Famous Proverbs

1] Poison is poison though it comes in a golden cup.

2] A clear conscience fears not false accusations

3] A still tongue makes a wise head

4] Men leap over where the hedge is lowest

5] Much meat, much malady

6] The great fish eat up the small

7] Golden lads and girls all must, as chimney-sweepers, come to dust

8] He who cannot bear misfortune is truly unfortunate.

9] He who depends on another, dines ill and sups worse

10] The lone sheep is in danger of the wolf

11] Courtesy on one side never lasts long

12] Marriage halves our griefs, doubles our joys and quadruples our expenses

13] He that has plenty of goods will have more

14] The tailor makes the man

15] He that knows little often repeats it

16] Be just before you are generous

17] Many a true word is spoken in jest

18] Misfortunes find their way even on the darkest night

19] Cleanliness is next to godliness

20] Charity begins at home.

21] Desires are nourished by delays

22] It is an ill dog that deserves not a crust

23] Patience surpasses learning

24] The early bird catches the worm

25] To know the husband, observe the face of the wife

26] Knowledge is the mother of all virtue; all vice proceeds from ignorance

27] The poorer one is, the more devils one meets

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

29] It is too late to lock the stable when the horse has been stolen

30] Poor men’s words have little weight

31] We must not look for a golden life in an iron age

32] Old habits die hard

33] Learn to see in another’s misfortune, the ills which you should avoid.

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

35] It is easy to do what one’s own self wills

36] An angry man opens his mouth and shuts his eyes.

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

38] Even the compelling beauty of the Diamond Mountain cannot be appreciated when the stomach is empty

39] The noblest vengeance is to forgive

40] What one loses (or you lose) on the swings, one makes up (or you gain) on the roundabouts

41] Penny wise, pound foolish

42] Dreams are lies

43] The exception proves the rule

44] Content lodges oftener in cottages than palaces

45] Cowardice is afraid to be known or seen

46] He that asks faintly begs a denial.

47] It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive

48] Love and business teach eloquence

49] God’s lambs will play.

50] Life means strife

51] Wine is the best broom for trouble

52] He who comes first, grinds first.

53] Delay is the antidote of anger

54] Harp not for ever on the same string

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

56] Whatever man has done, man can do

57] Failure teaches success

58] If you have no honey in your pot, have some in your mouth.

59] Black will take no other hue

60] He who would climb the ladder must begin at the bottom

61] Many eyes upon the king

62] Appearances are deceptive

63] Plain dealing is a jewel

64] Good words are worth much and cost little

65] Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t

66] He who envies admits his inferiority

67] It is easier to capture a tiger in the hills than to ask for favours from a man

68] For a web begun, God sends the thread

69] An old horse knows the route

70] Rome was not built in a day

71] Hypocrisy is a homage that vice pay to virtue

72] If your can’t help friend with money, help him at least with a sigh

73] Men strain at gnats and swallow camels

74] God forgives sins, otherwise heaven would be empty.

75] He is rich that has few wants

76] A long tongue is a sign of a short hand

77] Words have wings, and cannot be recalled

78] Every light has its shadow

79] Wife and Children are bills of charges

80] He that forecasts all perils will never sail the sea

81] The longest (or farthest) way round is the nearest (or shortest) way home.

82] Better learn late than never

83] It is easier to capture a tiger in the hills than to ask for favours from a man

84] A good servant should never be in the way and never out of the way

85] An enemy may chance to give good counsel

86] A wicked man is his own hell

87] A good wife makes a good husband

88] A fool’s bolt may sometimes hit the mark

89] Often and little eating makes a man fat

90] In doing we learn.

91] Great minds think alike

92] A cat may look at a king

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

94] His own ingenuity pricks him.

95] That which Nature paints never fades

96] Clean and whole makes poor clothes shine.

97] Boys will be boys

98] No cross, no crown

99] One foot is better than two crutches

100] Our worst misfortunes are those which never befall us