Famous Proverbs - Chinese Proverbs, African, Irish, and English Proverbs
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Actions speak louder than words. All is grist that comes to the
mill. All's fair in love and war. All things are possible with God. All work and no play makes Jack
a dull boy. Appearances are deceptive. Appetite comes with eating. As the day lengthens, so the cold
strengthens. A bad workman blames his tools. Barnaby bright, Barnaby bright,
the longest day and the shortest night. Beauty is only skin deep. The best of friends must part. The best of men are men at best. Better be out of the world than
out of the fashion. The better the day, the better
the deed. Better wed over the mixen than
over the moor. Blessed are the dead that the rain
rains on. A blind man's wife needs no paint. Boys will be boys. Brevity is the soul of wit. The buyer has need of a hundred
eyes, the seller of but one. Charity covers a multitude of sins. A cherry year, a merry year; a
plum year, a dumb year. Circumstances alter cases. Common fame is seldom to blame. The company makes the feast. Confession is good for the soul. Conscience makes cowards of us
all. Corporations have neither bodies
to be punished nor souls to be damned. Crosses are ladders that lead to
heaven. The darkest hour is just before
dawn. Dead men tell no tales. Death pay all debts. The devil's children have the devil's
luck. Devil take the hindmost. The devil was sick, the Devil a
saint would be; the Devil was well, the devil a saint was he. Diamond cuts diamond. Divide and rule. Don't put all your eggs in one
basket. Dream of a funeral and you hear
of a marriage. The early bird catches the worm. The early man never borrows from
the late man. Easy come, easy go. Empty sacks will never stand upright. Every herring must hang by its
own gill. Every Jack has his Jill. Every law has its own law. Every little helps. Everybody's business is nobody's
business. Everyone speaks well of the bridge
which carries him over. The exception proves the rule. Experience is the best teacher. Experience is the father of wisdom. Fine words butter no parsnips. Fire is a good servant but a bad
master. Fools ask questions that wise men
cannot answer. Fools
build houses and wise men live in them. Give a man rope enough and he will
hang himself. Go abroad and you'll hear news
from home. God made the country and man made
the town. God tempers the wind to the shorn
lamb. The good die young. Good fences make good neighbours. A good horse cannot be of a bad
color. Good men are scarce. A great book is a great evil. Great minds think alike. A green Yule makes a fat churchyard. Happy is the bride that the sun
shines on. Hard words break no bones. Haste is from the Devil. He laughs best who laughs last. He that cannot pay, let him pray. He that complies against his will
is of his own opinion still. He who excuses, accuses himself. He who is absent is always in the
wrong. He who lives by the sword dies
by the sword. He who wills the end, wills the
means. Hell hath no fury like a woman
scorned. Help you to salt, help you to sorrow. Honesty is the best policy. Honey catches more flies than vinegar. Hope is a good breakfast but a
bad supper. A hungry man is an angry man. The husband is always the last
to know. An idle brain is the devil’s
workshop. Idle people have the least leisure. If Candlemas day be sunny and bright,
winter will have another flight; if Candlemas day be cloudy with rain, winter
is gone and won’t come again. If every man would sweep his own
door-step the city would soon be clean. If the mountain will not come to
Mahomet, Mahomet must go to the mountain. If wishes were horses, beggars
would ride. If you would be happy for a week
take a wife; if you would be happy for a month kill a pig; but if you would
be happy for all your life plant a garden. If you would be well served, serve
yourself. In for a penny, in for a pound. It is a long lane that has no turning. It is as cheap sitting as standing. It is best to be on the safe side. It is better to be born lucky than
rich. It is easier to raise the Devil
than to lay him. It is easy to be wise after the
event. It is idle to swallow the cow and
choke on the tail. It is ill sitting at Rome and striving
with the Pope. It is never too late to learn. It is no use crying over spilt
milk. It is the last straw that breaks
the camel’s back. It’s ill speaking between
a full man and a fasting. It takes all sorts to make a world. Keep a thing seven years and you’ll
always find a use for it. Keep no more cats than will catch
mice. Keep your shop and your shop will
keep you. Killing no murder. The king can do no wrong. A king’s chaff is worth more
than other men’s corn. Kissing goes by favour. The last drop makes the cup run
over. Listeners never hear any good of
themselves. Little birds that can sing and
won’t sing must be made to sing. Little leaks sink the ship. Little thieves are hanged, but
great ones escape. Live and learn. Live and let live. The longest way round is the shortest
way home. Love begets love. Love will find a way. Man’s extremity is God’s
opportunity. March comes in like a lion, and
goes out like a lamb. Marriage is a lottery. Marry in May, rue for aye. Meat and mass never hindered man. The mill cannot grind with the
water that is past. The mills of God grind slowly,
yet they grind exceeding small. A miss is as good as a mile. Money talks. More people know Tom Fool than
Tom Fool knows. The mother of mischief is no bigger
than a midge’s wing. My son is my son till he gets him
a wife, but my daughter’s my daughter all the days of her life. Never let the sun go down on your
anger. Nine tailors make a man. No news is good news. None but the brave deserve the
fair. Nothing should be done in haste
but gripping a flea. Nothing so bold as a blind mare. Nothing venture, nothing gain. Offenders never pardon. Once a—, always a— Once a whore, always a whore. One half of the world does not
know how the other half lives. One hour’s sleep before midnight
is worth two after. One might as well be hanged for
a sheep as a lamb. One wedding brings another. Out of debt, out of danger. Parsley seed goes nine times to
the Devil. A penny saved is a penny earned. Penny wise and pound foolish. Pity is akin to love. A place for everything, and everything
in its place. Please your eye and plague your
heart. Possession is nine points of the
law. Prevention is better than cure. Pride feels no pain. Promises, like pie-crust, are made
to be broken. The race is not to the swift, nor
the battle to the strong. Saint Swithun’s day, if thou
be fair, for forty days it will remain; Saint Swithun’s day, if thou
bring rain, for forty days it will remain The sea refuses no river. Seeing is believing. Self-preservation is the first
law of nature. Set a thief to catch a thief. Sing before breakfast, cry before
night. Six hours sleep for a man, seven
for a woman, and eight for a fool. Slow but sure. So many mists in March, so many
frosts in May. Sow dry and set wet. Spare at the spigot, and let out
the bung-hole. Speak not of my debts unless you
mean to pay them. Stolen fruit is sweet. Stone-dead hath no fellow. Straws tell which way the wind
blows. A stream cannot rise above its
source. Sue a beggar and catch a louse. A swarm in May is worth a load
of hay; a swarm in June is worth a silver spoon; but a swarm in July is not
worth a fly. Take the goods the gods provide. Talk of the Devil, and he is bound
to appear. There are more ways of killing
a dog than hanging it. There are no birds in last year’s
nest. There are tricks in every trade. There is luck in leisure. There is no little enemy. There is nothing like leather. There is reason in the roasting
of eggs. There is safety in numbers. There’s no great loss without
some gain. They that dance must pay the fiddler. They that live longest, see most. Those who live in glass houses
shouldn’t throw stones. Thrift is a great revenue. Throw dirt enough, and some will
stick. Today you; tomorrow me. Two of a trade never agree. Union is strength. Walnuts and pears you plant for
your heirs. Wedlock is a padlock. What is new cannot be true. What’s sauce for the goose
is sauce for the gander. When Greek meets Greek, then comes
the tug of war. When poverty comes in at the door,
love flies out of the window. When the cat’s away, the mice
will play. When the wind is in the east, ‘tis
neither good for man nor beast. Where bees are, there is honey. Where there’s a will there’s
a way. Where there’s muck there’s
brass. Who won’t be ruled by the
rudder must be ruled by the rock. Whom the Gods would destroy, they
first make mad. Whosoever draws his sword against
the prince must throw the scabbard away. Why buy a cow when milk is so cheap? Winter never rots in the sky. You buy land, you buy stones; you
buy meat, you buy bones. You cannot get blood from a stone. You cannot make bricks without
straw. You never miss the water till the
well runs dry. NOTE: Some of this information can be found in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
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