Famous Proverbs

1] Might is right

2] A joke never gains over an enemy, but often loses a friend

3] He who considers too much will perform little.

4] Hope is the poor man’s bread

5] The dog that is idle barks at his fleas, but he that is hunting feels them not.

6] Bad luck often brings good luck

7] Blood is thicker than water

8] No man fears what he has seen grow

9] Ill gotten, ill spent

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

11] Keep thy shop and thy shop will keep thee.

12] Desire beautifies what is ugly

13] The rotten apple injures its neighbours.

14] Self-preservation is the first law of nature

15] Let like mate with like

16] He who cannot bear misfortune is truly unfortunate.

17] Love your neighbour, yet pull not down your hedge

18] He that praises himself, spatters himself

19] What must be must be

20] If you would know the value of a ducat, try to borrow one

21] No misfortune will go on forever

22] Praise is a spur to the good, a thorn to the evil

23] Man may have a thousand plans, but god’s plan is best

24] There’s small choice in rotten apples.

25] There’s no great loss without some gain

26] Submitting to one wrong brings on another.

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

28] God arms the harmless

29] The heart soon forgets what the eye sees not

30] The longest journey starts with a single step

31] Money is the only monarch

32] Tigers and deer do not over.

33] There is many a good tune played on an old fiddle

34] What you lose on the swings, you gain on the roundabouts

35] It foolish sheep that makes the wolf his confessor

36] Leave well alone

37] Soon hot, soon cold

38] Health and wealth create beauty

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

40] The wise forget an insult, as the ungrateful a kindness

41] It’s either not to begin or not to stop once you’ve begun

42] In doing we learn.

43] Ill news comes unsent for.

44] Either mend or end

45] Eavesdroppers never hear any good of themselves

46] Many eyes upon the king

47] All men are mortal

48] Common fame is seldom to blame

49] Comfort is not known if poverty does not come before it

50] An old ox makes a straight furrow

51] Heaven helps those who help themselves

52] Bold resolution is the favourite of providence

53] The higher the mountain, the greater the descent

54] The hero appears only when the tiger is dead

55] Custom makes all things easy

56] Too far east is west

57] Circumstances alter cases

58] He that may not do as he would, must do as he may

59] Beware of no man more than himself

60] Money can influence even the spirits

61] Self-preservation is the first law of nature

62] Honesty is the best policy

63] You can be head a man but you can’t shut his mouth

64] Give me fire and I’ll give you light

65] Bees that have honey in their mouths have stings in their tails.

66] The money you refuse will never do you good

67] More than enough is too much

68] A mouse may help a lion

69] When in doubt, do nothing

70] He has to do what is foul, never comes away clean

71] He who peeps through a hole, may see what will vex him

72] Local ginger is never as hot as imported ginger

73] Open confession is good for the soul

74] A good heart conquers ill fortune

75] All roads lead to Rome

76] Bare walls make giddy housewives

77] You can’t teach an old dog new tricks

78] What is worse than ill luck?

79] The world is full of fools

80] Fortune knocks once at everyone’s door (or gate)

81] Sickness soaks the purse

82] One cannot love and be wise

83] He that loses anything and gets wisdom by it is a gainer by the loss

84] After dinner sit a while, after supper walk a mile.

85] If you pay not a servant his wages, he will pay himself

86] A jack of all traders is master of none

87] If you would wed fitly, wed in your station

88] Patient men with the day.

89] He knows the water best who has waded through it

90] All’s fish that comes to the net

91] What is brought by the wind will be carried away by the wind

92] From hearing, comes wisdom; from speaking, repentance

93] It is a great victory that comes without blood

94] Sweet are the uses of adversity

95] A good name is better than a golden girdle

96] Nothing costs so much as what is given us

97] Blood will have blood

98] In the end, things will mend

99] Know when to spend and when to spare, and you need not be busy, you’ll never be bare

100] Go not to hell for company