Famous Proverbs

1] Sorrow will pay no debt

2] True gold is not transformed by fire

3] The fowler’s pipe sounds sweet till the bird is caught.

4] Laugh before breakfast, you’ll cry before supper

5] The righteous man sins before an open chest

6] Every man has his price

7] The perfect good is the exercise of virtue

8] The ass loaded with gold still eats thistles

9] Truth is mighty and will prevail

10] Borrowed garments never fit well

11] He who hesitates is lost

12] As you sow, so shall you reap

13] The road to hell is paved with good action

14] A fair face may hide a foul heart.

15] Hope keeps man alive

16] When you do not know what to do – wait.

17] Care killed the cat

18] Plain dealing is a jewel, but they that use it die beggars

19] You know what you can do till you try.

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

21] He that has a tongue in his head may find his way anywhere

22] The rich knows not who is his friend

23] The young will sow their wild oats

24] Good riding at two anchors, men have told, for if one breaks the other may hold

25] Enquire not what boils in another’s pot. ¶ Listeners seldom hear good of themselves

26] In a clam sea, every man is a pilot

27] The joy of the heart makes the face fair.

28] Pardon one offence and you encourage many

29] A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

30] Enough is as good as a feast

31] Praise without profit puts little in the pot

32] Sour, sweet, bitter and pungent flavours must all be tasted

33] Little pitchers have big ears.

34] He that comes of a hen, must scrape

35] The exception proves the rule

36] We have all been once in our life

37] Exceptional bravery is often hidden under a cloak of timidity

38] Envy is the sorrow of fools.

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

40] Custom makes all things easy

41] Laugh and grow fat

42] Not even Hercules could contend against two

43] The worth of a thing is what it will bring

44] The king can do no wrong

45] All’s grist that comes to the mill.

46] It is good sheltering under an old hedge

47] The eye of the master will do more work than both his hands

48] Punctuality is the politeness of kings.

49] It is easier to raise the devil than to lay him

50] A good reaper deserves a good sickle.

51] Before you marry, be sure of a house wherein to tarry

52] Give me fire and I’ll give you light

53] Love rules without a sword, and binds without a cord

54] It at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again

55] No one is rich enough to do without his neighbours

56] No tie can oblige the perfidious

57] Adam’s ale is the best brew

58] As you brew, so shall you drink.

59] As long as the old horse lives, his habits will not change

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

61] The last drop makes the cup run over

62] Nothing venture (or ventured), nothing gain (or gained)

63] Crows are all completely black

64] It is well to live that one may learn

65] It is ill sitting at Rome and striving against the pope

66] Let us do evil that good may come

67] A hungry man smells meat afar off

68] The bigger they are, the harder they fall

69] Arms bend inwards – not outwards.

70] The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak

71] The healthful man can give counsel to the sick

72] Time flies

73] You cannot make a crab walk straight

74] Business is business

75] Grief pent up will break the heart

76] Give and take is fair play

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

78] Pinch the right thigh and the left will feel the pain too.

79] Corn him well and he will work better

80] It is easier to pull down than to build

81] He who comes first, grinds first.

82] He has to do what is foul, never comes away clean

83] The more laws, the more offenders

84] He who can wait obtains what he wishes.

85] Hungry dogs will eat dirty puddings

86] Time and tide wait for no man

87] He who last, laughs longest.

88] Ask a silly question and you’ll get a silly answer.

89] A rich man’s joke is always funny

90] Have but few friends, though many acquaintances

91] Curses, like chickens, come home to roost

92] A good servant must have good wages

93] Virtue is the only true nobility

94] The falling drops hollow the stone

95] He who sows, trusts in God

96] A discontented man knows not where to sit easy

97] It is a great victory that comes without blood

98] Anger restrained is wisdom gained

99] Have but few friends, though many acquaintances

100] Burn not your house to rid it of the mouse.