Famous Proverbs

1] Saving one man’s life is better than building a seven- storied temple.

2] Every one thinks his own sack heaviest

3] He that has a fellow-ruler, has an over-ruler. ¶ There is no good accord, where every man would be a lord

4] The eye is bigger than the belly

5] It is more blessed to give than to receive

6] The dog that fetches, will carry.

7] A good heart conquers ill fortune

8] Hard words break no bones

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

10] Little pitchers have big ears.

11] The fire which warms us a distance will burn us when near

12] Happy is the country (or nation) that has no history

13] Dry bread at home is better than roast meat abroad

14] Never hit a man when he’s down

15] Love is sweet torment

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

17] Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep and you weep alone

18] Tomorrow never comes

19] An old cart well used may outlast a new one abused

20] Patience surpasses learning

21] There is no redemption from hell

22] Laughter makes good blood

23] At a good bargain thinks twice

24] Quietness is a great treasure

25] He who comes first, grinds first.

26] A little learning is dangerous thing

27] Divine grace was never slow

28] Better do a kindness near home than go to a temple far away to burn incense.

29] Three helping one another, bear the burthen of six

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

31] It is not every question that deserves an answer

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

33] Man does what he can, and God what he will

34] A man apt to promise, is apt to forget

35] The higher the mountain, the greater the descent

36] Life would be too smooth, if it has no rubs in it.

37] Whatever man has done, man can do

38] Quickly come, quickly go

39] The worse luck now, the better another time

40] The absent saint gets no candle

41] Wine and wenches empty men’s purses

42] Suffering does not manifest itself

43] Hunger drives the wolf out of the wood

44] Lend only that which you can afford to lose

45] No pot so ugly as not to find a cover

46] If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing well

47] If you do not enter a tiger’s den, you cannot get its cubs

48] Work smart; don’t work hard

49] A good dog deserves a good bone

50] What we spent, we had; what we gave, we have: what we left, we lost

51] God is a sure paymaster

52] It is lawful to learn even from an enemy

53] Take away fuel, take away flame

54] Good to begin well, better to end well.

55] Put out your tubs when it is raining

56] You cannot get ivory from a dog’s mouth

57] We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.

58] We shall beat our swords into ploughshares

59] Everything is good in its season

60] She’s her father’s (or mother’s) daughter

61] Don’t wear out (or outstay) your welcome

62] Delays are not denials

63] A good servant must have good wages

64] If anything can go wrong, it will

65] There are two sides to every question

66] Safety lies in the middle course

67] The garment worn determines how one is served

68] All our pomp the earth covers

69] He that mischief hatches mischief catches.

70] A pot that belongs to many is ill stirred and worse boiled

71] Hunger drives the wolf out of the wood

72] A word spoken is past recalling

73] You can’t clap with one hand

74] It is no use crying over spilt milk

75] No playing with a straw before an old cat.

76] Marry in haste, repent at leisure

77] Love can find a way

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

79] Clothes do not make the man

80] Every advantage has its disadvantage

81] You cannot make bricks without straw

82] When angry, count a hundred

83] The crow laughs at the pig for being black

84] Care killed the cat

85] More than enough is too much

86] Great talkers are never great doers

87] An ill wound is cured, not an ill name

88] Bad laws are the worst sort of tyranny

89] Even silence may be eloquent

90] After a dream of a wedding, comes a corpse

91] Every man is his own worst enemy

92] The child says nothing but what it hears by the fire

93] Wives must be had, be they good or bad

94] Mirth is the sugar of life

95] Fair exchange is no robbery

96] Cowards die many times before their deaths

97] Every man must carry his own cross

98] He that promises too much means nothing

99] Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches

100] Nature hates all sudden changes