List of English proverbs

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Alphabetical listing

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

;A bad workman always blames his tools.:

• Good workmanship depends no more on the quality of the tools than it does on the way in which they are used, so to blame the tools for bad workmanship is to attempt to excuse one's own lack of skill.

;A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.:

• A small amount that you have is worth more than a large amount that is uncertain.

;A cat may look at the king.:

• This is one of Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes. It means: "If a cat may look at a king, I have as much right to take an interest in what you are doing. Are you so important that I can't even look at you?"

;A coward dies a thousand times before his death. The valiant never taste of death but once.:

• From William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

;A chain is no stronger than its weakest link.: ;A creaking gate hangs long.: ;A fool and his money are soon parted.: ;A fox smells its own lair first.: ;A friend in need is a friend indeed.: ;A good beginning makes a good ending.: ;A good man in an evil society seems the greatest villain of all.: ;A good surgeon has an eagle's eye, a lion's heart, and a lady's hand : ;A jack of all trades is master of none.: ;A lie has no legs.: ;A lie can be halfway around the world before the truth gets its boots on.:

• Attributed to Winston Churchill. It's easier to turn falsehood loose than correct it everywhere it runs to.

;A little learning is a dangerous thing.: ;A merry heart makes a long life.: ;A miss is as good as a mile.: ;A penny saved is a penny earned.:

• Attributed to Ben Franklin; Poor Richard's Almanac.

;A person is known by the company he keeps.: ;A rolling stone gathers no moss.: ;A sound mind in a sound body.:

• From the Latin, mens sana in corpore sano.

;A stitch in time saves nine.: ;A woman's work is never done.: ;A word to the wise is enough.: ;A word to the wise is sufficient:

• Latin: Verbum sapienti saepet.

;A word spoken is past recalling.: ;An apple a day keeps the doctor away.: ;An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.:

• From the Code of Hammurabi. Originally meant that punishment could be no more than an eye for an eye.

;An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.: ;Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

• We feel more affection for relatives and friends when we are parted from them.

;Actions speak louder than words.: ;Advice when most needed is least heeded.: ;After dinner sit a while, after supper walk a mile.: ;After a storm comes a calm.; ;All flowers are not in one garland.: ;All good things come to an end.: ;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 come to him who waits.: ;All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.: ;Another man's poison is not necessarily yours.: ;April showers brings May flowers.: ;Ask and you shall receive.:

• From the Gospel of Matthew

;Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies.: ;Ask no questions and hear no lies.: ;As you make your bed, so you must lie in it.: ;As you sow, so shall you reap.:

B

;Barking dogs seldom bite. ;Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. ;Beauty is only skin deep. ;Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clear to the bone. ;Beggars can't be choosers. ;Better late than never. ;Better safe than sorry. ;Better the devil you know than the devil that you don't know. ;Birds of a feather flock together. ;Bitter pills may have blessed effects. ;Blood is thicker than water. ;Blood will out.

• This has a parallel in Chaucer, Murder will out.

;Boys will be boys. ;Brain is better than brawn. ;Bread is the staff of life. ;Butter is gold in the morning, silver at noon, lead at night.

C

;Cider on beer, never fear; beer upon cider, makes a bad rider.: ;Clothes don't make the man.:

• Negative form of an affirmative? The affirmative form also exists.

;Cross the stream where it is the shallowest.: ;Curiosity killed the cat.: ;Cut your coat according to your cloth.:

D

;Desperate diseases must have desperate cures. (or remedies) ;Different sores must have different salves. ;Diseases come on horseback, but steal away on foot. ;Do as you would be done by. ;Do unto others as you would have done to you.

• From the Gospel of Matthew.

;Doctors make the worst patients. ;Don't burn your bridges before they're crossed. ;Don't burn your bridges behind you. ;Don't change horses in midstream.; ;Don't count your chickens before they're hatched. ;Don't cross a bridge until you come to it. ;Don't cross the bridge till you come to it. ;Don't cry over spilt milk. ;Don't cut off your nose to spite your face. ;Don't have too many irons in the fire. ;Don't make a mountain out of a molehill. ;Don't put all your eggs in one basket. ;Don't put the cart before the horse. ;Don't shut the barn door after the horse is gone. ;Don't shut the gate after the horse has bolted. ;Don't spit into the wind. ;Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. ;Doubt is the beginning, not the end, of wisdom.

E

;Early bird gets the worm.: ;Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.: ;Eat to live, don't live to eat.: ;Eat when you're hungry, and drink when you're dry.: ;East or West, home is best.: ;Empty barrels make the most sound.: ;Even a worm will turn.: ;Every cloud has a silver lining.: ;Every disease will have its course: ;Every dog has its day.: ;Every man has a price.: ;Every rule has its exception.: ;Everything comes to him who waits.: ;Every why has a wherefore.:

F

;Faith will move mountains.:

• Based on a Christian New Testament passage.

;Familiarity breeds contempt.: ;Fine feathers make fine birds.: ;Fine words butter no parsnips.: ;First come, first served.: ;First deserve than desire.: ;Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.: ;Forbidden fruit is the sweetest.: ;Forewarned is forearmed.: ;Fresh pork and new wine kill a man before his time.: ;Fretting cares make grey hairs.: ;Friend to all is a friend to none.:

G

;Give a dog a bad name and hang him.: ;Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.: ;God cures and the physician takes the fee.: ;Good eating deserves good drinking.: ;Good fences make good neighbors.:

• From the Robert Frost poem possibly titled Mending Fences.

H

;Half a loaf is better than none. ;Haste makes waste. ;Health is better than wealth. ;Help a lame dog over a stile. ;He that lives too fast, goes to his grave too soon. ;He that will steal an egg will steal an ox. ;He who hesitates is lost. ;He who laughs last laughs best. ;He who laughs last laughs longest. ;He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword.

• From the Christian New Testament

;He who sleeps forgets his hunger. ;Hindsight is 20/20. ;His bark is worse than his bite. ;History repeats itself. ;Home is where the heart is. ;Home is where you hang your hat. ;Honesty is the best policy. ;Hunger is the best spice.

I

;If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again.: ;If a thing is worth doing, it's worth doing well.: ;If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.: ;If the cap fits, wear it.: ;If the shoe fits, wear it.: ;If you buy cheaply, you pay dearly.: ;If you can't beat them, join them.: ;If you can't be good, be careful.: ;If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.: ;If you keep your mouth shut, you won't put your foot in it.: ;If you want a thing done well, do it yourself.: ;In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.:

• From the Latin, Inter caecos regnat luscus.

;It's a good horse that never stumbles.: ;It never rains, but it pours.: ;It's a long lane that has no turning.: ;It's an ill wind that blows no good.: ;It's an ill wind that blows no one good.: ;It's better to give than to receive.: ;It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.: ;It's easy to be wise after the event.: ;It's never too late to mend.: ;It's not over till it's over.: ;It's no use crying over spilt milk.: ;It's the early bird that gets the worm.: ;It's the empty can that makes the most noise.: ;It's the squeaky wheel that gets the grease.: ;It takes all sorts to make a world.: ;It takes two to make a quarrel.: ;It takes two to tango.:

L

;Laughter is the best medicine.: ;Learn to walk before you run.: ;Let sleeping dogs lie. (Cf. Agatha Christie's Sleeping Murder.): ;Lie down with dogs, wake up with fleas.: ;Like cures like.: ;Little enemies and little wounds must not be despised.: ;Little by little and bit by bit; ;Long absent, soon forgotten.: ;Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves.: ;Look before you leap.: ;Love is blind.:

M

;Make hay while the sun shines.: ;Many hands make light work.: ;Money talks.:

• Here 'talks' means 'carries weight', in the sense that it is influential. As a matter of fact, it means it is possible to do much more with money than without.

;Money talks, bullshit walks.: ;More haste, less speed.:

N

;Nature abhors a vacuum. ;Nature, time, and patience are three great physicians. ;Necessity is the mother of invention. ;Never put off till (until) tomorrow what you can do today. ;New brooms sweep clear. ;New broom sweeps clean. ;No cows, no cares. ;No gain without pain. ;No man can serve two masters.

• Christian New Testament

;No man is content with his lot. ;No news is good news. ;No pain, no gain. ;No time like the present. ;No time to waste like the present. ;Noblesse oblige.

French expression. To be a member of the nobility carries obligations to care for the lower classes.

;Nothing ventured, nothing gained. ;Nothing succeeds like success.

O

;Once bitten, twice shy. ;One doctor makes work for another. ;One good turn deserves another. ;One hour's sleep before midnight is worth two hours after. ;One man's meat is another man's poison. ;One swallow doesn't make a summer. ;Opposites attract. ;Out of sight, out of mind.

P

;Paddle your own canoe. ;Penny wise, pound foolish. ;People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. ;Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely. ;Practice makes perfect. ;Prevention is better than cure. ;Pride goeth before a fall. ;Procrastination is the thief of time.

R

;Red sky at night, sailors delight; red sky in the morning, sailors take warning. ;Rome wasn't built in a day. ;Rules are made to be broken. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions'

S

;Seek and ye shall find.:

• Christian New Testament

;Still waters are the deepest.: ;Still waters run deep.: ;Strike while the iron is hot.:

T

;Talk is cheap.: ;Talk of the devil - and the devil appears.: ;The best things in life are free.: ;The coat makes the man.: ;The cure is worse than the disease.: ;The early bird gets the worm.; ;The end justifies the means.:

• This may be attributed to Niccolo Machiavelli

;The first step to health is to know that we are sick.: ;The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.: ;The head and feet keep warm, the rest will take no harm.: ;The more things change, the more they stay the same.: ;The more more you have, the more you want.:

• It means we are never contented with what we have. When we satisfy one want, it merely makes us aware of another. And so it goes on.

;The pen is mightier than sword.: ;The proof of the pudding is in the eating.: ;The watched pot doesn't boil.: ;There are too many chiefs and not enough Indians.: ;There are no small parts, only small actors.: ;There's always a calm before a storm.: ;There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip.: ;There's no accounting for taste.: ;There's no time like the present.: ;The road to hell is paved with good intentions.: ;The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.: (Gospel of Matthew 26:41) ;The squeaky wheel gets the grease.: ;The wish is ever father to the thought.: ;Think before you speak.: ;Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.: ;Time is money.:

• This may be Franklin again.

;To err is human; to forgive, divine.: ;Tomorrow is another day.: ;Too many cooks spoil the broth.: ;Truth is stranger than fiction.: ;Two's company, three's a crowd.: ;Two heads are better than one.: ;Two things prolong your life: A quiet heart and a loving wife.:

V

;Variety is the spice of life.:

W

;Waste not, want not. ;We all make mistakes. ;We must take the bad with the good. ;What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. ;When in Rome do as the Romans do. ;When the cat's away, the mice will play. ;When the going gets tough, the tough get going. ;Where one door shuts, another opens. ;Where there's a will there's a way. ;While the cat is away, the mice will play. ;While there's life, there's hope. ;Who keeps company with the wolves, will learn to howl. ;Wide ears and short tongue are the best. ;Without sleep, no health.

Y

;You can lead (take) a horse to water but you can't make it drink. ;You can't have it both ways. ;You can't have your cake and eat it too.

• You cannot enjoy two mutually-exclusive benefits of the same situation.

;You can't make an omlette without breaking eggs. ;You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. ;You can't run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. ;You can't teach an old dog new tricks. ;You can't judge a book by its cover. ;You have to crawl before you can walk. ;You never know what you've got till it's gone. ;You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.

See also

• proverb
• Chinese proverbs
• French proverbs
• German proverbs
• Japanese proverbs
• Latin proverbs
• Polish proverbs
• Portuguese proverbs
• Spanish proverbs