Nothing defines a culture as distinctly as its language, and the element of language that best encapsulates a society's values and beliefs is its proverbs.
The graphic to the right shows the words that are used in English proverbs, with the size of each word indicating how often it occurs (click for a bigger image). It's interesting to note that the two most common words in English proverbs are 'good' and 'never'. A bit of armchair psychology leads to the conclusion that, if proverbs really do reflect belief, then the English are (or at least were when these proverbs were coined) inclined to be virtuous but negative - not so far from the truth perhaps?
Proverbs are short and pithy sayings that express some traditionally held truth. They are usually metaphorical and often, for the sake of memorability, alliterative.
A list of most of the commonly-used proverbs in the English language, with links to the meaning and origin of many of them.
Many proverbs have been absorbed into English having been known earlier in other languages. The list here is specifically of English proverbs and the dates given are those when the proverb first appeared in English.
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link
A change is as good as a rest
A drowning man will clutch at a straw
A fish always rots from the head down
A fool and his money are soon parted
A friend in need is a friend indeed
A golden key can open any door
A good beginning makes a good ending
A house divided against itself cannot stand
A house is not a home
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
A leopard cannot change its spots
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing
A little learning is a dangerous thing
A little of what you fancy does you good
A man who is his own lawyer has a fool for his client
A new broom sweeps clean
A nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse
A penny saved is a penny earned
A person is known by the company he keeps
A picture paints a thousand words
A place for everything and everything in its place
A poor workman always blames his tools
A problem shared is a problem halved
A prophet is not recognized in his own land
A rising tide lifts all boats
A rolling stone gathers no moss
A soft answer turneth away wrath
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
A thing of beauty is a joy forever
A trouble shared is a trouble halved
A volunteer is worth twenty pressed men
A woman's place is in the home
A woman's work is never done
A word to the wise is enough
Absence makes the heart grow fonder
Absolute power corrupts absolutely
Accidents will happen (in the best-regulated families).
Actions speak louder than words
Adversity makes strange bedfellows
After a storm comes a calm
All good things come to he who waits
All good things must come to an end
All is grist that comes to the mill
All publicity is good publicity
All roads lead to Rome
All the world loves a lover
All things come to those who wait
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All you need is love
All's fair in love and war
All's for the best in the best of all possible worlds
An apple a day keeps the doctor away
An army marches on its stomach
An Englishman's home is his castle
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
Another day, another dollar
Any port in a storm
April showers bring forth May flowers
As you make your bed, so you must lie upon it
Ask a silly question and you'll get a silly answer
Ask no questions and hear no lies
Attack is the best form of defence
Bad money drives out good
Bad news travels fast
Barking dogs seldom bite
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Beggars should not be choosers
Behind every great man there's a great woman
Better safe than sorry
Better the Devil you know than the Devil you don't
Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all
Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool that to speak and remove all doubt
Beware of Greeks bearing gifts
Big fish eat little fish
Birds of a feather flock together
Boys will be boys
Business before pleasure
Caesar's wife must be above suspicion
Carpe diem (Pluck the day; Seize the day)
Charity begins at home
Cheats never prosper
Children should be seen and not heard
Cleanliness is next to godliness
Clothes make the man
Cold hands, warm heart
Count your blessings
Cowards may die many times before their death
Crime doesn't pay
Cut your coat to suit your cloth
Dead men tell no tales
Discretion is the better part of valour
Distance lends enchantment to the view
Do as I say, not as I do
Do unto others as you would have them do to you
Don't bite the hand that feeds you
Don't burn your bridges behind you
Don't cast your pearls before swine
Don't change horses in midstream
Don't count your chickens before they are hatched
Don't cross the bridge till you come to it
Don't cut off your nose to spite your face
Don't keep a dog and bark yourself
Don't let the bastards grind you down
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth
Don't meet troubles half-way
Don't put all your eggs in one basket
Don't put the cart before the horse
Don't put new wine into old bottles
Don't rock the boat
Don't spoil the ship for a ha'porth of tar
Don't throw pearls to swine
Don't teach your Grandma to suck eggs
Don't throw the baby out with the bath water
Don't try to walk before you can crawl
Don't wash your dirty linen in public
Doubt is the beginning not the end of wisdom
Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise
East is east, and west is west
East, west, home's best
Easy come, easy go
Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die
Empty vessels make the most noise
Enough is as good as a feast
Enough is enough
Even a worm will turn
Every cloud has a silver lining
Every Jack has his Jill
Every little helps
Every man for himself, and the Devil take the hindmost
Every picture tells a story
Every stick has two ends
Everyone wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die
Everything comes to him who waits
Failing to plan is planning to fail
Faint heart never won fair lady
Fair exchange is no robbery
Familiarity breeds contempt
Feed a cold and starve a fever
Finders keepers, losers weepers
First come, first served
First impressions are the most lasting
First things first
Fish always stink from the head down
Fish 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
Forgive and forget
Fortune favours the brave
From the sublime to the ridiculous is only one step
Genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains
Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration
Give a dog a bad name and hang him
Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day...
Give a man enough rope and he will hang himself
Give credit where credit is due
God helps those who help themselves
Good fences make good neighbours
Good talk saves the food
Good things come to those who wait
Half a loaf is better than no bread
Handsome is as handsome does
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 fights and runs away, may live to fight another day
He who hesitates is lost
He who laughs last laughs longest
He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword
He who pays the piper calls the tune
He who sups with the Devil should have a long spoon
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned
Hindsight is always twenty-twenty
History repeats itself
Home is where the heart is
Hope springs eternal
Horses for courses
If anything can go wrong, it will
If a job is worth doing it is worth doing well
If at first you don't succeed try, try and try again
If God had meant us to fly he'd have given us wings
If ifs and ands were pots and pans there'd be no work for tinkers
If it ain't broke, don't fix it
If life deals you lemons, make lemonade
If the mountain won't come to Mohammed, then Mohammed must go to the mountain
If wishes were horses, beggars would ride
If you can't be good, be careful
If you can't beat em, join em
If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen
If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas
If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys
If you want a thing done well, do it yourself
Ignorance is bliss
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
In for a penny, in for a pound
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 ain't over till the fat lady sings
It goes without saying
It is best to be on the safe side
It is better to give than to receive
It is easy to be wise after the event
It takes a thief to catch a thief
It takes all sorts to make a world
It takes one to know one
It takes two to tango
It's an ill wind that blows no one any good
It's better to give than to receive
It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all
It's better to light a candle than curse the darkness
It's better to travel hopefully than to arrive
It's never too late
It's no use crying over spilt milk
It's no use locking the stable door after the horse has bolted
It's the early bird that catches the worm
It's the empty can that makes the most noise
It's the squeaky wheel that gets the grease
Jack of all trades, master of none
Judge not, that ye be not judged
Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone
Laughter is the best medicine
Least said, soonest mended
Let bygones be bygones
Let not the sun go down on your wrath
Let sleeping dogs lie
Let the dead bury the dead
Let the punishment fit the crime
Let well alone
Life is just a bowl of cherries
Life is what you make it
Life's not all beer and skittles
Lightning never strikes twice in the same place
Like father, like son
Little pitchers have big ears
Little strokes fell great oaks
Little things please little minds
Live for today for tomorrow never comes
Love makes the world go round
Love will find a way
Make love not war
Man does not live by bread alone
Manners maketh man
Many a true word is spoken in jest
Many hands make light work
March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb
March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers
Marriages are made in heaven
Marry in haste, repent at leisure
Might is right
Mighty oaks from little acorns grow
Misery 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's born on the Sabbath day
Is fair and wise and good and gay.
Money doesn't grow on trees
Money isn't everything
Money makes the world go round
Money talks
More haste, less speed
Music has charms to soothe the savage breast
Nature abhors a vacuum
Necessity is the mother of invention
Needs must when the devil drives
Ne'er cast a clout till May be out
Never give a sucker an even break
Never go to bed on an argument
Never judge a book by its cover
Never let the sun go down on your anger
Never look a gift horse in the mouth
Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today
Never speak ill of the dead
Never tell tales out of school
Nine tailors make a man
No man can serve two masters
No news is good news
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent
No pain, no gain
Nothing is certain but death and taxes
Nothing venture, nothing gain
Oil and water don't mix
Old soldiers never die, they just fade away
Once a thief, always a thief
Once bitten, twice shy
One good turn deserves another
One half of the world does not know how the other half lives
One hand washes the other
One man's meat is another man's poison
One might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb
One law for the rich and another for the poor
One swallow does not make a summer
One volunteer is worth ten pressed men
One year's seeding makes seven years weeding
Only fools and horses work
Opportunity never knocks twice at any man's door
Parsley seed goes nine times to the Devil
Patience is a virtue
Pearls of wisdom
Penny wise and pound foolish
People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones
Possession is nine points of the law
Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely
Practice makes perfect
Practice what you preach
Prevention is better than cure
Pride goes before a fall
Procrastination is the thief of time
Rain before seven, fine before eleven
Red sky at night shepherd's delight; red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning
Revenge is a dish best served cold
Revenge is sweet
Rome wasn't built in a day
See a pin and pick it up, all the day you'll have good luck; see a pin and let it lie, bad luck you'll have all day
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil
Seeing is believing
Seek and ye shall find
Set a thief to catch a thief
Shrouds have no pockets
Slow but sure
Softly, softly, catchee monkey
Spare the rod and spoil the child
Speak as you find
Speak softly and carry a big stick
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me
Still waters run deep
Stupid is as stupid does
Success has many fathers, while failure is an orphan
Take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves
Talk is cheap
Talk of the Devil, and he is bound to appear
Tell the truth and shame the Devil
That which does not kill us makes us stronger
The age of miracles is past
The apple never falls far from the tree
The best defence is a good offence
The best-laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley
The best things in life are free
The bigger they are, the harder they fall
The bottom line is the bottom line
The boy is father to the man
The bread always falls buttered side down
The child is the father of the man
The cobbler always wears the worst shoes
The course of true love never did run smooth
The darkest hour is just before the dawn
The devil finds work for idle hands to do
The devil looks after his own
The early bird catches the worm
The end justifies the means
The exception which proves the rule
The female of the species is more deadly than the male
The fruit does not fall far from the tree
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 labourer is worthy of his hire
The leopard does not change his spots
The longest journey starts with a single step
The more the merrier
The more things change, the more they stay the same
The only good Indian is a dead Indian
The opera ain't over till the fat lady sings
The pen is mightier than sword
The price of liberty is eternal vigilance
The proof of the pudding is in the eating
The road to hell is paved with good intentions
The shoemaker's son always goes barefoot
The squeaking wheel gets the grease
The way to a man's heart is through his stomach
There are more ways of killing a cat than choking it with cream
There are none so blind as those, that will not see
There are two sides to every question
There but for the grace of God, go I
There's a time and a place for everything
There's an exception to every rule
There's always more fish in the sea
There's honour among thieves
There's many a good tune played on an old fiddle
There's many a slip 'twixt cup and lip
There's more than one way to skin a cat
There's no accounting for tastes
There's no fool like an old fool
There's no place like home
There's no smoke without fire
There's no such thing as a free lunch
There's no such thing as bad publicity
There's no time like the present
There's none so blind as those who will not see
There's none so deaf as those who will not hear
There's nowt so queer as folk
There's safety in numbers
They that sow the wind, shall reap the whirlwind
Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it
Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones
Those who sleep with dogs will rise with fleas
Time flies
Time is a great healer
Time is money
Time will tell
'tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all
To err is human; to forgive divine
To every thing there is a season
To the victor go the spoils
To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive
Tomorrow never comes
Too many cooks spoil the broth
Truth is stranger than fiction
Two blacks don't make a white
Two is company, but three's a crowd
Two wrongs don't make a right
Variety is the spice of life
Virtue is its own reward
Walls have ears
Walnuts and pears you plant for your heirs
Waste not want not
What can't be cured must be endured
What goes up must come down
What you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts
What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander
When in Rome, do as the Romans do
When the cat's away the mice will play
When the going gets tough, the tough get going
When the oak is before the ash, then you will only get a splash; when the ash is before the oak, then you may expect a soak
What the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve over
Where there's a will there's a way
Where there's muck there's brass
While there's life there's hope
Whom the Gods love die young
Why keep a dog and bark yourself?
Wonders will never cease
Work expands so as to fill the time available
Worrying never did anyone any good
You are never too old to learn
You can have too much of a good thing
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink
You can't have your cake and eat it
You can't get blood out of a stone
You can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear
You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs
You can't make bricks without straw
You can't run with the hare and hunt with the hounds
You can't teach an old dog new tricks
You can't judge a book by its cover
You can't win them all
You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar
You pays your money and you takes your choice
Youth is wasted on the young
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