Famous Proverbs

1] Goods that are much on show lose their colour

2] A creaking gate (or door) hangs long

3] It is as hard to please a knave as knight

4] Charity begins at home.

5] Findings are keepings

6] Frugality is the mother of virtue

7] Every flow must have its ebb

8] Discretion is the better part of valour

9] Pride dines on vanity, sups on contempt

10] The end makes all equal

11] One hour today is worth two tomorrow

12] An obedient wife commands her husband

13] Those who live near water know the nature of fish; those who live near hills know the calls of birds

14] Where there is peace, there is blessing

15] Even though one’s aunt sells the cakes, one will not buy unless they are cheap.

16] He that asks faintly begs a denial.

17] Pleasing ware is half sold

18] Children and fools cannot lie.

19] Valour delights in the test

20] The charitable give out at the door, and God puts in at the window

21] Friendship should not be all on one side

22] Dead men don’t bite

23] Know thyself

24] Point not at other’s spots with a foul finger

25] Revenge is sweet

26] The noblest vengeance is to forgive

27] None so busy as those who do nothing.

28] Speech is silver, silence is golden

29] It is a hard-fought field where no man escapes unkilled

30] Take away fuel, take away flame

31] A prophet is without honour in his own country

32] Many doctors, death accomplished

33] He who does not rise with the sun does not enjoy the day

34] Gnaw the bone which is fallen to thy lot

35] What is the mother of industry

36] Good words are worth much and cost little

37] Thatch your roof before the rain begins

38] He that sows thistles shall reap prickles.

39] All that glitters is not gold

40] Truth is god’s daughter

41] The biter is sometimes bit

42] You never know what you can do till you try

43] When the boat reaches the middle of the river, it is too late to repair the leak

44] It is the first step that is troublesome

45] Like breeds like

46] You cannot teach an old dog new tricks

47] He that has a wife, has strife

48] The longest journey starts with a single step

49] A contented mind is a perpetual feast

50] The good intention excuses the bad action

51] Like mother, like daughter

52] Solitude is the best nurse of wisdom

53] One learns to know oneself best behind one’s back

54] Words bind men

55] Honour is the reward of virtue

56] He that eats well should do his duty well

57] A crust is better than no bread.

58] At the end of the game, you’ll see who’s the winner

59] Never judge from appearances

60] From small beginnings come great things

61] Common fame is a liar

62] It is easy to bear the misfortunes of others

63] A man can die but once

64] Every horse thinks its own pack heaviest

65] Do as most men do, then most men well speak well of you

66] Ill luck is good for something

67] Innocence is no protection

68] Kindness is the noblest weapon to conquer with.

69] The end justifies the means

70] Kick a tone in anger, and you will hurt your own feet

71] Each day brings its own bread

72] Everyone leaps over the dyke where it is lowest

73] Truth has a good face but bad clothes

74] Repentance is a bitter physic

75] Truth lies at the bottom of the well

76] Never spur a willing horse

77] The cow knows not what her tail is worth till she has lost it

78] How ever much you learn, you won’t know how to raise the dead

79] Fields have eyes and woods have ears

80] He that will not have peace, God gives him war

81] Soon gotten, soon spent

82] A good heart conquers ill fortune

83] He that cannot ask, cannot live

84] Ill news comes often on the back of worse

85] A joke never gains over an enemy, but often loses a friend

86] A jest breaks no bones

87] A traveller may lie with authority

88] Envy eats nothing but it own heart

89] Reputation is often got without merit, and lost without crime

90] He that comes of a hen, must scrape

91] He who sows, trusts in God

92] Desperate diseases need (or must have) desperate cures

93] Don’t try to run before you walk

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

95] Even the lion must defend itself against flies

96] Money talks

97] Know when to spend and when to spare, and you need not be busy, you’ll never be bare

98] God (or Providence) is always on the side of big battalions

99] The thing which is rare is dear

100] Courtesy (Or Civility, or Politeness) costs nothing