OriginThis proverb was first recorded in 1855.ExplanationThe human mind can never be inactive. When a man is idle, he is not engaged in any useful activity. His mind is then open to the influence of evil thoughts. The devil enters his mind and fills his mind with evil ideas. Thus his mind becomes the devil’s […]
OriginIt is a mid 14th-century proverb.ExplanationA person who does not settle in one place will not accumulate wealth or status or responsibilities or commitments. It is used to imply that someone who does not settle down will not prosper, or form lasting ties. People move many times, and don’t stay in one place for too
OriginThe first attributed use in modern times is to Founding Father John Dickinson in his pre-Revolutionary War song “The Liberty Song”, first published in the Boston Gazette in July 1768.ExplanationThe people who join together as a group are much harder to defeat than they would be separately. It is a phrase used in many different
OriginThis expression could be found in writing in a book called Banking Under Difficulties in 1888.ExplanationIt means there’s no use in worrying over past events which cannot be changed. It is said to emphasize that it is not useful feeling sorry about something that has already happened. There is no point in regretting something that
OriginSir Thomas Browne was the first to put the expression into print in the form we now use, in Religio Medici, 1642.ExplanationThis proverb expresses the over-riding demands of taking care of one’s family, before caring for others.You should take care of your family and other people who live close to you before helping people who
OriginThis proverb was first recorded in the mid 17th-century.ExplanationThe way something or someone looks from outside may give us the wrong impression. Meeting people for the first time we always make a judgement based on their appearances though the proverb tells us not to make such a mistake. Appearances are really deceptive; it’s like a
OriginThe first example of this idea in print was in the works of St. Thomas More in 1532.ExplanationIt is based on the idea that it is very hard to find a sewing needle in a haystack (a tall pile of dry grass). It means when something is extremely difficult (or impossible) to find.This is considered
OriginThis proverb was stated slightly differently in 1640 ( To him that will, ways are not wanting) but has been repeated in its present form since the early 1800s.ExplanationIf you are determined enough, you can find a way to achieve what you want, even if it is very difficult. If one really wants to do
OriginEdward George Bulwer Lytton (1803-1873), an English novelist, wrote this for the first time in 1839.ExplanationThis proverb means that you can solve problems or achieve your purpose better and more effectively through communication with words than by violence with weapons. A piece of writing can cause people to change their opinions (e.g., to fight a
OriginThe expression is recorded in Richard Edwards in 1566.Explanation‘Strike while the iron is hot’ has been derived from a blacksmith striking a horse shoe when the temperature of the metal was exactly right. If the blacksmith would wait too long then the metal would cool and would become more difficult to shape. We should take
OriginThis is an 18th-century proverb.ExplanationIt is used for saying that it is difficult to change a way of behaving that someone has had for many years. Also, existing habits are hard to change. People find it difficult to change their accustomed behaviour. When you become accustomed to having something or doing something, it becomes routine
OriginOrigin of this proverb is found in the religious book-Bible, Galations VI (King Jamesw Version); whatsover a man soweth, that shall he also reap.Explanation‘As you sow, so shall you reap’ is a proverb which means that actions or deeds of a person repay him/her in kind. If you did bad things in the past, you
OriginThe use of this proverb was first made by the poet and dramatist Michael Drayton in 1596.ExplanationIf you add fuel to the fire, you do something to make a bad situation even worse. It means to make a problem worse; to say or do something that makes a bad situation worse; to make an angry
OriginThis is an early 19th-century proverb.ExplanationThere are many different routes to the same goal. All paths or activities lead to the centre of things. This was literally true in the days of the Roman Empire, when all the empire’s roads radiated out from the capital city, Rome. Any of the means or methods that one
OriginThe great Roman leader Julius Caesar recorded the earliest known version of this proverb, ‘Experience is the teacher of all things,’ in ‘De Bello Civili’ (c. 52 B.C.).ExplanationYou will learn more from things that happen to you in real life than you will from hearing about or studying things that happen to other people. Life
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