Famous Proverbs

1] A great calligrapher isn’t choosy about his brushes.

2] The last suitor wins the maid

3] The envious man shall never want woe

4] Even the lion must defend itself against flies

5] There’s small choice in rotten apples.

6] Every man is the architect of his own fortune

7] A growing youth has a wolf in his belly

8] A deaf husband and a blind wife are always a happy couple

9] Union is strength.

10] Drive thy business or it will drive thee.

11] Silence gives (or means) consent

12] Wash your dirty linen at home

13] Will is no skill

14] He that praises himself, spatters himself

15] Dress up a stick and it does not appear to be a stick

16] There is no redemption from hell

17] Things past cannot be recalled

18] Tune the harp strings to be neither too loose nor too taut

19] A true man and a thief think not the same

20] Nothing is easy to the unwilling

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

22] The longest journey starts with a single step

23] Necessity and opportunity may make a coward valiant

24] Novelty always appears handsome

25] Time lost cannot be recalled

26] The first step is the hardest

27] Better are small fish than an empty dish

28] All things for not all persons

29] The anvil lasts longer than the hammer

30] You know what you can do till you try.

31] The rich knows not who is his friend

32] A fool and his money are soon parted

33] They bow to you when borrowing; you bow to them when collecting

34] Fool rush in where angels fear to trend

35] Slender cannot make a good man bad; when the water recedes, the stone is still there.

36] There is many a fair thing full false

37] Had I fish’ was never good with garlic

38] The wish is father to the thought

39] All roads lead to Rome

40] Diligence is the mother of good luck

41] A thing you don’t want is dear at any price.

42] He who would hang his dog gives out first that it is mad

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

44] Remember, you are but a man

45] Save a stranger from the sea and he’ll turn your enemy

46] Tune the harp strings to be neither too loose nor too taut

47] The balance distinguishes not between gold and lead

48] Every man has the defects of his own virtues (or qualities)

49] The tide must be taken when it comes

50] The owl thinks her own young fairest

51] A good beginning makes a good ending.

52] One hand washes the other

53] Through indecision, opportunity is often lost.

54] The king can do no wrong

55] The mills of God grind slowly but they grind exceedingly small

56] If fortune turns against you, even jelly breaks your tooth

57] Put too much lemon-grass into the curry and you’ll spoil the flavour

58] Vice is often clothed in virtue’s habit

59] Don’t teach your grandmother to suck eggs.

60] He that lends, gives

61] Fair play’s a jewel

62] Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown

63] Do right and fear no man

64] Welcome is the best dish in the kitchen

65] Fine words dress ill deeds

66] Trust is dead-ill payment killed it.

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

68] A merry companion is a wagon on the way

69] The thing which is rare is dear

70] It is misery enough to have once been happy

71] First catch your hare

72] Confession of our fault is the next thing to innocence

73] Envy shoots at others and wounds herself

74] Of a new prince, new bondage

75] It is an ill sign to see a fox lick a lamb

76] East or west, home is best

77] A liar can go round the world but cannot come back

78] We shall lie all alike in our graves

79] What is new cannot be true

80] He who has seen little marvels much

81] The mob has many heads but no brains

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

83] Though the food is plain, stomach may be filled; though the cloth is coarse, one may be clad to a ripe old age

84] Hunger finds no fault with the cookery

85] There would be no great ones if there were no little ones

86] Through obedience learn to command.

87] Honey catches more files than vinegar.

88] A man may learn wit every day.

89] Ill news comes unsent for.

90] Much babbling is not without offence

91] While there is life, there is hope

92] Don’t make a mountain out of molehill

93] Prove your friend ere you have need

94] You cannot sell the cow and sup the milk

95] Beauty is but skin-deep

96] A word is enough to the wise

97] To the hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet. To a thirsty man any drink is sweet.

98] None can guess the jewel by the casket

99] Laws catch flies but let hornets go free

100] Nearest the heart comes out first