OriginIt has been around in the English language since the mid-1500s.ExplanationThe phrase ‘birds of a feather flock together’ is an expression, which generally means: people with similar tastes and interests stick together or form groups. The phrase often stands on its own, is used as a response to something someone has said to you, or […]
OriginWilliam Camden stated it in 1605 in Remaines of a Greater Worke, Concerning Britaine.ExplanationIt is said to mean that you can only judge the quality of something after you have tried, used or experienced it. A dish may have been made from a good recipe with fresh ingredients and look delicious, but you can really
OriginThis is a late 19th-century proverb.ExplanationIf you are paying for someone’s services, you can dictate exactly what you want that person to do. The person who provides the money for something has the right to determine how it’s spent. The person who pays a musician can decide what music he wants to hear. And the
OriginThe line, fools rush in where angels fear to tread, was first written by Alexander Pope in his poem An Essay on Criticism (1709).ExplanationFoolish people usually do not understand when a situation is dangerous, so they are not afraid to do things that would frighten more sensible people. Ignorant or inexperienced individuals get involved in
OriginThis phrase was a French proverb in the late 1100s but was not recorded in English until 1545.ExplanationThe ancient Roman Empire is considered a very beautiful and great symbol of the past. The city of Rome was its capital. Rome is renowned for its architectural beauty. It has many beautiful buildings, parks, gardens and fountains.
OriginThis proverb first appeared in 1678.ExplanationThis means that a friend who helps you when you really need help is a true friend. A friend who helps out when we are in trouble is a true friend — unlike others who disappear when trouble arises. The proverb stands as a touchstone of true friendship. It states
OriginIt was first recorded in 1732.ExplanationWe use this proverb to say that it is better to spend a little time to deal with problems or act right now than wait. If you wait until late, things will get worse, and it will take much longer to deal with them. It is said to mean that
OriginThis was first recorded in 1546.ExplanationIt is something that you say which means that a person’s character, especially if it is bad, will not change, even if he pretends it has. It means that no matter how hard someone may try to change his true nature, he’ll never succeed in changing who he is naturally.
OriginIt is a 15th-century proverb.ExplanationVessels which are empty make a loud sound when struck with something. But filled vessels make less sound. This is true in case of people as well. Some people are very talkative and go on speaking continuously. But others may be serious and talk less. Those people who go on talking
OriginThis statement is found in the drama ‘Julius Caesar’. When Julius Caesar was about to go to the Senate, his wife told him hot to go out of the house on that day as she had seen some bad omens. But Caesar told his wife that cowards die many times before their deaths and that
OriginThis proverb comes from the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, in 1602.ExplanationThis phrase has multiplicity of meanings. In one sense, it means that a good piece of writing, or a good speech should be brief and concise. However, in another sense, it implies that a funny speech should be short; otherwise, it tends to lose
OriginIt was first recorded in the 14th-century poem Pearl, Line 850.ExplanationIt is used for saying an occasion will be more enjoyable if a lot of people are there. Is a phrase employed by men who enjoy the company of other men. It means, literally, the more people who are around, the happier the occasion will
OriginThis was derived from the fables of Phaedrus in the first century AD.The actual wording appears in English from the middle of the 18th-century in 1748.ExplanationIt is said when you feel that someone has made a bad situation worse by doing something else to upset you. It means to make a bad situation worse, to
OriginThis expression, a proverb in many languages, was first recorded in English in 1528.ExplanationThis proverb is used for saying that someone gets out of a difficult or bad situation, but eventually goes into a more difficult or worse one. It is also used for defining a choice as being less than optimal.The sense of the
OriginIt was first written in a poem by Samuel Butler in 1664.ExplanationThis phrase is a modern-day proverb that means if a parent refuses to discipline an unruly child, that child will grow accustomed to getting his own way. He will become, in the common vernacular, a spoiled brat. Whoever spares the rod hates his children,