 20 October 2009 (UTC)

It's often difficult to know in what language or country a proverb originated. If it has become current in English, it's an English proverb, no matter where it originated.--Jdcrutch 22:43, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Hello! If you are a native speaker of British English or American English, without obligation you are invited to participate in this study by completing the questionnaire. It is estimated that the survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. My dissertation research on psycholinguistics is based on “Man the Manipulator” by Everett L. Shostrom. One of the research objectives is to find out if the manipulations are more characteristic for English... or Russian. If you are interested and ready to complete the questionnaire or have further questions and comments concerning this study, please contact me at curlyramina@yahoo.com If you are interested in receiving a summary of the survey results, you can contact me by e-mail, and the results will be forwarded to you.

Sincerely, Marina Maravina, a postgraduate research student at the Department of Linguistics and International Collaboration, Ulyanovsk State University, Russia

Mmmmm… flies

• A closed mouth catches no flies.
  • Meaning: One has to try in order to succeed.

Seriously? One has to open one's mouth in order to catch flies? And catching flies in this manner is a good thing?

My personal interpretation of this proverb is closer to:

• • refrain from excessive talk to prevent unpleasant consequences

though you could further qualify "talk" (e.g. gossip, slander, etc.) -- 74.137.108.115 05:45, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

I doubt this is an English proverb at all, but is from the Spanish: En boca cerrada, no entran moscas. Flies have an iconic significance in Spanish culture that makes the proverb poignant, while English speakers are generally baffled as to what it means exactly. ~ Ningauble 15:17, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Disputable entries, suggest clean-up

A number of the entries are of very disputable justification. Mostly this sound like neologisms, possibly even something that the author of the entry thought out himself. Others, e.g. "All for one and one for all." are not commonly used as proverbs (although, given a suitable situation, it conceivably could be), but as pop-cultures references, pep-talk, or similar. "Damned if you do, damned if you don't." is handy to describe a certain situation, but is simply not a proverb.

A further criticism of unsufficient notability could likely be directed at many entries; however, considering that a proverb unheard of in London may be in common use in Tulsa, I do not feel qualified to make a definite statement.

I would suggest to check the entries against one or several reputable proverb collections, remove everything not found in them (for the time being), and subsequently only add entries that can be referenced from other similarly reputable sources. 88.77.191.233 16:14, 11 July 2009 (UTC)

I agree that many of these are neither proverbs in purport nor proverbial in fame. Each entry on this page should be both. A good housecleaning is in order butyou are right to approach the task with some caution since demonstrating a negative is difficult. ~ Ningauble 18:21, 11 July 2009 (UTC)

I have noticed that at the beginning of the page on English proverbs there is this sentence, "Ability can take you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there." This quotation by Zig Zigler, I believe, should not be included in the English proverbs section, as, at best, it is just a catchy aphorism made up by its author. Anyone can do that sort of thing (especially if he doesn't think about it for too long), but a proverb has to have more credence to it than this; it has to be a cultural saying accepted as a proverb by all who hear it, and, preferably, one not immediately attributable to its originator, be it its known author or someone who is just repeating it as a quotation. It does not have to be anonymous, although it helps, but it does have to be catchy --easily memorable. If this quotation by Zig Zigler is accepted as being a proverb then, in this way, any modern, throwaway remark made up on the spur of the moment could very quickly qualify, according to how often it was being used in modern society. As, for example, this one, "Able manners can open doors for you, but keeping them open requires you to push," which is as good an example of aphoristic triviality you will get for it, or would wish. If this is the standard that defined the acceptability of catchy remarks on this page as proverbs, then this sort of trivial remark would have just as much right to be included as this well-known quotation by Zig Zigler, that is: none whatsoever. I believe that, in the future, more care should be taken over what is included in this page as being an accepted proverb. ~ Wise Raven 14:17, 14 may 2012 (UTC)

good friends are good for your health

Real friends don't leave you if you are in a heavy situation for example you are ill and you need somebodys help.They will be with you forever in good and worse situation they are like a brother or a parent.Your friends will take care of you and your health and will love you all the time. A good friend always encourages you enjoy and treasure you.

“The childhood shows the man,

 As morning shows the day.”

Unsourced quotes

NOTE: The below quotes require sources before being moved back to the page.

• The acorn (apple) never falls far from the tree.
• Act today only, tomorrow is too late
• Action is the proper fruit of knowledge.
• Advice most needed is least heeded.
• After dinner sit a while, after supper walk a mile.
• All flowers are not in one garden.
• All frills and no knickers.
• All fur coat and no knickers.
• All hat and no cattle.
• All's fair in love and war.
• All roads lead to Rome.
• All sizzle and no steak.
• All the world is your country, to do good is your religion.
• All things come to those who wait.
• All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
  • All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy.
• Always care about your flowers and your friends. Otherwise they'll fade, and soon your house will be empty.
• An army marches on its stomach.
• April showers bring May flowers.
• As fit as a fiddle.
• As soon as a man is born, he begins to die.
• As you make your bed, so you must lie in it.
  • Similar to You reap what you sow
• Aught for naught, and a penny change.
• An expert is the one who knows more and more about less and less.
• Bad news travels fast.
• A bad penny always turns up.
• A bad settlement is better than a good lawsuit.
• The ball is in your court.
• Barking up the wrong tree.
• Be careful before every step.
• Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.
• A bean in liberty is better than a comfit in prison.
• Beginning is half done.
  • Quoted by Dr. Robert Schuller, West Coast clergyman.
• A bellyful is one of meat, drink, or sorrow.
• A bellyful of food is a good one.
• The best is yet to come.
• The best of friends need not speak face to face.
• The best things come in small packages.
• The best things in life are free.
• Better is the enemy of good.
• Better late than never.
• Better safe than sorry.
• Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
• Beware of the Bear when he tucks in his shirt.
• Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, and inwardly are ravening wolves. (Matthew; bible quote)
• A big tree attracts the woodsman's axe.
• Birds of a feather flock together.
  • Variant: Birds of the same feather flock together.
• Bitter pills may have blessed effects.
• Blood is thicker than water.
• Blood will out.
• Born with a silver spoon in his/her mouth.
• Brain is better than brawn.
• Bread is the staff of life.
• Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder
• Beauty lies in Simplicity
• The calm (comes) before the storm.
• A camel is a horse designed by committee.
• A candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long.
• A cat may look at a king.
• A closed mouth catches no flies.
• A closed mouth don't get fed
• Clothes make the man.
• A coin of gold is delighting in a bag of silver coins
• A constant guest is never welcome.
• The cure is worse than the disease.
• The customer is always right.
• Cleaning the house when kids are growing, is like shoveling snow when it's still snowing.
• Desperate times call for desperate measures.
• The difference between a man and a cat or a dog is that only a man can write the names of the cat and the dog.
• Different strokes for different folks.
• Does a one-legged duck swim in circles?

--alternate saying for "Does a bear shit in the woods" and a common response to an obvious answer yes to a silly question.

• Do it today, tomorrow it may be against the law.
• Don't bark if you can't bite.
• Don't bite off more than you can chew.
• Don't bite the hand that feeds you.
• Don't bring a knife to a gun fight.
• Don't burn your bridges.
• Don't burn the candle at both ends.
• Don't count your chickens before they're hatched.
• Don't cross a bridge before you come to it.
• Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.
• Don't dig your grave with your own knife and fork.
• Don't enter your nose in the affairs of others.
• Don't fall before you're pushed.
• Don't have too many irons in the fire.
• Don't judge a book by its cover.
• Don't judge a man by the size of his hat, but by the angle of his tilt.
• Don't let procrastination eat your own clock.
• Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
• Don't make a mountain out of a molehill.
• Don't mend what ain't broken.
  • Alternatively, If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
  • Alternatively, Leave well enough alone.
• Don't raise more Demons than you can lay down.
• Don't shut the barn door after the horse is gone.
• Don't spit into the wind.
  • Or, Don't piss into the wind.
• Don't spoil the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar.
  • A ha'p'orth (pronounced haypeth) is a halfpenny-worth, i.e. a very small amount.
• Don't take life too seriously; you'll never get out of it alive.
• Don't try to teach a pig to sing. It doesn't work, and you'll annoy the pig.
• Doctors make the worst patients.
• The dog is nude though the clothing cost a penny.
• Doubt is the beginning, not the end, of wisdom.
• A drop of knowledge is greater than an ocean of strength.
• A dull pencil is greater than the sharpest memory
• Each to his own taste
  • French: Chacun à son goût
  • Alternatively: à chacun son goût - "To each his own".
• The early bird catches the worm. But the second mouse gets the cheese.
• The early bird gets (or catches) the worm.
• Education makes machines which act like men and produces men who act like machines
• Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort makes all the difference!
• An empty vessel makes the most noise
• The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
• An Englishman's home is his castle.
  • Variant of "A man's home is his castle."
• Enjoy what you don't know.
• Even a dog can make it to the top when there's a flood.
• Even an old dog likes to be patted on the head and told, "Good boy!" -Justice Holmes
• Even the best perfumes of the world lose their fragrance when you are not around me.
• Every cloud has a silver lining.
• Every rose has its thorn.
• Everyone wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die.
• Everything can be justified until it happens to you.
• Everything changes; everything stays the same.
• Everything good in life is either illegal, immoral, or fattening.
• Everything in its own time.
• Everything with time
• The exception proves the rule.
  • Often mistakenly referred to as a misquote. In reality, the Latin probate may mean either to probe or to prove. The key is that prove in this case carries the older meaning of to test, as in the phrases proving (testing) ground or the proof (test) of the pudding is in the eating.
• Failure is the first step to success.
• Failure is the stepping stone for success.
• Faint heart ne'er won fair lady.
• Fall down seven times, stand up eight.
  • Translation of the Japanese proverb "Nana korobi ya oki", often associated with Daruma figurines.
• Familiarity breeds contempt.
• Fifty percent of something is better than one hundred percent of nothing.
• Fine feathers make fine birds.
• Fine words butter no parsnips.
  • Cf. Actions speak louder than words.
• First come, first served.
• First deserve, then desire.
• The first step to health is to know that we are sick.
• First things first.
• A fool and his money are soon parted.
• Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
• For some men [and / or women] experience is a slow teacher.
• Forewarned is forearmed.
• Forgive and forget.
  • Forgive, but don't forget.
• A fox smells its own lair first. Or: A fox smells its own stink first.
• Fretting cares make grey hairs.
• A friend in need is a friend indeed.