Famous Proverbs

1] Let us do evil that good may come

2] He that has a full purse never wanted a friend

3] Hunger drives the wolf out of the wood

4] He that never ate flesh, thinks a pudding is a dainty

5] He who envies admits his inferiority

6] The hero appears only when the tiger is dead

7] Quarrels do not last long if the wrong is only on one side

8] There’s a time and place for everything

9] Water is a boon in the desert, but the drowning man curses it.

10] Pardon makes offenders

11] He conquers who endures

12] Almost’ never killed a fly.

13] Who lives by hope will die in hunger

14] God is a sure paymaster

15] He who works before dawn will soon his own master

16] The peony, though large, is useless; the date blossom, though small, yields fruit

17] A bully never grows up.

18] Away goes the devil when he finds the door shut against him

19] Forgiveness is perfect when the sin is not remembered

20] Wise men silent, fools talk

21] Don’t ask a blind man which is the right way

22] There’s small choice in rotten apples.

23] There is nothing new under the sun

24] If you pile up enough sand, you make a pagoda

25] All things are easy, that are done willingly

26] A secret fire is discovered by the smoke

27] Rain water leaks through the roof-top

28] A fool’s mouth is his destruction

29] First impressions are the most lasting

30] First things first

31] Give a fool (or a thief) enough rope and he will hang himself

32] Wrong has no warrant

33] Let people laugh, as long as I am warm

34] A miss is as good as a mile

35] The love of money is the root of all evil

36] Medical plants from one’s own back-yard are no valued.

37] It is no use crying over spilt milk

38] Say as men say, but think to yourself.

39] Truth is mighty and will prevail

40] When all men say you are an ass, it is time to bray

41] Will is the cause of woe

42] Old foxes want no tutors

43] Desires are nourished by delays

44] Worry is the interest we pay on trouble before it is due

45] The fox may grow grey, but never good

46] He that would know what shall be, must consider what has been

47] The Friar Preached against stealing and had a goose in his sleeve

48] Gold goes in at any gate except heaven’s

49] Sorrow will pay no debt

50] Sow thin and mow thin

51] Never do things by halves

52] Eat a clove of garlic and you smell of garlic; eat two cloves and you smell the same.

53] Ill gotten, ill spent

54] He is rich that has few wants

55] Why play the harp to a buffalo?

56] A burthen of one’s own choice is not felt

57] Honest men marry soon, wise men not at all

58] A fool says what he knows, and a wise man knows what he says.

59] Divide and rule

60] To beat a tiger, one must have a brother’s help.

61] Shame in a kindred cannot be avoided

62] You must lose a fly to catch a trout

63] See which way the cat jumps

64] Possibilities are infinite

65] A man can die but once

66] Youth and age will never agree

67] Who repairs not his gutter, repairs his whole house

68] Time and tide wait for no man

69] The fine pullet shows its excellence from the egg.

70] He that sleeps sound feels not the toothache

71] War, hunting and love are as full of trouble as pleasure

72] When you do not know what to do – wait.

73] A knave and a fool never take thought

74] Virtue joints man to god

75] The weakest goes to the wall

76] Envy is the sorrow of fools.

77] Like mother, like daughter

78] Hope for the best and prepare for the worst

79] Poor men go to heaven as soon as rich

80] He that once deceives, is ever suspected

81] If wishes were horses, beggars would ride (or might ride)

82] No man can serve two masters

83] If Jack’s in love, he’s no judge of Jill’s beauty

84] Though a lie be swift the truth overtakes it

85] Love conquers all

86] He that will not be counseled, cannot be helped

87] No man fears what he has seen grow

88] The anvil lasts longer than the hammer

89] Why play music for a deal man or dance for a blind man?

90] There is truth in wine

91] There are as good fish in the sea as ever came out of it

92] Fortune is blind

93] Too long burden makes weary bones

94] Gold brings gold; lack of gold, a headache

95] Call no man happy till he is dead

96] The hole calls the thief

97] Dreams are lies

98] A person with a determined heart frightens Problems away

99] Great gain makes easy work

100] Those who live near water know the nature of fish; those who live near hills know the calls of birds