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
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