Famous Proverbs

1] Wink at small faults

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

3] He who never was sick dies the first fit

4] When you are an anvil, hold still; when you are an anvil, hold still; when you are a hammer, strike your fill.

5] As is the mould, so will the cake be.

6] If you gently touch a nettle, it’ll sting you for your pains; grasp it like a man of mettle, and it soft as silk remains.

7] He that comes first to the hill, may sit where he will.

8] A rich man’s joke is always funny

9] Too long burden makes weary bones

10] Hoist your sail when the wind is fair

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

12] Unpaid debts are unforgiven sins

13] False friends are worse than bitter enemies.

14] Work has a bitter root but sweet fruit.

15] Marriage makes or mars a man

16] Wise men propose, and fools determine

17] Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

18] The buyer needs a hundred eyes, the seller but one

19] Death does not recognize strength

20] A prophet is without honour in his own country

21] He who works before dawn will soon be his own master

22] Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know the man

23] You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear

24] He is not laughed at the laughs at himself first

25] Fools live poor to die rich

26] Gold may be bought too dear

27] Poverty obstructs the road to virtue

28] Homo is a common name to all men.

29] Poverty parts friendship

30] Home is where the heart is

31] Zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse

32] He preaches well (or best) that lives well (or best).

33] Every dog is a lion at home

34] Make haste slowly

35] Never look a gift horse in the mouth.

36] It is all in the day’s work

37] Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!

38] There is no rose without a thorn

39] He who comes first, grinds first.

40] He that is fallen cannot help him that is down

41] Go while the going is good

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

43] Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

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

45] When a fool is sent to market, the storekeepers rejoice

46] He is not fit to command others, that cannot command himself

47] The longest journey starts with a single step

48] Better some of a pudding than none of a pie.

49] Spread the table, and contention will cease

50] The poor suffer all the wrong

51] Look on the bright side

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

53] Spend not where you may save, spare not where you must spend

54] He that flings dirt at another dirtieth himself most

55] A white –wasted crow will not long remain white

56] He is a fool who makes his physician his heir

57] When the horse has reached the brink of the precipice, it is too late to pull the reins.

58] Silence never makes mistakes

59] Bare walls make giddy housewives

60] Eat to live and not live to eat.

61] Love me, love my dog

62] Far from eye, far from heart

63] Local ginger is never as hot as imported ginger

64] It is a foolish bird that soils (or defiles ) its own nest

65] His bark is worse than his bite

66] The eye sees only what it has the power of seeing

67] No sweet without sweat

68] Through hardship to the stars

69] The best things carried to excess are wrong

70] Through indecision, opportunity is often lost.

71] He that is afraid of the devil does not grow rich

72] When wine sinks, words swim

73] God never sends mouths but he sent meat

74] The flesh is aye fairest that is farthest from the bone

75] So many men, so many opinions

76] A single rose does not mean spring

77] Variety is the spice of life

78] The best of men are but men at best.

79] The greatest step is that out of doors

80] If you would know the value of a ducat, try to borrow one

81] When in Rome, do as the Romans do

82] It is too late to call back yesterday

83] All our pomp the earth covers

84] Not even Hercules could contend against two

85] A small pepper is hotter than a large one

86] Punctuality is the politeness of kings.

87] You eat, I dreams, the custard of the day

88] Red ink gives what it touches a pink glow; black ink gives what it touches a dirty stain.

89] A friend in need is a friend indeed

90] Good broth may be made in an old pot

91] Necessity is mother of invention

92] His own ingenuity pricks him.

93] Covetousness is always filling a bottomless vessel

94] An old fox is not easily snared

95] Venture a small fish to catch a big one

96] Eggs and oaths are easily broken

97] He who sits chatting about nothing loses his candle

98] The pot calls the kettle black

99] Beauty is potent but money is omnipotent

100] He that comes of a hen, must scrape