Famous Proverbs

1] Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, and half shut afterwards

2] The wolf knows what the ill beast thinks

3] Beware of him who makes thee presents

4] The difficult is done at once; the impossible takes a little longer

5] In the end, things will mend

6] A child can have too much of his mother’s blessings

7] He who does no good, does evil enough

8] A man may lose more in an hour than he can get in seven

9] Faint heart never won fair lady

10] The fox may grow grey, but never good

11] He who has seen little marvels much

12] Every why has a wherefore

13] Learning is a treasure which accompanies its owner everywhere.

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

15] A goose quill is more dangerous than a lion’s paw

16] Repentance is a bitter physic

17] He that tells a secret, is another’s servant.

18] Christmas comes but once a year

19] Don’t kick against the pricks

20] Don’t try to run before you walk

21] Change brings life

22] If it were not for hope, the heart would break

23] Constant dripping (or dropping) wears away the stone

24] One cannot put back the clock

25] It is no use spoiling the ship for a half penny worth of tar

26] Too many cooks spoil the broth

27] The surest way to remain poor is to be an honest man

28] He conquers who endures

29] There is more than one way to skin a cat.

30] Fear the Greeks (or Beware of Greeks) bearing gifts

31] Throw out a sprat to catch a mackerel

32] Hard cases make bad law

33] Anger and haste hinder good counsel

34] Give a loan and buy quarrel

35] Shame in a kindred cannot be avoided

36] A spear you can see can easily be avoided; a hidden arrows is difficult to guard against.

37] The poor sit on the front benches in Paradise

38] Better the last smile than the first laugh

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

40] A merry companion is a wagon on the way

41] Art improves Nature

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

43] Let sleeping dogs lie

44] Don’t go near the water until you learn how to swim

45] An enemy may chance to give good counsel

46] Like mother, like daughter

47] Ill news comes apace.

48] Everything comes to him who waits

49] It is easier to praise poverty than to bear it.

50] Be careful to whom you give

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

52] Health is better than wealth

53] No land without stones, or meat without bones

54] Love is lawless.

55] Don’t put the cart before the horse

56] Don’t judge any man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins.

57] The earthen pot must keep clear of the brass kettle

58] The voice is the best music

59] Slow but sure wins the race

60] Honour is the reward of virtue

61] He that travels far knows much

62] Conscience does make cowards of us all

63] Soft fire makes sweet malt

64] The darkest place is under the candlestick

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

66] Luck for fools and chance for the ugly

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

68] What will not money do?

69] Naughty boys sometimes make good men.

70] Better at home than a mile from it

71] The cat shuts its eyes while it steals cream

72] From hearing, comes wisdom; from speaking, repentance

73] The more you get, the more you want

74] True doctrines require no miracles

75] There is a great difference between words and deeds

76] After a storm comes a calm

77] In your anxiety to avoid losing a drop, you spill the whole lot

78] Do not cut down the tree that gives you shade

79] What we have seen with out own eyes is very much but what we have not seen is infinite.

80] The death of the wolves is the safety of the sheep

81] Choose your neighbour before your house and your companion before the road.

82] Where your will is ready, your feet are light

83] He that sleeps sound feels not the toothache

84] A mill cannot grind with water that is past

85] An empty purse fills the face with wrinkles

86] Arms bend inwards – not outwards.

87] Friendship is a plant which must be often watered

88] A great city, a great solitude

89] Even fools sometimes speak to the purpose

90] A contented mind is a perpetual feast

91] Better children weep than old men

92] Don’t bite the hand that feeds you

93] It’s dogged that does it

94] Stolen sweets are sweeter

95] Virtue is its own reward

96] A door must be either shut or open

97] Early sow, early mow

98] Lend never that thing you needed most

99] No matter how much perfume you put on an onion, it will still emit a bad smell.

100] A good name is better than riches