Famous Proverbs

1] He that lives wickedly can hardly die honestly

2] What may be done at any time is done at no time

3] Moderation in all things

4] If anything can go wrong, it will

5] Everything comes to him who waits

6] A gift much expected is paid, not given

7] Through indecision, opportunity is often lost.

8] Beauty opens locked doors

9] If the fingers of one hand quarrel, they cannot pick up food

10] Don’t swap horses while crossing a stream

11] Ill weeds grow apace (or fast)

12] What soberness conceals, drunkenness reveals

13] He is a good friend that speaks well of us behind our backs

14] Keep not ill men company, lest you increase the number

15] It is the bridle and spur that makes a good horse

16] Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched

17] The truest jests sound worst in guilty ears

18] Lookers-on see more than players

19] We shall lie all alike in our graves

20] Knowledge humbles the great man, astonishes the common man and puffeth up the little man

21] He freezes who does not burn

22] Give credit where credit is due

23] He knows which side his bread is buttered

24] Never judge from appearances

25] When two tigers fight, one is sure to be hurt

26] Do not cut down the tree that gives you shade

27] He that travels far knows much

28] If the doctor cures, the sun sees it; but if he kills, the earth hides it.

29] He is wise who looks ahead

30] Friends agree best at a distance

31] Misfortune arrives on horseback but departs on foot

32] The greatest step is that out of doors

33] The fowler’s pipe sounds sweet till the bird is caught.

34] Never trouble trouble till trouble troubles you

35] We live laws, not by examples

36] Let every pedlar carry his own burden

37] Don’t change horses in mid-stream

38] Even water has its ebb and flow

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

40] It is better (or more blessed) to give than to take

41] The hand that gives, gathers

42] Wink at small faults

43] When wrath speaks, wisdom veils her face.

44] Heaven takes care of children, sailor and drunken men

45] When you drink water from the stream, don’t forget that the source of it is the spring

46] Truth is mighty and will prevail

47] Learn to walk before you run

48] Like mother, like daughter

49] At the game’s end we shall see who gains

50] The hero appears only when the tiger is dead

51] Old foxes want no tutors

52] Comparisons are odious

53] All things for not all persons

54] Words cut more than swords

55] Who suffers much is silent

56] God makes the back for the burden

57] He who seizes the right moment is the right man

58] A tree often transplanted, bears not much fruit

59] He that speaks not, God hears not

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

61] The devil is not as black as he is painted

62] An ounce of mother is worth a ton of priest

63] Small gifts make friends, great ones make enemies

64] Give a lie a twenty-four-hour start, and you can never overtake it.

65] A bad shearer never had a good sickle

66] Sparrows who emulate peacocks are likely to break a thigh

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

68] He who comes late must eat what is left

69] From a foolish judge, a quick sentence

70] You can’t tell a book by its cover

71] There is no smoke without fire

72] Half the world knows not how the other half lives

73] God helps those who help themselves

74] The flesh is aye fairest that is farthest from the bone

75] It’s a long lane that has no turning

76] Look before you leap

77] What’s in a name?

78] Confide in an aunt and the world will know

79] He who envies admits his inferiority

80] Anger begins with folly and ends with repentance.

81] In wine there is truth

82] He that will not endure to itch must endure to smart

83] Love and business teach eloquence

84] He thinks not well that thinks not again

85] Hasty work, double work,

86] A jack of all traders is master of none

87] A discontented man knows not where to sit easy

88] Good goods are not cheap; cheap goods are not good

89] What is worth doing is worth doing well

90] An egg thief will become a camel thief

91] Excessive politeness is often a cloak for insincerity

92] Common fame is seldom to blame

93] Out of the frying-pan into the fire

94] A bad workman always blames his tools

95] If you would make an enemy, lend a man money and ask it of him again

96] Cut your coat according to your cloth

97] Anger restrained is wisdom gained

98] If you can’t ride two horses at once, you shouldn’t be in the circus

99] It is a great victory that comes without blood

100] Every medal has two sides