MarketList of proverbial phrases
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List of proverbial phrases

Below is an alphabetical list of widely used and repeated proverbial phrases. If known, their origins are noted.

A
A bad excuse is better than noneA bad penny always turns upA bad workman blames his toolsA bird in the hand is worth two in the bushA cat may look at a kingA chain is only as strong as its weakest linkA dog is a man's best friendA drowning man will clutch at a strawA fool and his money are soon partedA friend in need (is a friend indeed)A friend to everyone is a friend to no oneA journey of a thousand miles begins with a single stepA little learning is a dangerous thingA leopard cannot change its spots • A man can do what he wills but he cannot will what he wills • A mill cannot grind with the water that is past • A miss is as good as a mile • A new language is a new life (Persian proverb) • A penny saved is a penny earnedA picture is worth a thousand wordsA rising tide lifts all boatsA rolling stone gathers no moss • A ship in harbour is safe, but that's not what a ship is for • A stitch in time (saves nine)A stopped clock is right twice a day • A watched man never plays • A watched pot/kettle never boilsAbsence makes the heart grow fonderAbsolute power corrupts absolutely (John Dalberg-Acton, 1887) • Accidents will happen (in the best-regulated families)Actions speak louder than words • Adversity makes strange bedfellows • All good things come to him who waitsAll good things must come to an endAll hands on deck/to the pump • All is grist that comes to the mill • All roads lead to RomeAll that glitters/glistens is not gold • All the world loves a lover • All things come to those who wait • All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare (Spinoza) • All things must pass • All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy • All you need is love • All is fair in love and war • All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds • All is well that ends wellAn apple a day keeps the doctor awayAn army marches on its stomachAn eye for an eye, a tooth for a toothAn eye for an eye makes the whole world blind (Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948), leader of the Indian independence movement) • An Englishman's home is his castle/A man's home is his castleAnother day, another dollar • An honest man doesn't need to remember much • An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cureAny port in a stormAny publicity is good publicityApril showers bring forth May flowers • Anything worth doing is hard • As a tree bends, so shall it grow • As queer as a three dollar billAs the twig is bent, so is the tree inclinedAs you make your bed, so you must lie upon itAs you sow so shall you reapAsk a silly question and you will get a silly answer • Ask my companion if I be a thief • Ask no questions and hear no lies • Attack is the best form of defense • At the end of my rope ==B==
B
Bad news travels fastBad money drives out goodBarking dogs seldom biteBeauty is in the eye of the beholderBeauty is only skin deep • Before setting out on a mission of vengeance, dig two graves • Beggars cannot be choosersBehind every great man, there is a great womanBetter late than neverBetter safe than sorryBetter to reign in hell than serve in heaven (John Milton, in Paradise Lost) • Be yourselfBetter the Devil you know (than the Devil you do not) • Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all • Better to light one candle than to curse the darkness • Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt • Better wear out than rust out • Beware of Greeks bearing gifts (Trojan War, Virgil in the Aeneid) • Big fish eat little fish • Birds of a feather (flock together)Blood is thicker than waterBorn with a silver spoon in one's mouthBoys will be boysBrevity is the soul of wit (William Shakespeare) • Business before pleasure • Buy once, cry once • Buy cheap, buy twice ==C==
C
Caesar's wife must be above suspicion • Calm seas never made a good sailor • Careless talk costs lives • Charity begins at homeCheats never prosper • Cheese, wine, and friends must be old to be good. • Children should be seen and not heardChristmas comes but once a year • Civility costs nothing and buys everything (Mary Wortley Montagu) • Cleanliness is next to godlinessClothes don't make the manClothes make the man • Coffee and love taste best when hot (Ethiopian proverb) • Cold hands, warm heart • Comparisons are odious • Count your blessings • Courage is the measure of a Man, Beauty is the measure of a Woman • Cowards may die many times before their death • Crime does not pay • Cream rises to the top • Criss-cross, applesauce • Cross the stream where it is shallowest • Cut your coat according to your cloth • Cut the head off the snake (see Lernaean Hydra myth) • Curiosity killed the cat ==D==
D
Dead men tell no talesDenial is not a river in EgyptDevil take the hindmostDiscretion is the better part of valourDo as I say, not as I doDo as you would be done byDo not bite the hand that feeds youDo not burn your bridges behind youDo not carry coals to NewcastleDo not cast your pearls before swineDo not cry over spilled milkDo not change horses in midstreamDo not count your chickens before they are hatchedDo not cross the bridge till you come to itDo not cut off your nose to spite your face • Do not dish it if you can't take it • Do not judge a book by its coverDo not keep a dog and bark yourself • Do not let the bastards grind you down • Do not let the grass grow beneath (one's) feetDo not look a gift horse in the mouthDo not make a mountain out of a mole hill • Do not meet troubles half-way • Do not put all your eggs in one basketDo not put the cart before the horseDo not put too many irons in the fireDo not put new wine into old bottlesDo not rock the boatDo not shut/lock the stable door after the horse has bolted • Do not spend it all in one place • Do not spoil the ship for a ha'porth of tarDo not throw pearls to swineDo not teach your Grandmother to suck eggsDo not throw the baby out with the bathwaterDo not try to walk before you can crawlDo not upset the apple-cartDo not wash your dirty linen in public • Do not sympathize with those who can not empathize • Do unto others as you would have them do unto you ( the Golden Rule) • Doubt is the beginning, not the end, of wisdom • Don't take any wooden nickels ==E==
E
Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise (Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), polymath and Founding Father of the United States) • Easier said than doneEast is east, and west is west (and never the twain shall meet) • East, west, home is best • Easy come, easy go • Easy, times easy, is still easy • Early marriage, earlier pregnant • Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper • Eat, drink and be merry, (for tomorrow we die)Empty vessels make the most noiseEnough is as good as a feastEven a worm will turn • Even from a foe a man may learn wisdom • Every cloud has a silver liningEvery dog has his dayEvery Jack has his JillEvery little bit helpsEvery man for himself (and the Devil take the hindmost) • Every man has his price • Every picture tells a story • Every stick has two ends • Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die • Everyone has their priceEverything comes to those who wait • Every tide has its ebb ==F==
F
• Failing to plan is planning to fail • Faint heart never won fair ladyFair exchange is no robberyFaith will move mountainsFall seven times, stand up eight • False friends are worse than open enemies • Fake it till you make itFamiliarity breeds contemptFeed a cold, starve a feverFight fire with fireFine feathers make fine birdsFinders keepers (losers weepers)Fine words butter no parsnipsFirst come, first served • First impressions are the most lasting • First things firstFish always rots from the head downwardsFish and guests smell after three days • Flattery will get you nowhere • Fools rush in (where angels fear to tread)For want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the man was lost • Forewarned is forearmedFortune favours the bold/brave • Free is for me • From the sublime to the ridiculous there is but a step • From its fruit the tree is known ==G==
H
Half a loaf is better than no breadHandsome is as handsome doesHard cases make bad law • Hard work never did anyone any harm • Haste makes waste • He that goes a-borrowing, goes a-sorrowing • He who can, does; he who cannot, teaches • He who hesitates is lostHe who laughs last laughs longestHe who lives by the sword, dies by the sword • He who loves the world as his body may be entrusted with the empire – Laozi, Chinese philosopher (604 BC – c. 531 BC) • He who makes a beast out of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man • He who pays the piper calls the tune • He who knows does not speak. He who speaks does not know – Laozi, Chinese philosopher (604 BC – c. 531 BC) • Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned; Heav'n has no Rage, like Love to Hatred turn'd, Nor Hell a Fury, like a Woman scorn'dWilliam Congreve, The Mourning Bride, Act III scene viii • Hindsight is always twenty-twentyHistory repeats itselfHome is where the heart isHonesty is the best policy • Hope for the best, and prepare for the worst • Hope springs eternalHorses for courses • How long is a piece of string? • Hunger never knows the taste, sleep never knows the comfort ==I==
I
Idle hands are the devil's workshopIf anything can go wrong, it will (Also referred to as Murphy's law) • If a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well • If at first you do not succeed, try, try again • If God had meant us to fly, he would have given us wings • If ifs and ands were pots and pans, there would be no work for tinkers • If ifs and buts were candies and nuts, we'd all have a merry Christmas • If it ain't broke, don't fix it • If it were not for hope the heart would break • If it were a snake, it would have bit you • If the shoe fits, wear itIf the mountain will not come to Mohammed, then Mohammed must go to the mountain • If wealth is lost, nothing is lost. If health is lost, something is lost. If character is lost, everything is lost • If wishes were horses, beggars would ride • If you're growing in age, then you're nearing to the graveyard • If you can't be good, be careful • If you can't beat them, join them • If you can't live longer, live deeper • If you can't run with the horses, get off the track • If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen • If you give a mouse a cookie, he'll always ask for a glass of milk • If you think that you know everything, then you're a Jack ass • If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas (James Sandford, The Garden of Pleasure) • If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys • If you play with fire, you will get burned • If you steal from one author, it is plagiarism; if you steal from many, it is research (Wilson Mizner (1876–1933), American writer and entrepreneur) • If you want a thing done well, do it yourself • If you have never seen the bottom of the tree, you cannot know how tall it stands • If you must dance with the Devil, you might as well know his favorite song (H. Anthony Ribadeneira) • If you've got it, flaunt it • Ignorance is bliss • Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery • In for a penny, in for a pound • (March comes) in like a lion, (and goes) out like a lamb • In the kingdom of the blind, the one eyed man is king • In the midst of life, we are in death • Into every life a little rain must fall • It's the little things • It ain't over till/until it's over • It ain't over till the fat lady sings • It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so • It goes without sayingIt is a small worldIt is all grist to the millIt is an ill wind (that blows no one any good) • It is best to be on the safe side • It is better to be smarter than you appear than to appear smarter than you are • It is better to give than to receive • It is better to cultivate a Land with two Bulls, rather working under Boss who never gives Wage when asked • It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive • It is easy to be wise after the event • It's Greek to me • It is like juggling sand (Ian Murray) • It is never too late • It is no use crying over spilt milkIt is no use locking the stable door after the horse has bolted • It is not enough to learn how to ride, you must also learn how to fall • It is onIt is the early bird that gets the worm • It is the empty can that makes the most noise • It is the squeaky wheel that gets the greaseIt is what it is • It needs a hundred lies to cover a single lie • It never rains but it pours • It takes a thief to catch a thief • It takes a whole village to raise a childIt takes all sorts to make a worldIt takes one to know oneIt takes two to tango • I'm going to have to give you the pink slip • It will come back and haunt you • It will be the same a hundred years hence • Islands depend on reeds, just as reeds depend on islands (Myanmar proverbs) ==J==
K
Keep your chin upKeep your friends close and your enemies closerKeep your powder dry (Valentine Blacker, 1834 from ''Oliver's Advice'') • Kill the chicken to scare the monkeyKill the goose that lays the golden egg(s)Kill two birds with one stone. • Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love (Laozi, Chinese philosopher, 604 BC – c. 531 BC) • Knock on (or touch) woodKnow which side (one's) bread is buttered (on)Knowledge is power, guard it well ==L==
L
A language is a dialect with an army and navyThe last drop makes the cup run overLaugh before breakfast, cry before supper • Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone • Laughter is the best medicine • Late lunch makes day go faster • Learn a language, and you will avoid a war (Arab proverb) • Let the dead bury the dead (N.T.) • Let the punishment fit the crime • Let well aloneLet your hair down • Lie back and think of England • Life begins at forty • Life is too short not to do something that matters. • Life is not all beer and skittles • Life is what you make it • Lightning never strikes twice in the same placeLike father, like sonLike white on riceLittle pitchers have big earsLittle strokes fell great oaks • Little things please little minds • Live and let live • Live each day as if it were your last and one day you will surely be right • Live for today, for tomorrow never comes • Live to fight another day (This saying comes from an English proverbial rhyme, "He who fights and runs away, may live to fight another day") • Loose lips sink shipsLook before you leapLove is blindThe Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act II, Scene 1 (1591) • Love of money is the root of all evil • Love makes the world go around • Love will find a way ==M==
M
Make hay while the sun shinesMake love not war • Man does not live by bread alone • Man proposes, heaven disposes • Man thinks, God laughs • Manners maketh man • Many a little makes a mickle • Many a mickle makes a muckleMany a true word is spoken in jestMany hands make light work • March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb • Marriages are made in heaven • Marry in haste, repent at leisure • Memory is the treasure of the mind • Men are blind in their own cause – Heywood Broun (1888–1939), American journalist • Men get spoiled by staying, women get spoiled by wandering • Might is right • Might makes rightMighty oaks from little acorns growMilking the bullMisery loves company • Moderation in all things • Monday's child is fair of face, Tuesday's child is full of grace, Wednesday's child is full of woe, Thursday's child has far to go, Friday's child is loving and giving, Saturday's child works hard for its living, and a child that is born on the Sabbath day is fair and wise and good and gay • Money does not grow on trees • Money earned by deceit, goes by deceit • Money is not everything • Money demands care, you abuse it and it disappears – Rashida Costa • Money makes the world go around • Money talks • Money makes many things, but also makes devil dance • More haste, less speed • Mud sticks • Music has charms to soothe the savage beast ==N==
N
Nature abhors a vacuumNature does not do anything in vainNecessity is the mother of inventionNeeds must when the devil drivesNever cast a clout until May be out • Never give advice unless asked • Never give a sucker an even break • Never judge a book by its cover • Never let the sun go down on your anger • Never let the truth get in the way of a good story • Never look a gift horse in the mouthNever put off until tomorrow what you can do today • Never reveal a man's wage, and woman's age • Never speak ill of the dead • Never say dieNever say neverNever tell tales out of schoolNever too old to learn • Nine tailors make a man, • No friends but the mountainsNo guts, no gloryNo man can serve two mastersNo man is an islandNo names, no pack-drillNo news is good news • No one can make you feel inferior without your consent • No pain, no gain • No rest for the wicked • Not all those who wander are lost – "All that is gold does not glitter" J.R.R. Tolkien (1954) • Nothing is certain but death and taxes • Nothing succeeds like successNothing ventured, nothing gained ==O==
O
Oil and water do not mixOf course my horse • Old sins cast long shadows. • Old soldiers never die, (they simply/just fade away). From a Great War soldiers' song; the phrase was most notably referred to by U.S. General Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) in his farewell address to the Congress. • Once a(n) _, always a(n) _ • Once bitten, twice shyOne good turn deserves another • One half of the world does not know how the other half lives • One hand washes the other • One kind word can warm three winter months • One man's meat is another man's poisonOne man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighterOne man's trash is another man's treasureOne might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb • One might as well throw water into the sea as to do a kindness to rogues • One law for the rich and another for the poor • One who hates gifts shall live • Opportunity does not knock until you build a door • One swallow does not make a summer • One who believes in Sword, dies by the Sword • One who speaks only one language is one person, but one who speaks two languages is two people. Turkish Proverb • One year's seeding makes seven years weeding • Only fools and horses work • Open confession is good for the soul. • Opportunity never knocks twice at any man's doorOther times other manners.Out of sight, out of mindOut of the frying pan and into the fireOut of the mouths of babes (and sucklings) ==P==
R
• Rain does not fall on one roof alone. • Reason is the slave of passion • Red sky at night, shepherd's delight; red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning • Repetition is the mother of learning • Respect is not given, it is earned. • Revenge is a dish best served coldRevenge is sweetRome wasn't built in a dayRight or wrong, my countryRisk it for the biscuit • Rules for thee, not for me. • Rules were made to be broken ==S==
S
• See a pin and pick it up, all the day you will have good luck; See a pin and let it lay, bad luck you will have all day • See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evilSeeing is believingSeek and ye shall findSet a thief to catch a thief • Shiny are the distant hills • Shrouds have no pockets • (Speech is silver but) Silence is golden • Sit crooked and talk straight • Slow and steady wins the raceSlow is smooth, smooth is fastSlowly but surelySnake in the grassSoftly, softly, catchee monkeySome are more equal than othersSpare the rod and spoil the child • Speak as you find • Speak of the devil and he shall/is sure/will appearSpeak softly and carry a big stick • Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me • Still waters run deepStrike while the iron is hot • Stupid is as stupid does • Success has many fathers, while failure is an orphan • (A) swarm in May is worth a load of hay; a swarm in June is worth a silver spoon; but a swarm in July is not worth a fly • Sucks to suck ==T==
T
• Take care of the pennies, and the pounds will take care of themselves • Talk is cheap • Talk of Angels, and hear the flutter of their wings • Tell me who your friends are, and I'll tell you who you are • Tell the truth and shame the Devil (Shakespeare, Henry IV) • The age of miracles is past • The apple does not fall/never falls far from the tree • The best condiments are authentic flavors • The best defense is a good offenseThe best-laid plans of mice and men often go awryThe best things in life are freeThe bigger they are, the harder they fall • The boy is the father of the man • The bread never falls but on its buttered side • The cobbler always wears the worst shoes • The comeback is greater than the setback • The course of true love never did run smooth • The customer is always right • The darkest hour is just before the dawn • The Devil finds work for idle hands to do • The Devil looks after his own • The die is castThe early bird catches the wormThe end justifies the meansThe enemy of my enemy is my friend • The exception which proves the rule • The female of the species is more deadly than the male • The good die young • The grass is always greener (on the other side) (of the fence)The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world • The husband is always the last to know • The innocent seldom find an uncomfortable pillow – William Cowper, English poet (1731–1800) • The labourer is worthy of his hire • It is the last straw that breaks the camel's back • The law is an ass (from English writer Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist) • The leopard does not change his spots • The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing • The light is on but nobody is home • The longest day must have an end • The longest journey starts with a single step • The Moon is made of green cheese • The more the merrier • The more things change, the more they stay the same • The nail that sticks out gets hammered down • The only way to understand a woman is to love her • The old wooden spoon beats me down • The only way to find a friend is to be one • The pen is mightier than the swordThe pot calling the kettle blackThe proof of the pudding is in the eatingThe rich get richer and the poor get poorerThe road to Hell is paved with good intentions • The shoemaker's son always goes barefoot • The squeaky wheel gets the greaseThe squeaky wheel gets the oilThe streets are paved with goldThe truth will set you free • The way to a man's heart is through his stomach • The work praises the man. • There ain't no such thing as a free lunch • There are more ways of killing a cat than choking it with cream • There are none so blind as those who will not see attributed variously to Edmund Burke or George Santayana • There are two sides to every question • There but for the grace of God go I • There is an exception to every rule • There are always more fish in the sea • There is honour among thieves • There is many a good tune played on an old fiddle • There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lipThere's more than one way to skin a catThere is no accounting for tastes • There is no fool like an old fool • There is no I in team • There's no need to wear a hair shirt • There is no place like home • There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out. • There is no smoke without fire/Where there is smoke, there is fire • There is no such thing as a free lunch • There is no such thing as bad publicity • There is no time like the present • There are none so deaf as those who will not hear • There's nowt so queer as folk • There is one born every minute • There is safety in numbers (Proverbs 11:14) • They that sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind • Third time is a charm • Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it George SantayanaThose who live in glass houses should not throw stones • Those who know many languages live as many lives as the languages they know (Czech proverb) • Those who sleep with dogs will rise with fleas (James Sandford, The Garden of Pleasure) • Time and tide wait for no man • Time flies • Time goes by slowly when you are living intensely • Time is a great healer • Time is money • Time is wasted without purpose • (Only) time will tell • 'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all • To be worn out is to be renewed – Laozi, Chinese philosopher (604 BC – c. 531 BC) • To each his own • To err is human; to forgive, divine • To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world (Chinese proverb) • To the victor go the spoils • To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive • Tomorrow is another day • Tomorrow never comes • Too many cooks spoil the broth • Too little, too late • Too much rain makes a flood • Trust, but verifyTruth is stranger than fiction • Truth is more valuable if it takes you a few years to find it – often attributed to French author Jules Renard (1864–1910) • (The) truth will out • Turn your face toward the sun and the shadows fall behind you • Two birds with one stone • Two can play at that game • Two heads are better than one • Two is company, but three is a crowd • Two wrongs (do not) make a right == U ==
U
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crownUnited we stand, divided we fall • Until the lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter (African Proverb) • Use it or lose it • Ugly is as ugly does • Up a creek without a paddle • United we bargain; divided we beg • Unity is strength ==V==
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