Engelske ordsprog

Proverbs

A

A bad penny always turns fast

A barking dog never bites

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

A bully is always a coward

A burnt child dreads the fire

A carpenter is known by his chips

A cat has nine lives

A cat in gloves catches no mice

Accidents will happen

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link

A change is as good as the rest

A constant guest is never welcome

Actions speak louder than words

A door must be either shut or open

Advice when most needed is least heeded

A friend in need is a friend indeed

After storm comes a calm

A good beginning makes a good ending

A hungry man is an angry man

A liar ought to have a good memory

A lie comes back to haunt you

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

A little learning is a dangerous thing

All are not thieves that dogs bark at

All cats are gray in the dark

All good things must come to an end

All is fair in love and war

All is well that ends well

All lay loads on a willing horse

All roads lead to Rome

All’s fair in love and war

All’s well that ends well

All that glitters is not gold

All things are difficult before they are easy

All things come to those who wait

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds

A man without a smiling face must not open a shop

A miss is as good as a mile

A mouse may help a lion

An apple a day keeps the doctor away

An army marches on its stomach

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth

An idle brain is the devel´s workshop

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

Any port in the storm

A penny saved is a penny earned

A picture is worth a thousand words

Appearances are deceptive

Appetite comes with eating

April showers bring about May flowers

A rolling stones gathers no moss

Art is long, life is short

Ask a silly question, and you get a silly answer

Ask no question, and hear no lies

As the twig is bent, so is the tree inclined

A stich in time saves nine

A still tongue makes a wise head

As you made your bed, so you must lie upon it

As you sow, so shall you reap

A trouble shared is a trouble halved

Attack is the best form of defence

A watched pot never boils

B

Bad news travels fast

Beauty is in the eye of the holder

Beggars can’t be choosers

Believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see

Be the day weary or be the day long, at last it ringeth to evensong

Better an egg today than a hen tomorrow

Better be safe than sorry

Better late than never

Better the devil you know than the devil you don´t know

Better to ask the way than go astray

Bird in one’s hand is worth two in the bush

Birds in their little nests agree

Birds of a feather flock together

Blood is thicker than water

Bread is the staff of life

Burn not our house to fight the mouse away

Business before pleasure

C

Call a spade a spade

Cast not the first stone

Catching is before hanging

Catch your bear before you sell its skin

Charity begins at home

Cheats never prosper

Chicken come home to roost

Children and fools tell the truth

Children should be seen not heard

Circumstances alter cases

Civility costs nothing

Cleanliness is next to godliness

Clothes make the man

Come live with me and you´ll know me

Common fame is seldom to blame

Confess and be hanged

Courtesy costs nothing

Curses, like chickens, comes home to roost

Custom makes all things easy

Cut your coat according to your cloth

D

Death is the great leveler

Deeds, not words

Delays are dangerous

Desert and rewards seldom keep company

Different strokes for different folk

Diligence is the mother of good luck

Discretion is the greater part of valor

Do as I say, not as I do

Do as you would be done by

Dog that barks, doesn´t bite

Do not cast your pearls before swine

Don´t barn the door after the horse runs away

Don’t bite the hand that feeds you

Don´t count your chickens before they are hatched

Don´t cross the bridge till you come to it

Don´t cry before you are hurt

Don´t cut off your nose to spite your face

Don´t cut the bough you are standing on

Don´t halloo till you are out of the wood

Don’t hide your light under a bushel

Don’t judge a book by its cover

Don´t look a gift horse in the mouse

Don´t make a mountain out of a molehill

Don´t make yourself a mouse, or the cat will eat you

Don´t meet trouble halfway

Don´t put all your eggs on one basket

Don´t put off till tomorrow what you can do today

Don´t put the cart before the horse

Don´t tell tales out of school

Don´t throw the baby out with the bathwater

Don´t wear out your welcome

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

E

Easier said than done

East, west, home best

Easy come easy go

Eat to live not live to eat

Empty sacks will never stand upright

Empty vessels make the most sound

Enough is as good as a feast

Every cloud has a silver lining

Every dog has his day

Every family has a skeleton in the cupboard

Every herring must hang by its own gill

Every land has its own laws

Every little helps

Every man for himself

Every man is the architect for his own fortune

Every man to his taste

Every man to his trade

Everything has an end

Everything must have a beginning

Every why has a wherefore

Evil doers are evil dreaders

Experience is the best teacher

Experience is the teacher of fools

Extremes meet

F

Faint heart never won fair lady

Fair play is a jewel

Faith will move mountains

Familiarity breeds contempt

Feel a cold, starve a fever

Fight fire with fire

Finders keepers, losers weepers

Fine feathers make fine birds

Fine words will butter no parships

First come, first served

Fish and guests stink after three days

Fish or cut bait

Fools build houses, and wise men live in them

Fools for luck

Forbidden fruit is sweetest

Forewarned is forearmed

Fortune favors the bold

Fortune favours the brave

For want of a nail the kingdom was lost

For want of a nail the shoe was lost

From clogs to dogs is only three generations

G

Game is not worth the candle

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may

Give a lie twenty-four hours´ start, and you can never overtake it

Give a man enough rope, and he´ll hang himself

Give and take

Give Devil his due

Give knaves an inch, and they will take a yard

God helps those who help themselves

Go further and fare worse

Good fences make good neighbours

Good things come to those who wait

Good wine needs no bush

Grasp all, lose all

H

Half loaf is better than no bread

Half the truth is often a whole lie

Haste is from the Devil
Haste makes waste

Haste trips over its own heels

Hasty climbers have sudden falls

He cannot speak well that cannot hold his tongue

He laughs best who laughs last

He that goes a-borrowing, goes a-sorrowing

He that will not when he may, when he will he shall have nay

He that would have eggs must endure the cackling of hens

He who excuses accuses himself

He who hesitates is lost

He who laughs last laughs longest

He who makes no mistakes makes nothing

He who wills the end, will means

His bark is worse than his bite

Hitch your wagon to a star

Hoist your sail when the wind is fair

Home is where the heart is

Honesty is the best policy

Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst

Hope springs eternal

Hunger is the best sauce

I

Idleness is the roof of all evil

If at first you don’t´ succeed, try again

If each would sweep before his own door, we should have a clean city

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it

If it were not for hope, the heart would break

If there were no clouds, we should not enjoy the sun

If you cannot bite, never show your teeth

If you can´t beat them, join them

If you can´t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen

If you don´t make mistakes, you don´t make anything

If you don´t speculate, you can´t accumulate

If you run after two hares, you will catch neither

If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself

If you won´t work, you shan´t eat

If you would be well served, serve yourself

III gotten goods never thrive

In for a penny, in for a pound

In wine there is truth

It is all sitting at Rome and striving with the Pope

It is a poor heart that never rejoices

It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive

It is easy to be wise after the event

It is love that makes the world go round

It is not work that kills, but worry

It is no use crying over spilt milk

It is the first step that is difficult

It is useless to flog a dead horse

It never rains but it pours

It´s a long lane that has no turning

It´s never over till it´s over

It´s an ill wind that blows nobody any good

It´s no use crying over spilled milk

It takes a thief to catch a chief

It takes two to make a quarrel

It takes two to tango

It will be all the same a hundred years from hence

If you would be well served, serve yourself

J

Jack is as good as his master

Judge not, that ye be not judged

K

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer

Keep your own fish-guts for your own sea-maws

Kill not the goose that lays the golden eggs

Kind hearts are more than coronets

Knowledge is power

Know thyself

Know your own faults before blaming others for theirs

L

Let bygone by bygones

Let´s cross that bridge when we come to it

Let sleeping dogs lie

Let them laugh that win

Lie down with dogs and you get fleas

Light some, light go

Like father, like son

Like master, like man

Like mother, like daughter

Like will do

Little and often fills the purse

Little by little and bit by bit

Little fish are sweet

Little pitchers have large ears

Little strokes fell great oaks

Live and learn

Live not to eat, but eat to live

Look before you leap

Love is blind

Love will find a way

Lucky at cards, unlucky at love

M

Make hay while the sun shines

Many a little makes a mickle

Many hands make light work

Men are blind in their own cause

Men are known by the company they keep

Men make houses, women make homes

Mind your p´ and q´s

Misery loves company

Mistunes never come singly

Moderation in all things

Money has no smell

Money is the root of all evil

More haste less speed

Much would have more

Murder will out

N

Near is my kirtle, but nearer is my smock

Necessity is the mother of invention

Neither a borrower nor a lender be

Never ask pardon before you are accused

Never buy a pig in a poke

Never do things by halves

Never judge by appearance
Never look a gift horse in the mouth

Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today

Never say die

Never tell your enemy that your foot aches

Never trouble trouble till trouble troubles you

Never underestimate your opponent

New broom sweeps clean

New lords, new laws

No answer is also an answer

No man is indispensable

No man is an island

No man is infallible

None but the brave deserve the fair

No news is good news

No smoke without fire

Nothing comes of nothing

Nothing succeeds like success

Nothing ventured, nothing gained

O

Oil and water don´t mix

Old soldiers never die

Once bitten, twice shy

One funeral makes many

One good turn deserves another

One hand for oneself and one for the ship

One man´s loss is another man´s gain

One man´s meat is another man´s poison

One man sows, and another reaps
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure

One rotten apple spoils the barrel

One step at a time

One swallow does not make a summer

One volunteer is worth two pressed men

One year´s seeding makes seven years

Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches

Opportunity seldom knocks twice

Other times, other manners

Out of sight, out of mind

Out of the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks

Out of the mouth of babes

P
People who live in glass houses should not throw stones

Place for everything and everything in its place

Poets are born, not made

Politeness cost nothing

Poverty is not a crime

Practice makes perfect

Practice what you preach

Prevention is better than cure

Prosperity makes friends, adversity tries them

Q

Quarrelsome dogs get dirty coats

Quickly come, quickly go

R

Revenge is sweet

Rome was not built in a day

S

Save us from our friends

Saying is one thing and doing another

Seeing is believing

Self-preservation is the first law of nature

Short reckonings make long friends

Silence gives consent

Silence is golden

So many countries, so many customs

Something is better than nothing

Spare the rod and spoil the child

Speech is silver, silence is gold

Still waters run deep

Stolen fruit is sweet

Stolen pleasures are sweetest

Stretch your arm no further than your sleeve will reach

Strike while the iron is hot

Success has many friends

Sue a beggar and catch a louse

Sweet are uses of adversity

T

Take not a musket to kill a butterfly

Take the bitter with sweet

Take the Devil and he is sure to appear

Take the rough with the smooth

Take the will for the deed

Take things as they come

Tastes differ

Tell the truth and shame the Devil

The apple never falls far from the tree

The bigger they are, the harder they fall

The bitter is sometimes bit

The blind leading the blind

The bread never falls but its buttered side

The buck stops here

The cobbler to his last and the gummer to his linstock

The company makes the feast

The cowl does not make the monk

The darkest hour is just before dawn

The Devil can quote Scripture for his own ends
The early bird catches the worm

The end justifies the means

The end makes all equal

The exception proves the rule

The eye is bigger than the belly

The eyes are the window of the soul

The first blow is half the battle

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence

The grass is always greener on the other side of the hill

The greatest talkers are the least doers

The higher the monkey climbs the more he shows his tails

The highest branch is not the safest roost

The last drop makes the cup run over

The mountain labored and brought forth a mouse

The more the merrier

The more you have, the more you want

The mother of mischief is no bigger than a midge´s wing

The one that pays the piper calls the tune
The pen is mightier than the sword

The pot called the kettle black

The proof of the pudding is in the eating

There are no birds in last year´s nest

There are two sides to every question

There goes more to marriage than four bare legs in bed

There is a black sheep in every flock

There is a first time for everything

There is an exception to every rule

There is many a slip twixt cup and lip

There is no accounting for tastes

There is no disputing about tastes

There is no garden without its weeds

There is no great loss without some gain

There is no pleasure without pain

There is no rose without a thorn

There is no smoke without fire

There is nothing lost by civility

There is no wheat without chaff

There´s more than one way to skin a cat

There´s no accounting for taste

There´s no place like home

There’s no such thing as a free lunch

There’s no time like the present

The shoemaker´s son always goes barefoot

The shortest way round is the longest way home

The show must go on

The sooner begun, the sooner done

The squeaky wheel gets the grease

The tailor makes the man

They brag most who can do least

The way to a man´s heart in through his stomach

Things are seldom what they seem

Think first and speak afterwards

Third time lucky

Those who live in glass houses shouldn´t throw stones

Throw out a sprat to catch a mackerel

Time is a great healer

Time is money

Time will tell

To err is human

Tomorrow is another day

Too many cooks spoil the broth

Travel broadens the mind

Truth will out

Two heads are better than one

Two´s company, three´s a crows

Two wrongs don’t make a right

U

Union is strength

V

Variety is the spice of life

W

Walls have ears

Waste not, want not

Water is boon in the desert, but the drowning man curses it

Well begun is half done

We soon believe what we desire

What everybody says must be true

What goes up must come down

What is bred in the bone will come out in the flesh

What is the good of a sundial in the shade

What is the mother of industry

What soberness conceals, drunkenness reveals

What the eye does not see, the heart does not grieve over

When the going gets tough, the tough get going

What you don´t know can´t hurt you

What you loose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts

What you´ve never had, you never miss

When all fruit falls, welcome haws

When all men speak, no man hears

When in doubt, leave out
When in Rome, do as the Romans

When one door shuts, another opens

When the cat is away, the mice will play

When the going gets tough, the tough get going

When there´s a will, there´s a way

When the wolf comes in the door, love creeps out of the window

When things are at the worst, they begin to mend

Where are the snows of yesteryear

Where there´s smoke, there´s fire

While there is life, there is hope

Who says A must say B

Willing hands make light work

Winning isn´t everything, it´s the only thing

Y

You buy land, you buy stones, you buy meat, you buy bones

You can catch more flies than vinegar

You cannot burn the candles at both ends

You cannot get blood from a stone

You cannot have it both ways

You cannot loose what you never had

You cannot make an omelet without breaking eggs

You cannot sell the cow and drink the milk

You cannot shift an old tree without it dying

You can take a horse to the water, but you can´t make him drink

You can’t always get what you want

You can´t fit round peg in a square hole

You can´t have your cake and eat it

You can’t judge a book by its cover.

You can´t please everyone

You can´t squeeze blood from a turnip

You can´t teach an old dog new tricks

You can´t tell a book by its cover

You can´t win them all

You don´t get something for nothing

You must grin and bear it

You must lose a fly to catch a trout

You never know what you can do till you try

You scratch my back and I´ll scratch yours

you’ve made your bed now lie in it

You win a few, you lose a few

Z

Zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse

 

Kopiering fra denne hjemmeside er omfattet af Copydans kopiaftaler.