Proverbs

English Proverbs

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■ A bad workman quarrels with his tools.

(an inefficient man complains with his tools)

■ A beggar may sing before a pickpocket.

(a beggar has nothing to lose)

■ A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.

(one today is worth two in the bush)

■ A burnt child fears the fire or dreads the fire.

(experience teach us caution)

■ A cat has nine lives.

(a cat is more tenacious of life than any animals.)

■ A drowning man catches at a straw.

(while there is life there is hope.)

■ Adversity often leads to prosperity.

(misery has its sequel in happiness)

■ A friend in need is a friend indeed.

(a true friend is one to depend upon in trouble)

■ After clouds comes fair weather.

(happiness follows misery.)

■ After death comes doctor.

(to be wise after the event)

■ After meat comes mustard.

(hunger waits for no delicacy.)

■ After sweetmeat comes sour sauce.

(if you laugh today, you may cry tomorrow)

■ A good beginning is a half the battle.

(a good start of war, a clear sign of victory.)

■ A little learning is a dangerous thing.

(shallow knowledge turns one’s head.)

■ All covet, all lost.

(grasp all, lose all)

■ All feet tread not in one shoe.

(as many men, so many minds.)

■ All his geese are swans.

(one’s own things are the best.)

■ All seems yellow to the jaundiced eye.

(to a biased mind everything is in fault.)

■ All’s well that ends well

(it is a right if it turns out well in the end.)

■ All that glitter is not gold.

(trust not appearance)

■ All things come to him who waits.

(tarry longs bring much home.)

■ A man is known by the company he keeps.

(one can know the character of a man from his friends.)

■ An as that is a common property, is always worst saddled.

(everybody’s business is nobody’s business.)

■ An Ethiopian will not change his skin.

(one’s own nature remains unchange.)

■ A penny saved is a penny earned.

(little savings make a mighty sum.)

■ A pet lamb makes a cross ram.

(too much indulgence spoils a child.)

■ A rolling stone gathers no moss.

(an unsteady fellow will never make good.)

■ Arthur could not control a woman’s tongue.

(none can control a woman’s tongue.)

■ Art is long life is short.

(life is too short for all that we have to learn.)

■ A serpent under the flower.

(treachery masked in friendship.)

■ As the evil, so is the remedy.

(a drastic remedy is necessary when things get very bad.)

■ A sleeping fox catches no poultry.

(an idle fellow can do nothing in life.)

■ As is the wind blows, you must set your sail.

(make the best of an opportunity.)

■ A stitch in time saves nine.

(remove a defect in time)

■ As you make your bed, so you must lie on it.

(as you brew, so you drink)

■ As you sow, so you reap.

(you must pay for the evil you do.)

■ A tree is known by its fruit.

(a man’s actual character is known by his action.)

B

■ Bachelor’s wives and maid’s children are always well taught.

(to be worried about things that do not matter.)

■ Barking dog seldom bite.

(angry words and threats lead to nothing worse.)

■ Before you marry, be sure of a house wherein to tarry.

(think twice before you take a risk.)

■ Beggars must not be choosers.

( those who seek favour must accept any term.)

■ Better an empty house than an ill tenant.

(better alone than in evil company)

■ Better late than never.

(it is better to do a thing later than never.)

■ Birds of a feather flock together.

(like draws like.)

■ Blood is thicker than water.

(the tie of kindred is real)

■ Blue are the hills that are far from us.

(distance lends enchantment to the view.)

■ Build castle in the air.

(indulge oneself in daydream.)

C

■ Call a spade a spade.

(speak plane and spare none.)

■ Carry coal to Newcastle.

(help one who needs no help.)

■ Cast pearls before swine.

(waste too good a thing on one least deserving.)

■ Catch at the shadow and lose the substance.

( a fantastic scheme of happiness.)

■ Charity begins at home.

(help yourself first, and then you can help others.)

■ Cleanliness is next to godliness.

( man is made god when he becomes clean.)

■ Cut off ones nose to spite one’s face.

( injure oneself in order that some one else may also be injured.)

■ Cut your coat according to your cloth.

( spend within your means.)

D

■ David and Jonathan.

( a pair of devoted friends.)

■ Diligence is the mother of good luck.

( hard work brings success.)

■ Discretion is the better part of valour.

( it is unwise to take unnecessary risks.)

■ Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched.

( don’t be sure of a thing until it is yours.)

■ Do or die.

( risk all to win.)

E

■ Empty vessels sound much.

( too much talk ends in nothing.)

■ Every dog has his day.

( nobody prospers for ever.)

■ Every man is for himself.

( everyone looks after his own interest.)

■ Every shoe fits not every foot.

( it takes time to get used to things.)

■ Example is better than precept.

( it is better to do good than to preach.)

F

■ Fair words butter no parsnips.

(empty promise will not help anybody in distress.)

■ Familiarity breeds contempt.

( get to know a man better and you will have less respect for him.)

■ Faults are thick where love is thin.

( you find everything wrong with a person whom you do not love , less love more censure.)

■ First deserve, then desire.

( qualify yourself to fulfil your desire.)

■ Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

( the rush will undertake a thing from which the wise shrink.)

■ Forgiveness is a great virtue.

( forgive and forget.)

G

■ Give a dog a bad name and hang him.

( make much of a man when he serves your purpose and then discard him)

■ Give him an inch and he’ll take an heil.

( give no change to an intruder.)

■ Give the devil his due .

( be just even to one who does not deserve sympathy.)

■ God help those who help themselves.

( God favours those who spare no pains.)

■ Good wine needs no bush .

( a known man need no recommendation.)

■ Great minds think alike.

(men of higher thinking think the same thing.)

H

■ Harm watch, harm catch.

(to be over cautious is to be trapped. )

■ Haste makes wastes.

( unnecessary hurry often causes bad thing.)

■ He can hardly keep the wolf from the door.

(he can not make both ends meet.)

■ He laughs best who laughs last.

( all’s well that ends well.)

■ He who has nothing to spare must not keep a dog.

( the needy should not be lavish of their gifts.

■ He who spits against the wind spits against his own face.

( he that touches pitch shall be defeated therewith.)

■ Honesty is the best policy.

( it pays to be honest.)

■ Hunger is the best sauce.

( hunger gives taste to our food.)

I

■ Indolence is the mother of poverty.

( the indolent on never thrive.)

■ It is never too late to mend.

( there is always time for rectifying a wrong.)

■ It is no use crying over spilt milk.

(let bygones be bygones.)

■ It takes two to make a quarrel.

( both are to blame in quarrel.)

J

■ Jack of all trades, master of none.( one doesn't do many things fairly well.)

K

■ Knowledge is power.

( knowledge rules the world.)

■ Know thyself.

(examine your own mind.)

L

■ Let bygones by bygones.

( let the dead past bury its dead.)

■ Let sleeping dogs lie.

( it is useless to deal with the vile.)

■ Like cures like.

( one poison is antidote against another poison. )

■ Look before you leaf.

( think before you act.)

■ Love is blind.

(one may fall in love with anybody.)

M

■ Make hay while the sun shines.

( as the wind blows you must set your sail.)

■ Many a little makes a mickle.

( many a penny makes a pound.)

■ Many drops make a shower.

( drops of water make the ocean.)

■ Misfortune never comes alone.

( one misfortune follows in the wake of another. )

■ Much ado about nothing .

( too much fuss and little is done.)

N

■ Necessity is the mother of good luck.

( urgent need impels one to device means.)

■ Necessity knows no law.

( one is extreme want may resort to anything.)

■ Nero fiddles while Rome burns.

(to make merry at the distress of others.)

■ None but a fool is always right.

( to err is human.)

■ No pains no gains.

( strive and you will win.)

■ No smoke without fire.

( there can be no effect without a cause.)

■ Nothing succeds like success.

( success leads to success.)

■ Nothing venture, nothing have.

( no risk no gain.)

O

■ Oh the times ! oh the manners.

( the old merry times are no more.)

■ Oil your own machine.

( mind your own business.)

■ One beats the bush , another catches the bird.

( one sows another reaps.)

■ One is not so soon healed as hurt.

( it takes more time tobuild up than to pull down.)

■ One man’s meat is another man’s poison.

( what is sport to the cat is death to the rat. )

■ One swallow does not make a summer.

( Now you get the best of me, but my turn will come again.)

■ Out of debt out of danger.

( One having no debt in happy.)

■ Out of sight out of mind.

( absence begets forgetfulness.)

P

■ Patience is better, but it fruits is sweet.

( wait and see, patience, however painful in the beginning, brings happiness in the end.)

■ Penny-wise, pound-foolish.

( thrifty is small things and careless in large ones.)

■ Practice makes a man perfect.

( do a thing again and again and it will come alright.)

■ Praise a fair day at night.

( suspend your judgement till the end. )

■ Pride goeth before destruction.

( pride has its fall.)

Q

■ Quit not certainly for hope.

( do not exchange the substance for the shadow.)

R

■ Riches have wings.

( fortune is fickle.)

■ Rob peter to pay Paul.

( to benefit one at the expense of another.)

■ Rome was not build in a day.

( worth-while achievements take time and perseverance. )

S

■ Self-help is the best help.

( depend on yourself and you will succeed.)

■ Set a thief to catch a thief.

(one nail drives out another.)

■ Slow and steady wins the race.

( Perseverance begets success. )

■ Something is better than nothing.

( half a loaf is better than no loaf.)

■ Spare the rod and spoil the child.

( children are better disciplined when they are afraid of bodily punishment. )

■ Strike the iron while it is hot.

( make hay while sun shine. )

T

■ The child is the father to the man.

( one’s childhood decides what one will be in later years. )

■ The devil would not listen to the scripture.

( you can not reform a rogue. )

■ The die is cast.

( final decision has been taken.)

■ The grapes are sour.

( one blames what one can not get. )

■ The leopard can not change its spots.

( one can not change one’s nature.)

■ The more, the merrier.

( it is all the better to have more than less.)

■ There are less to every wine .

( there is no unmixed good. )

■ There’s many a slip between the cup and the lip.

( many accidents may occur while success seems assured. )

■ The saucepan should not call the cattle black.

( one bad man should not call another bad man a rogue.)

■ The wearer best knows where the shoe pinches.

(none but the suffers knows his trouble. )

■ Those who live in glass-house should not pelt stones at others.

( those who deserves criticism, should not criticize others.)

■ Tit for tat.

(exact retaliation, a return is kind.)

■ To err is human.

(it is natural for man to make mistakes.)

■ To make a mountain of a mole hill.

( magnify trifles.)

■ Too many cooks spoil the broth.

( too many helpers make a mess of the thing.)

■ Too much cunning overreaches itself.

( a very cunning fellow seldom wins.)

■ To the pure all things are pure.

( no evil can touch the pure.)

■ Two heads are better than one.

(we stand or full together.)

■ Two is company , three is none.

( two people make friend ship, but three people cause a rift among them.)

U

■ United we stand , divided we fall.

( unity is strength, disruption is ruin. )

■ Unity is strength.

( Nothing can overcome us while we are united. )

V

■ Virtue is its own reward.

(a holy deed requires no outside reward for satisfaction.)

■ Virtue thrives best in adversity.

( suffering is the test of virtue.)

W

■ Waste not want not.

( be careful about your money and you will never be in want. )

■ We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.

(blessing are not valued till they are gone.)

■ What can’t be cured must be endured.

( one must submit to the inevitable. )

■ What is everybody’s business is nobody’s business.

( things are mismanaged when too many are interested in them.)

■ What is sauce for the gander is not sauce for the goose.

( what suits one , may not suit another.)

■ What is sports to the cat is death to the rat.

( what is good for one may be harmful to another.)

■ When in Rome do as the Roman’s do.

(when you find yourselves among strangers, imitate their behaviour and avoid trouble.)

■ When the danger is gone , God is forgotten.

( we leave God alone when we are safe from danger. )

■ Where there is a will there is a way.

( a strong will carries everything before it.)

■ Where there is smoke there is fire.

( nothing can come out of nothing , every effect must have a cause.)

■ While there is a life , there is a hope.

(a drowning man catches a straw.)