101 Proverbs

OriginAll’s Well That Ends Well is a play by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1604 and 1605, and was originally published in the First Folio in 1623.ExplanationAn event that has a good ending is good even if some things went wrong along the way. It is usually used when a […]

OriginThe saying is recorded in English from the late 14th-century, but the idea is found in the 5th-century ad in the Latin of St Augustine.ExplanationExtensive knowledge of or close association with someone or something leads to a loss of respect for him or it. People do not respect someone they know well enough because they

OriginThis proverb is derived from a late 13th-century French proverb.ExplanationA person who has done something badly will seek to lay the blame on his equipment rather than admit his own lack of skill. Our success does not depend on what kind of tools we have but how we use them. A person may have all

OriginThis proverb was first used by John Wesley in 1759.ExplanationIf you persistently say bad things about someone, people will begin to believe your accusations, even if they are not true. Try the same thing (or similar things) often enough, and, even if the general standard is poor, sometimes one will be successful. If enough (perhaps

OriginThe first example of it in English is from the poet Thomas Carlyle, who translated the phrase from German in Sartor Resartus, 1831, in which a character expounds at length on the virtues of silence.ExplanationSpeaking is good but saying nothing is better. Discretion can be worth more than even eloquent words. The virtue of speaking

OriginIt was used in this way by Joseph Addison in The Spectator (1712): “A woman who will give up herself to a man in marriage where there is the least room for such an apprehension…may very properly be accused…of being penny wise and pound foolish.” [c. 1600]ExplanationIt means to be extremely careful about small amounts

OriginThis proverb first appeared in 1709.ExplanationA small amount of knowledge can mislead people into thinking that they are more expert than they really are.The implication is that a small amount of knowledge can lead to over-confidence, leaping to invalid conclusions based on what you do know without taking into account the things that you don’t

OriginThe proverb has been traced back to Geoffrey Chaucer’s ‘Troilus and Criseyde’. George Herbert wrote in 1651. This saying is first cited in the United States in ‘William & Mary College Quarterly.ExplanationDo not criticize others if you have similar weaknesses yourself. It means those who are vulnerable should not attack others. It can also mean

OriginAttested since 1546, originally a Tudor expression, and used figuratively since 1673.ExplanationMake the most of one’s opportunities while you have the chance. If you have an opportunity to do something, do it before the opportunity expires.Hay is difficult to prepare in wet weather, so the proverb points to the wisdom of taking advantage of opportunities

OriginIt was first recorded in 1710.ExplanationThis is a piece of advice which means that one should not concentrate all efforts and resources in one area as one could lose everything. It means not to make everything dependent on only one thing; to place all one’s resources in one place, account, etc. (If the basket is

OriginThis expression was familiar enough to be included in John Heywood’s 1546 collection of proverbs.ExplanationIf someone gives you something you asked for, you should not complain about what you get. This phrase is most often used when someone asks for assistance. It means that, while asking for help, the requester can’t be picky about what

OriginThe phrase was actually used as early as 1538 in a letter from Thomas Howard, the third Duke of Norfolk, to Thomas Cromwell, chief minister to King Henry VIII.ExplanationOnce the cake is eaten, it is gone. It can be used to say that one cannot or should not have or want more than one deserves

OriginIt is a late 16th-century proverb; handsome here originally referred to chivalrous or genteel behaviour, although it often popularly refer to good looks.ExplanationHow one acts is more important than how one looks. It is more important to treat people well than to be good-looking; just because you are good-looking does not mean you are a

OriginThe origin of the idiom ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’ was first seen in print in 1777, in Interesting Letters of Pope Clement XIV.ExplanationIt means that it is polite and respectful to adapt your way of behaving when you are in a different culture or society. This means to cover your body

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