Famous Proverbs

1] He that touches pitch shall be defiled

2] He that will thrive, must rise at five; he that has thriven, may lie till seven; but he that will never thrive may lie till eleven

3] You cannot sell the cow and sup (or drink) the milk

4] The devil looks after his own

5] You cannot make an omelette without breaking eggs

6] If an ass goes a – traveling, he’ll not come home a horse

7] The last suitor wins the maid

8] Happy is the country (or nation) that has no history

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

10] Great actions speak minds

11] A good servant should never be in the way and never out of the way

12] True doctrines require no miracles

13] Death alone can kill hope

14] What is the good of a sundial in the shade?

15] You may force a man to shut his eyes but you can’t make him sleep

16] If anything can go wrong, it will

17] The wise forget an insult, as the ungrateful a kindness

18] Better die a beggar than live a beggar

19] The worst wheel of the cart creaks most

20] Water far away will not extinguish a fire that is nearby; relatives far from you are not as good as neighbours close to you.

21] A good horse cannot wear two saddles

22] What can’t be cured must be endured

23] The tongue is more to be feared than the sword

24] A little help is worth a deal of pity

25] The great would have none great, and the little all little

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

27] Birds of a feather flock together

28] The pitcher goes often to the well that it is broken at last

29] A good conscience is a sure card

30] Wedlock is padlock

31] The least boy always carries the greatest fiddle

32] Dogs bite twice those who wear ragged clothes.

33] Don’t teach your grandmother how to suck eggs

34] A penny saved is a penny gained

35] He that is long a-giving knows not how to give

36] Armies are maintained for years to be used on a single day.

37] Children and chickens must be always picking

38] In peace, prepare for war

39] He who wills the end, Wills the means

40] He knows most who speaks least

41] He travels the fastest who travels alone

42] A good payer is master of another’s purse

43] Many hands make light work

44] Wine is one thing; drunkenness another

45] It’s a long lane that has no turning

46] A beggar pays a benefit with a louse

47] Appetite comes with eating

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

49] Little pitchers have big ears.

50] Covetousness brings nothing home

51] Sadness and happiness succeed each other.

52] There is nothing like being on the safe side

53] A good garden may have some ill weeds

54] Tomorrow is another day

55] It is an ill bargain where no man wins

56] Dogs that bark at a distance bite not at hand

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

58] The tyranny of a multitude is a multiplied tyranny

59] An old horse knows the route

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

61] The folly of one man is the fortune of another

62] A mill cannot grind with water that is past

63] A fool’s bolt is soon shot

64] The proud will sooner lose than ask the way

65] A curse will not strike out an eye unless a fist goes with it

66] Old cattle breed not

67] Small is the seed of every greatness

68] Example is better than precept

69] The beaten road is the safest

70] A good face is a letter of recommendation

71] Waste is not grandeur

72] Talk of the devil, and he is bound to appear

73] What’s learnt in the cradle lasts till the tomb

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

75] The tongue is not steel, yet it cuts

76] The greatest step is that out of doors

77] Dead men tell no tales

78] A man has choice to begin love, but not to end it.

79] Better a louse in the pot than no flesh at all

80] Better a lean peace than a fat victory

81] To take revenge is often to sacrifice oneself

82] Never spend your money before you have it

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

84] To refuse and to give tardily is all the same

85] Had I fish’ was never good with garlic

86] Striving to better, often we mar what’s well.

87] Since god has not bent the top of the palm tree, he has given a long neck to the giraffe

88] Where god will help, nothing does harm

89] In vain they rise early that used to rise late

90] Heaven takes care of children, sailor and drunken men

91] You can’t take it with you when you die

92] A fool says what he knows, and a wise man knows what he says.

93] Forewarned is forearmed

94] If you don’t have good weapons, it is better for you to submit

95] All good things must come to an end

96] Pride is at the bottom of all mistakes

97] Kindle not a fire that you cannot extinguish

98] A jack of all traders is master of none

99] No sweet without sweat

100] What the fool does in the end, the wise man does at the beginning