Famous Proverbs

1] Ignorance is the peace of life

2] Better say noting than no to the purpose

3] He preaches well (or best) that lives well (or best).

4] Every tub must stand on its own bottom

5] Send a fool to France and he’ll come back a fool

6] Diamond cuts diamond

7] No bees, no honey’, that sweetness will come in to the mouth

8] He who serves is not free

9] Full of courtesy, full of craft

10] The least boy always carries the greatest fiddle

11] The longest way round is the shortest way home

12] You eat, I dreams, the custard of the day

13] Hunger breaks stone walls

14] Dogs that bark at a distance bite not at hand

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

16] It is n time to stoop when the head is off.

17] Wrong has no warrant

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

19] Kindle not a fire that you cannot extinguish

20] One man’s loss is another’s gain

21] With wealth, you are as grand as a dragon; without wealth you are as insignificant as a worm.

22] Through obedience learn to command.

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

24] The proud will sooner lose than ask the way

25] Give us the tools, and we will finish the job

26] Poor men go to heaven as soon as rich

27] Only a fool will make the doctor his heir

28] He that hath a wife and children hath given hostages to fortune

29] All roads lead to Rome

30] The last suitor wins the maid

31] A ragged coat may cover an honest man.

32] If you have known one, you have known them all

33] The thing which is rare is dear

34] Ill news comes unsent for.

35] Cheap is dear in the long run.

36] An ill payer (or paymaster) never wants an excuse

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

38] Soon gotten, soon spent

39] Truth conquers all things

40] Never was a cat or dog drowned, that could but see the shore

41] Men are not angles

42] An honest good look covers many faults.

43] No choice amongst stinking fish

44] Though it rains gold and silver there, it’s a foreign land; though it rains daggers and spears here, it’s our own country

45] Novelty always appears handsome

46] The disinterested observer may perceive what is missed by those who are directly involved

47] It is better to have done something great than to have never been successful

48] Needs must when the devil drives

49] He who owes is in all the wrong

50] A living dog is better than a dead lion

51] Better late than never, but better never late

52] Nature hates all sudden changes

53] Plain dealing is a jewel

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

55] When the word is out it belongs to another

56] The best horse needs breaking, and the aptest child needs teaching

57] He that has no money needs no purse

58] A single filament of silk does not make a thread; a single tree does not make a forest

59] When Greek meets Greek, then comes the tug of war

60] Where there is whispering there is lying

61] He that compiles against his will, is of his own opinion still

62] Poverty is the mother of crime

63] A man’s discontent is his worst evil

64] It is hard to wive and thrive both in a year

65] He travels the fastest who travels alone

66] Care is no cure

67] Choose neither women nor linen by candlelight.

68] Neither a borrower nor a lender be.

69] What’s done cannot be undone

70] An oak is not felled at one stroke

71] If you don’t make mistakes, you don’t make anything

72] Beauty is only skin deep

73] Ill – gotten goods never prosper

74] No wrong without a remedy

75] Jack would be a gentleman if he had money

76] A mouse may help a lion

77] If you would be well served, serve yourself

78] Still waters run deep

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

80] Live not to eat, but eat to live

81] Ninety per cent of inspiration is perspiration

82] Praise no man till he is dead.

83] It the counsel be good, no matter who gave it.

84] Do as say, not as I do

85] Many drops make a shower

86] You cannot have your cake and eat it

87] When in doubt, do nothing

88] Good counsel has no price. Nothing is given so freely as advice.

89] The devil sometimes speaks the truth

90] The heart soon forgets what the eye sees not

91] He is wise who looks ahead

92] Nothing is more contagious than a bad example

93] Experience is not always the kindest of teachers, but it is surely the best

94] Truth lies at the bottom of the well

95] The game is not worth the candle

96] Diligence is the mother of good luck

97] Not good is it to harp on the frayed string

98] Plain dealing is best. Plain dealing is a jewel

99] The receiver is as bad as the thief

100] Black will take no other hue