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famous proverbs and adages
A HUGE collection of proverbs, proverbial sayings, clichés, maxims, adages, aphorisms, platitudes, mottos, old saws, inanities, common sayings, or whatever you want to call them.
Proverbs A - L |
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Proverbs M - Z |
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PROVERBS M-Z Mad as a march hare. Make hay while the sun shines. Mankind fears an evil man but heaven does not. Many a friend was lost through a joke, but none was ever gained
so. Many hands make light work. May as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb. May the curse of Mary Malone and her nine blind illegitimate children
chase you so far over the hills of Damnation that the Lord himself
can't find you with a telescope. May the grass grow at your door and the fox build his nest on your
hearthstone. May you have a bright future - as the chimney sweep said to his
son. May you wander over the face of the earth forever, never sleep
twice in the same bed, never drink water twice from the same well,
and never cross the same river twice in a year. May your every wish be granted. May your left ear wither and fall into your right pocket. Men count up the faults of those who keep them waiting. Mere words do not feed the friars. More grows in the garden than the gardener knows he has sown. More things belong to marriage than four bare legs in a bed. Nature breaks through the eyes of the cat. Necessity is the mother of invention. Necessity knows no law. Necessity never made a good bargain. Need teaches a plan. Never cut what can be untied. Never love with all your heart, it only ends in breaking. Never marry for money. Ye'll borrow it cheaper. Never put off till tomorrow what may be done today. Night is the mother of council. No man limps because another is hurt. No man ought to look a given horse in the mouth. No rose without a thorn, or a love without a rival. No time like the present. Not the cry, but the flight of the wild duck, leads the flock to
fly and follow. Not wine...men intoxicate themselves; Not vice...men entice themselves. Nothing dries sooner than tears. Nothing is as burdensome as a secret. Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. One beggar at the door is enough. One cannot shoe a running horse. One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters. One flower will not make a garland. One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade. One good turn deserves another. One joy scatters a hundred griefs. One of these day is none of these days. One should go invited to a friend in good fortune, and uninvited
in misfortune. One swallow maketh not a summer. One woman never praises another. Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches Out of the frying pan into the fire. Patience is bitter but its fruit is sweet. Patience is poultice for all wounds. Patience is the best medicine. People live in each other's shelter. Pigs might fly, but they are most unlikely birds. Politics is a rotten egg; if broken, it stinks. Poor men seek meat for their stomach, rich men stomach for their
meat. Power lasts ten years; influence not more than a hundred. Practice makes perfect. Praise the young and they will blossom Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a
fall. Procrastination is the thief of time. Public before private and country before family. Put silk on a goat, and it's still a goat. Quiet people are well able to look after themselves. Rags to riches to rags. Rain beats a leopard's skin, but it does not wash off the spots. Rats desert a sinking ship. Riches run after the rich, and poverty runs after the poor. Roasted pigeons will not fly into one's mouth. Rome was not built in a day. Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Seek counsel of him who makes you weep, and not of him who makes
you laugh. Set a beggar on horseback, and he 'll out ride the Devil. Set a thief to catch a thief. Silence was never written down. Since we cannot get what we like, let us like what we can get. Sit a beggar at your table and he will soon put his feet on it. Six hours' sleep for a man, seven for a woman and eight for a fool. Small children give you headache; big children heartache. Some people are masters of money, and some its slaves. Sometimes I go about pitying myself, and all the time Sorrow for a husband is like a pain in the elbow, sharp and short. Speak not of my debts unless you mean to pay them. Speak the truth, but leave immediately after. Stars are not seen by sunshine. Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. Sweet is the wine but sour is the payment. Take heed of enemies reconciled, and of meat twice boiled. Take thy thoughts to bed with thee, for the morning is wiser than
the evening. Talk of the devil and he is sure to appear. Tell me who you live with and I will tell you who you are. Tell the truth and shame the devil. The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names. The best advice is found on the pillow. The best thing about a man is his dog. The big thieves hang the little ones. The church is near but the road is icy; the bar is far away but
I'll walk carefully. The comforter's head never aches. The darkest hour is that before the dawn. The day will come when the cow will have use for her tail. The devil looks after his own. The devil seduced Eve in Italian. Eve mislead Adam in Bohemian.
The Lord scolded them both in German. Then the angel drove them
from paradise in Hungarian. The fat is in the fire. The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected
without trials. The girl who can't dance says the band can't play. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. The great thieves lead away the little thieves. The green new broom sweepeth clean. The hole is more honorable than the patch. The hours of folly are measured by the clock, but of wisdom no
clock can measure. The innkeeper loves the drunkard, but not for a son-in-law. The jay bird don't rob his own nest. The light heart lives long. The man who does not love a horse cannot love a woman. The man who strikes first admits that his ideas have given out. The man with the boots does not mind where he places his foot. The mills of God grind slowly but they grind finely. The moon is made of a green cheese. The more the merrier. The morning is wiser than the evening. The nail that sticks up will be hammered down. The night rinses what the day has soaped. The only good thing that comes from the east is the sun. The palest ink is better than the best memory. The pine stays green in winter...Wisdom in hardship. The raggy colt often made a powerful horse. The reverse side also has a reverse side. The right man comes at the right time. The road to a friend's house is never long. The Russian knows the way, yet he asks for directions. The sea has an enormous thirst and an insatiable appetite. The silent dog is the first to bite. The smallest thing outlives the human being. The Spaniard is a bad servant but a worse master. The sun will set without thy assistance. The surest way to remain poor is to be an honest man. The tallest blade of grass is the first to be cut by the scythe.
The tide tarrieth for no man. The tongue is more to be feared than the sword. The tongue like a sharp knife...Kills without drawing blood. The truth is not always what we want to hear. The turtle lays thousands of eggs without anyone knowing, but when
the hen lays an egg, the whole country is informed. The wearer best knows where the shoe pinches. The well fed does not understand the lean. The whisper of a pretty girl can be heard further than the roar
of a lion. The wise adapt themselves to circumstances, as water molds itself
to the pitcher. The wise man sits on the hole in his carpet. The wolf loses his teeth, but not his inclinations. The work praises the man. The world is a rose: smell it and pass it on to your friends. The world would not make a racehorse of a donkey There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is
always the same. There are more old drunkards than old doctors. There are only two types of Chinese -- those who give bribes and
those who take them. There are two great pleasures in gambling: that of winning and
that of losing. There is but one good mother-in-law and she is dead. There is honor even among thieves. There is hope from the sea, but none from the grave. There is no fireside like your own fireside There is no luck except where there is discipline. There is no need like the lack of a friend. There is no strength without unity. There is plenty of sound in an empty barrel. There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip. They who love most are least valued. Think in the morning. Act in the noon. Eat in the evening. Sleep
in the night. Think with the wise but walk with the vulgar. Thirst is the end of drinking and sorrow is the end of drunkenness. Though a tree grow ever so high, the falling leaves return to the
ground. Three diseases without shame: Love, itch and thirst. Three Spaniards, four opinions. Time is a great story teller. Time trieth truth. To be rich is not everything, but it certainly helps. To deny all, is to confess all. To leave is to die a little. To lend is to buy a quarrel. To talk without thinking is to shoot without aiming. To teach is to learn. To the ass, or the sow, their own offspring appears the fairest
in creation. To whom you tell your secrets, to him you resign your liberty. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Tomorrow is a new day. Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week. Tomorrow never comes. Trouble rides a fast horse. True nobility is in being superior to your previous self. Trust in Allah, but tie your camel. Truth and oil always come to the surface. Truth has a handsome countenance but torn garments. Truth is the safest lie. Truth stands the test of time; lies are soon exposed. Truth will be out. Two heads are better than one. Two shorten the road. Two thirds of the work is the semblance. Unless you enter the tiger's den you cannot take the cubs. Visit your aunt, but not every day of the year. Walk straight, my son - as the old crab said to the young crab. Want a thing long enough and you don't War is death's feast. Water for oxen, wine for kings. We'll never know the worth of water till the well go dry. Went in one ear and out the other. What belongs to everybody belongs to nobody. What breaks in a moment may take years to mend. What one knows it is sometimes useful to forget. What you can not avoid, welcome. When a father helps a son, both smile; but when a son must help
his father, both cry. When a twig grows hard it is difficult to twist it. Every beginning
is weak. When fire is applied to a stone it cracks. When fortune knocks upon the door open it widely. When ill luck falls asleep, let none wake her. When its time has arrived, the prey becomes the hunter. When one dog barks another will join it. When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion. When the apple is ripe it will fall. When the drop (drink) is inside, the sense is outside. When the iron is hot, strike. When the liquor was gone the fun was gone. When the mouse laughs at the cat, there is a hole nearby. When the sun shineth, make hay. When the sword of rebellion is drawn, the sheath should be thrown
away. When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt
you. When there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world. When we sing everybody hears us, when we sigh nobody hears us. When you live next to the cemetery you cannot weep for everyone. When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your
life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice. When your enemy falls, don't rejoice -- but don't pick him up either. Where no counsel is, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors
there is safety. Where the tongue slips, it speaks the truth. Where there is love there is pain. Where there is no vision, the people perish. Where there's music there can be love. While the cat's away, the mice can play. Who begins too much accomplishes little. Who knows most speaks least. Who lies with dogs shall rise up with fleas. Wine divulges truth. Witches and harlots come out at night. With foxes we must play the fox. With money you are a dragon; with no money, a worm. Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him
with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod,
and shalt deliver his soul from hell. Without justice, courage is weak. Wonder is the beginning of wisdom. Yesterday is but a dream, tomorrow is but a vision. But today well
lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow
a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to This Day. You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. You cannot reason with a hungry belly; it has no ears. You cannot unscramble eggs. You can't hatch chickens from fried eggs. You have to kiss a lot of toads before you find a handsome prince.
You must live with a person to know a person. If you want to know
me come and live with me. Young men may die, old men must. Young wood makes a hot fire. Your health comes first; you can always hang yourself later. Your neighbor's apples are the sweetest. Youth does not mind where it sets its foot. Youth sheds many a skin. The steed (horse) does not retain its
speed forever. You've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather
was. |
John Heywood "The
Proverbs of John Heywood" (1546)
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