Famous Proverbs

1] Men leap over where the hedge is lowest

2] Talk of the devil, and he is bound to appear

3] Goods that are much on show lose their colour

4] He that speaks not, God hears not

5] He that keeps not crust not crumb, shall ever want some

6] The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence

7] There are two sides to every question

8] Laziness travels so slowly that poverty soon overtakes him

9] Too far east is west

10] He that is afraid of bad luck will never know good.

11] The devil finds work for idle hands to do

12] You win some, you lose some

13] A good example is the best sermon

14] Rich folk have many friends

15] An ounce of practice is worth a pound of precept

16] Plain dealing is a jewel, but they that use it die beggars

17] If we have not the world’s wealth, we have the world’s ease

18] The tongue talks at the heads cost

19] Content is the philosopher’s stone that turns all it touches in to gold

20] Beauty is in the face; grace is all over.

21] He that hopes not for good, fears not evil.

22] If you pile up enough sand, you can make a pagoda

23] Desperate diseases need (or must have) desperate cures

24] No hair so small but has his shadow

25] They are rich who have true friends

26] It is late to cover the well when the child is drowned.

27] A man must plough with such oxen as he has

28] Wife and Children are bills of charges

29] Haste is of (or from) the devil

30] First thrive then wive

31] The darkest hour is that before the dawn

32] Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

33] The calmest husbands make the stormiest wives

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

35] Fortune knocks once at every man’s door

36] Opportunity makes the thief

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

38] The greatest step is that out of doors

39] The more a man dreams, the less he believes

40] It is not easy to steal when the landlord is a thief

41] The bee sucks honey out of the bitterest flowers

42] Truth has a good face but bad clothes

43] He who sows, trusts in God

44] If the father is a tiger, the son cannot be a dog.

45] Needs must when the devil drives

46] Those who sell dog-meat often display a lamb’s head

47] Kind hearts are more than coronets

48] The longest day must have an end

49] Little things are pretty

50] A bad padlock invites a picklock

51] There are hills, and there are swamps as well.

52] It is more blessed to give than to receive

53] Enough is enough

54] For a web begun, God sends the thread

55] Though the left hand conquers the right, no advantage is gained

56] Take the tone of the company you are in

57] Mount Fuji itself is not So beautiful to one who is cold and hungry

58] When the dog catches mice, it is meddling in the cat’s business.

59] One master in a house is enough

60] Early sow, early mow

61] Fortune does not stand waiting at any man’s door

62] A constant guest is never welcome

63] All things for not all persons

64] First catch your hare

65] Crust is better than no bread

66] Often and little eating makes a man fat

67] Don’t change horses in mid-stream

68] Seldom seen, soon forgotten

69] It will be the same a hundred years hence

70] Six feet of earth make all men equal

71] It takes a wise man to be a fool

72] One beats the bush, and another catches the birds

73] Let us do evil that good may come

74] If you put noting into your purse, you can take nothing out

75] You win some, you lose some

76] Better learn late than never

77] He that hath a full purse never wanted (or lacked) a friend

78] You must grin and bear it

79] A man turned pig no longer fears filth

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

81] Silence gives (or means) consent

82] If you agree to carry the calf, they’ll make you carry the cow.

83] While the word is in your mouth, it is your own; when ‘tis another’s

84] Unless the vessel is clean, what you pour in to it turns sour.

85] Whom god loves, his house is sweet to him

86] Waste is not grandeur

87] Love knows hidden paths

88] A word to the wise is enough

89] Honour is the reward of virtue

90] Look before you leap

91] Young colts will canter.

92] A good lawyer must be a great liar

93] What’s done is done

94] See a pin and let it lie, you’ll want a pin before you die

95] An old ox will find a shelter for himself

96] Eaten bread is soon forgotten

97] A learned man has always riches in himself

98] Don’t pour out the dirty water before you have cleaned

99] Every oak has been an acorn

100] The physician who praises himself has no good medicine