Famous Proverbs

1] He is a good friend that speaks well of us behind our backs

2] Flesh is frail

3] A gift in hand is better than two promises.

4] A lion may be beholden to a mouse

5] Every medal has its reverse

6] Give the devil his due

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

8] A good wife is a good prize

9] Life is not all beer and skittles

10] A man must plough with such oxen as he has

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

12] A good name is sooner lost than won

13] He who demands does not command

14] Like father, like son

15] The longest journey starts with a single step

16] Children pick up words as pigeons peas, and utter than again as god shall please

17] It chances in an hour, that appears not in seven years

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

19] First impressions are half the battle

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

21] When children stand quiet, they have done some ill.

22] He that would the daughter win, must with the mother first begin

23] Many would be cowards, if they had courage enough

24] He who serves is not free

25] You cannot unscramble eggs

26] Courtesy on one side never lasts long

27] Have but few friends, though many acquaintances

28] Rip not up old sores

29] He that will not be counseled, cannot be helped

30] Three helping one another, bear the burthen of six.

31] The righteous man sins before an open chest

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

33] The best is often the enemy of the good

34] Fools rush in where angles fear to tread

35] The world is full of fools

36] Where there’s muck, there’s money

37] A successful man is seldom at ease; a life of ease does not breed success

38] A kind heart loseth nought at last.

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

40] A single arrow is easily broken, but not ten in a bundle.

41] Truth has a good face but bad clothes

42] Knavery may serve for a turn, nut honesty is best in the long run

43] Lovers are madmen

44] Every tub must stand on its own bottom

45] If you run after two hares, you will catch neither

46] Even a worm will turn

47] When I lent, I was a friend; and when I asked, I was unkind

48] One master in a house is enough

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

50] He who peeps through a hole, may see what will vex him

51] Brave actions never want a trumpet.

52] Keep not ill men company, lest you increase the number

53] A deaf husband and a blind wife are always a happy couple

54] He gives twice who gives quickly

55] Wine is the best broom for trouble

56] Words bind men

57] Pride is the mask of one’s own faults

58] The fox may grow grey, but never good

59] Talk of an angel and you’ll hear the fluttering of his wings

60] Weeds need no sowing

61] If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em

62] Two blacks do not make a white

63] All is fair in love and war

64] Joy and sorrow are next door neighbours.

65] Every law has a loophole

66] A secret fire is discovered by the smoke

67] Eaten bread is soon forgotten

68] Self-preservation is the first law of nature

69] Big words seldom go with good deeds

70] To beat a tiger, one must have a brother’s help.

71] Make hay while the sun shines

72] See how the wind blows

73] No convenience without its inconvenience

74] We shall lie all alike in our graves

75] Content lodges oftener in cottages than palaces

76] Anything will fit a naked man.

77] Gluttony kills more than the sword

78] Long roads test the horse; long dealings test the friend

79] There is no royal road to learning

80] What can you expect from a hog but a grunt?

81] When you know there are tigers on the hills, don’t go there

82] Time flees without a delay

83] Call no man happy till he is dead

84] Children and fools must not play with edged tools

85] Misfortune arrives on horseback but departs on foot

86] A penny weight of love is worth a pound of law

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

88] He who says what he likes shall hear what he does not like

89] An old man’s sayings are seldom untrue

90] Moderation in all things

91] Easter so longed for is gone in a day

92] He who rouses a sleeping tiger exposes himself to danger

93] The ass loaded with gold still eats thistles

94] One can’t go to bed when a visit or stays late

95] When fortune smiles, embrace her.

96] One good deed makes up for a thousand bad ones.

97] Misfortunes find their way even on the darkest night

98] That fish will soon be caught that nibbles at every bait

99] If you always say ‘No’, you’ll never get married

100] Every one thinks his own sack heaviest