Famous Proverbs - Chinese Proverbs, African, Irish, and English Proverbs
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After dinner rest awhile, after
supper walk a mile. The age of miracles is past. All cats are grey in the dark. All is fish that comes to the net. All things come to those who wait. An ape's an ape, a varlet's a varlet,
though they be clad in silk or scarlet. April showers bring forth May flowers. As a tree falls, so shall it lie. As good be an addled egg as an
idle bird. As you bake so shall you brew. A bad excuse is better than none. Bad news travels fast. A barking dog never bites. Bear and forbear. Beauty draws with a single hair. Beggars can't be choosers. The best doctors are Dr Diet, Dr
Quiet, and Dr Merryman. As you make your bed, so you must
lie upon it. Be the day weary or be the day
long, at last it ringeth to evensong. Better a dinner of herbs than a
stalled ox where hate is. Better to be an old man's darling
than a young man's slave. Better to be envied than pitied. Better one house spoiled than two. Birds of a feather flock together. A bleating sheep loses a bite. The blood of the martyrs is the
seed of the Church. Buy in the cheapest market and
sell in the dearest. Call no man happy till he dies. A carpenter is known by his chips. A cat in gloves catches no mice. A cat may look at a king. Children and fools tell the truth. Confess and be hanged. The course of true love never did
run smooth. Cowards may die many times before
their deaths. Cut your coat according to your
cloth. Dead men don't bite. A deaf husband and a blind wife
are always a happy couple. Delays are dangerous. Desperate diseases must have desperate
remedies. The devil can quote Scripture for
his own ends. The devil is not so black as he
is painted. The devil makes his Christmas pies
of lawyers' tongues and clerks' fingers. Diligence is the mother of good
luck. Dirty water will quench fire. Discretion is the better part of
valour. Do as I say, not as I do. Do as you would be done by. Dog does not eat dog. Don't count your chickens before
they are hatched. Don't cry before you're hurt. Don't cut off your nose to spite
your face. A drowning man will clutch at a
straw. Eagles don't catch flies. The end crowns the work. The end justifies the means. An Englishman's home is his castle. An Englishman's word is his bond. Even a worm will turn. Every bulet has its billet. Every dog has his day. Every man for himself and God for
us all. Every man for himself and the Devil
take the hindmost. Every man is the architect of his
own fortune. Every man to his taste. Every man to his trade. Every tub must stand on its own
bottom. Evil doers are evil dreaders. The eyes are the window of the
soul. Faint heart never won fair lady. A fair exchange is no robbery. A false confessed is half redressed. Fine feathers make fine birds. Fingers were made before forks. The fish always stinks from the
head downwards. Fish and guests stink after three
days. A fool and his money are soon parted. Forewarned is forearmed. Fortune favours fools. Four eyes see more than two. From the sweetest wine, the tartest
vinegar. Give a thing, and take a thing,
to wear the devil's gold ring. Give the devil his due. Go further and fare worse. God helps them that help themselves. God sends meat, but the Devil sends
cooks. Gold may be bought too dear. A golden key can open any door. Good seed makes a good crop. A grey mare is the better horse. Half a loaf is better than no bread. The half is better than the whole. Handsome is as handsome does. Hanging and wiving go by destiny. Happy's the wooing that is not
long a-doing. Hawks will not pick out hawks eyes. He gives twice who gives quickly. He lives long who lives well. He that cannot obey cannot command. He that liveth in hope dances to
an ill tune. He that will thrive must first
as his wife. He who fights and runs away, may
live to fight another day. Home is home though it's never
so homely. Hope deferred makes the heart sick. Hope for the best and prepare for
the worst. Hunger is the best sauce. If Saint Paul’s day be fair
and clear, it will betide a happy year. If two ride on a horse, one must
ride behind. If you don’t work you shan’t
eat. If you gently touch a nettle it’ll
sting you for your pains; grasp it like a lad of mettle, an’ as soft
as silk remains. If you lie down with dogs, you
will get up with fleas. If you’re born to be hanged
then you’ll never be drowned. If you run after two hares you
will catch neither. If you want a thing done well,
do it yourself. If you want peace, you must prepare
for war. In the country of the blind the
one eyed man is king It is a poor dog that’s not
worth whistling for. It is a wise child that knows its
own father. It is easier to pull down than
to build up. It is easy to find a stick to beat
a dog. It is good to make a bridge of
gold to a flying enemy. It is never too late to mend. It is the first step that is difficult. It’s an ill wind that blows
nobody any good. It’s ill waiting for dead
men’s shoes. It takes two to make a bargain. Jove but laughs at lovers’
perjury. Kings have long arms. Knowledge is power. The leopard does not change his
spots. Let the buyer beware. Let the cobbler stick to his last. Let them laugh that win. Let well alone. A liar ought to have a good memory. Like breeds like. Like master, like man. Like people, like priest. Little pitchers have large ears. A little pot is soon hot. Little things please little minds. Long and lazy, little and loud;
fat and fulsome, pretty and proud. Lookers-on see most of the game. Love and a cough cannot be hid. Love me little, love me long. Love me, love my dog. Make haste slowly. Make hay while the sun shines. A man is known by the company he
keeps. Man is the measure of all things. Many go out for wool and come home
shorn. Marriages are made in heaven. Marry in haste repent at leisure. Misery loves company. Money makes a man. Money makes money. Money makes the mare to go. The more you stir it the worse
it stinks. Morning dreams come true. A mouse may help a lion. Nature abhors a vacuum. Near is my shirt, but nearer is
my skin. Necessity is the mother of invention. Never choose your women or linen
by candlelight. Never do evil that good may come
of it. Never look a gift horse in the
mouth. Never mention rope in the house
of a man who has been hanged. Never speak ill of the dead. Never tell tales out of school. Never too old to learn. New brooms sweep clean. New lords, new laws. Night brings counsel. No money, no Swiss. No pain, no gain. No penny, no paternoster. No time like the present. One cannot love and be wise. One Englishman can beat three Frenchmen. One hand washes the other. One man may steal a horse, while
another may not look over a hedge. One man’s loss is another
man’s gain. One man’s meat is another
man’s poison. One story is good till another
is told. One swallow does not make a summer. Opportunity never knocks twice
at any man’s door. Other times, other manners. An ounce of practice is worth a
pound of precept. Pay beforehand was never well served. A peck of March dust is worth a
king’s ransom. The pen is mightier than the sword. The post of honour is the post
of danger. Poverty is no disgrace, but it’s
a great inconvenience. Poverty is not a crime. Practice makes perfect. Put a stout heart to a stey brae. The quarrel of lovers is the renewal
of love. Quickly come, quickly go. Revenge is sweet. The road to hell is paved with
good intentions. Rome was not built in a day. Safe bind, safe find. Second thoughts are best. Seek and ye shall find. September blow soft till the fruit’s
in the loft. Set a beggar on horseback, and
he’ll ride to the Devil. The shoemaker’s son always
goes barefoot. Short reckonings make long friends. A shut mouth catches no flies. Silence is a woman’s best
garment. A slice off a cut loaf isn’t
missed. Small choice in rotten apples. Something is better than nothing. The sooner begun, the sooner done. Spare well and have to spend. A still tongue makes a wise head. Stretch your arm no further than
your sleeve will reach. A tale never loses in the telling. Tell the truth and shame the Devil. There are as good fish in the sea
as ever came out of it. There goes more to marriage than
four bare legs in a bed. There is an exception to every
rule. There is a time and place for everything. There is luck in odd numbers. There is nothing new under the
sun. There is truth in wine. There’s many a slip ‘twixt
cup and lip. There’s no fool like an old
fool. There’s no place like home. There’s none so blind as those
who will not see. There’s none so deaf as those
who will not hear. They that sow the wind, shall reap
the whirlwind. Think first and speak afterwards. The third time pays for all. Threatened men live long. Three may keep a secret, if two
of them are dead. Time is money. Time will tell. Time works wonders. Times change and we with time. To err is human (to forgive divine). Tomorrow is another day. Tomorrow never comes. The tongue always returns to the
sore tooth. Too many cooks spoil the broth. The tree is known by its fruit. Truth lies at the bottom of a well. Turkey, heresy, hops, and beer
came into England all in one year. Virtue is its own reward. Walls have ears. The weakest go to the wall. What a neighbour gets is not lost. What can’t be cured must be
endured. What is got over the Devil’s
back is spent under his belly. What the eye doesn’t see,
the heart doesn’t grieve over. What you don’t know can’t
hurt you. When in Rome, do as the Romans
do. When one door shuts, another opens. When thieves fall out, honest men
come by their own. When things are at the worst they
begin to mend. Where God builds a church, the
Devil will build a chapel. Where the carcase is, there shall
the eagles be gathered together. While there’s life there’s
hope. Whom the Gods love die young. Why keep a dog and bark yourself? The wish is father to the thought. A woman, a dog, and a walnut tree,
the more you beat them the better they be. A woman and a ship ever want mending. A woman’s work is never done. A word to the wise is enough. The worth of a thing is what it
will bring. You can drive out nature with a
pitchfork but she keeps on coming back. You can’t make a silk purse
out of a sow’s ear. You can’t teach an old dog
new tricks. You cannot have your cake and eat
it. You cannot lose what you never
had. You cannot put an old head on young
shoulders. You cannot serve God and Mammon. You cannot shift an old tree without
it dying. Young folks think old folks to
be fools, but old folks know young folks to be fools. A young man married is a young
man marred. Young men may die, but old men
must die.
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