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[edit] A
A bad settlement is better than a good lawsuit.
A coin of gold is delighting in a bag of silver coins
Meaning: English people make modest company.
Alternative meaning: One who is unique is often praised or receives more pleasure.
A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.
Laozi, Tao Te Ching, Ch. 64, line 12. 千里之行，始于足下
A bad penny always turns up.
Meaning: Your mistakes will come back to haunt you. Or Bad people will always return.
A bean in liberty is better than a comfit in prison.
A bellyful is one of meat, drink, or sorrow.
A bellyful of food is a good one.
A good enemy is a better person than a false friend.
A big tree attracts the woodsman's axe.
Meaning: Great people will attract great criticism.
Possible interpretation: The rich make good targets for thieves and burglars.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Originated in the 1900s as a marketing slogan dreamed up by American growers concerned that the temperance movement would cut into sales of apple cider. (Michael Pollan, The Botany of Desire, Random House, 2001, ISBN 0375501290, p. 22, cf. p. 9 & 50)
A bad workman blames his tools.
George Herbert reports early English variants in Jacula Prudentum; or, Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, Etc. (1640):
Never had an ill workman good tools.
An ill labourer quarrels with his tools.
The Works of George Herbert in Prose and Verse; 1881, New York: John Wurtele Lovell, Pub.; pp. 440 & 454
Compare the older French proverb:
Outil: ... Merchant ouvrier ne trouvera ja bons outils: Prov. A bungler cannot find (or fit himselfe with) with good tooles.
Randle Cotgrave, A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues (1611)
Galen explains clearly, if less succinctly, in De Causis Procatarcticis (2nd c. A.D.), VI. 63–65:
They blame their tools: why did the carpenter make the bed so badly, if he was any good? He will reply: "Because I used a poor axe and a thick gimlet, because I did not have a rule, I lost my hammer, and the hatchet was blunt", and other things of this kind. And the scribe, asked why he wrote so badly, will say that the paper was rough, the ink too fluid, the pen blunt, that he did not have a smoother, so that he could not write any better. Once again, this man holds his material responsible, and blames his tools as well, in mentioning the pen and smoother. And who does not know that artisans make themselves responsible for the deficiencies in their work too, when they cannot pin the blame on material and tools?
Galen On Antecedent Causes, Tr. R. J. Hankinson, Cambridge University Press, 1998, ISBN 0521622506, p. 90–93
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
John Bunyan cites this traditional proverb in The Pilgrim's Progress, (1678):
So are the men of this world: They must have all their good things now; they cannot stay till the next year, that is, until the next world, for their portion of good. That proverb, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," is of more authority with them than are all the divine testimonies of the good of the world to come.
A burnt child dreads the fire.
Chinese Version: One bitten by a snake for a snap dreads a rope for a decade.一朝被蛇咬，十年怕井绳
Indian Version: The one burnt by hot milk drinks even cold buttermilk with precaution. Transliteration: Doodh ka jala chaanchko bhi phook phook ke peeta hai.
Meaning: Similar to "Once bitten, twice shy"
This Proverb intimates, That it is natural for all living Creatures, whether rational or irrational,
to consult their own Security, and Self-Preservation; and whether they act by Instinct or Reason, it still
tends to some care of avoiding those things that have already done them an Injury. - Divers Proverbs, Nathan Bailey, 1721 [1]
A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.
Attributed to Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi
A little pot is easily hot.
A new broom sweeps clean.
A cat may look at a king.
Meaning: If a cat may look at the king - then I have a right to look where I please.
A camel is a horse designed by committee.
Meaning: a vision is more perfect from the individual rather than a group of people where it becomes anodyne.
A chain is no stronger than its weakest link.
Meaning: The strength of any group depends on the individual strength of each of its members.
A closed mouth catches no flies.
Meaning: You cannot say a bad thing if you don't speak at all.
A constant guest is never welcome.
A coward dies a thousand times before his death. The valiant never taste of death but once.
From William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar[1]
Meaning: The valiant (the brave) take no account of possible danger, whereas cowards are constantly fearing the worst. [2]
A drop of knowledge is greater than an ocean of strength.
A fool and his money are soon parted.
A fox smells its own lair first. Or: A fox smells its own stink first.
Meaning: One knows where they belong, and knows when they make a mistake.
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
Meaning: A genuine friend is with you even in times of trouble.
A good beginning makes (for) a good ending.
Chinese Version: A good beginning is half a succession-好的开始是成功的一半
Meaning: Planning is the key to success.
A good man in an evil society seems the greatest villain of all.
A good surgeon has an eagle's eye, a lion's heart, and a lady's hand.
A guilty conscience needs no accuser.
A half truth is a whole lie.
A jack of all trades is master of none.
A kingdom is lost for want of a shoe.
See: "For want of a nail the shoe is lost, ..."
A lie can be halfway around the world before the truth gets its boots on.
Charles Spurgeon. A great lie may be widely accepted before the truth comes to light.
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
A little Learning is a dangerous Thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring:
There shallow Draughts intoxicate the Brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again. ~ Alexander Pope
A loaded wagon makes no noise.
People with real wealth don't talk about it.
A man is known by the company he keeps.
A miss by an inch is a miss by a mile.
Meaning: A miss is a miss regardless the distance
A man's home is his castle.
William Blackstone refers to this traditional proverb in Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–1769), Book 4, Chapter 16:
And the law of England has so particular and tender a regard to the immunity of a man's house, that it stiles it his castle, and will never suffer it to be violated with immunity: agreeing herein with the sentiments of ancient Rome, as expressed in the works of Tully; quid enim sanctius, quid omni religione munitius, quam domus unusquisque civium?
Translation: What more sacred, what more strongly guarded by every holy feeling, than a man's own home?
A night with Venus and a life with mercury.
Anti-promiscuity adage, alluding to a 18th-century mercury-based folk treatment for syphilis
Cited in Bartz, Diane, "Har, me hearties! Excavating Blackbeard's ship", Reuters (via Yahoo! News), 30 October 2006. URL accessed on 2006-11-01.
A paragraph should be like a lady's skirt: long enough to cover the essentials but short enough to keep it interesting.
A Pasoly in the eye is worth several in the shins.
A good shot is worth many bad ones
A penny saved is a penny earned.
Attributed to Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanac
A penny spent is a penny earned.
In contrast to spending on the poor people.
Interpretation: capitalist alteration of Ben Franklin's original saying ["A penny saved is a penny earned"]. The concentration on spending rather than saving promotes the contemporary capitalist economic theory of putting money back into the economy (rather than hording it) to create more wealth.
A penny earned is a penny lost; a penny shared is a penny well-spent.
"A person who laughs may not be happy, but he's hide the sadness in his heart". (Al Sagheer, Suhail)
A picture is worth a thousand words.
An instant sight may save a thousand words.
A snap of sight may describe much more than a thousand words.
A pint of plain is yer only man.
Meaning: You need to make the initial step if you are ever to complete a task.
A rising tide lifts all boats
This traditional proverb is sometimes attributed to John F. Kennedy because he repeated it several times, but he disclaimed originality in his address in the Assembly Hall at the Paulskirche in Frankfurt, West Germany, 25 June 1963:
As they say on my own Cape Cod, a rising tide lifts all the boats.
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
A Turkish Proverb
Interpretation: A person who is active will not grow stale.
Alternative interpretation: A person who does not stay in one place very long will not develop roots or meaningful connections with others.
Philip K. Dick in We Can Build You (1972) conceives a world where the latter interpretation has become the norm and the former indicative of a mental disorder.
A son is a son 'till he gets him a wife; a daughter's a daughter all her life.
Interpretation: the relationship between a daughter and her parents is enduring; the relationship with a son is attenuated after he marries.
A still tongue makes a wise head.
From Lewis the (Black) Barber; Lake Charles, LA; who always told people, "Never let the right hand know what the left hand is doing; a still tongue makes a wise head; still water runs deep."
A stitch in time saves nine.
Fix the small problem now before it becomes larger and harder to fix.
A thief thinks everyone steals.
A watched pot never boils.
Main interpretation: Time seems to pass quicker when you aren't consciously waiting for something
Possible interpretation: Worrying over something can make the task seem to take longer than it should.
A woman's work is never done.
From a folk rhyme - A man may work from sun to sun, but a woman's work is never done, meaning that a man's traditional role as breadwinner may keep him occupied from sun-up to sundown, but the traditional roles of a woman demand even longer hours of work.
A word spoken is past recalling.
Alternative: What's done is done (so think before doing).
Interpretation: Once you say something hurtful, provocative, etc., you can't take it back.
A woman is like a cup of tea; you'll never know how strong she is until she boils
Meaning: Never underestimate people; they could be stronger than you think
Possible interpretation: Don't pester your wife too often, unless you want her to never cook for you again.
Ability can take you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
From Isle of Beauty by Thomas Haynes Bayly
Interpretation: We miss people when we are separated from them.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder but makes the mind forget.
Act today only, tomorrow is too late
Action is the proper fruit of knowledge.
Actions speak louder than words.
meaning: What you do is more important that what you say
Advice most needed is least heeded.
After dinner sit a while, after supper walk a mile.
All cats love fish but hate to get their paws wet.
sometimes you have to do bad things to get good ones
All the world is your country, to do good is your religion.
All flowers are not in one garden.
All frills and no knickers.
Possible interpretation: All style and no substance.
All fur coat and no knickers.
Meaning: Very concerned with outward appearance and material things, but with no modesty.
All good things must come to an end.
All hat and no cattle.
Possible interpretation: All talk and appearance and little or no substance.
All roads lead to Rome.
Possible interpretation: However you try to go about things all will lead to the same conclusions
Possible interpretation: Power draws all things to itself.
Interpretation: The heartland/metropolis (for better or worse) yields considerable power.
Meaning: The first roads were built by the Romans and at the time of the Roman empire, all roads led to Rome.
All's fair in love and war.
Interpretation: Love and War are arenas of complete passion that often obfuscate reason.
All for one and one for all.
Alexandre Dumas, The Three Musketeers
All's well that ends well.
A play by William Shakespeare
Variant: All is well that ends well. - Divers Proverbs, Nathan Bailey, 1721 [2]
All sizzle and no steak.
Possible interpretation: All style and no substance
All that glisters is not gold.
William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, act II, scene 7.
Often corrupted to: All that glitters is not gold.
Possible interpretation: Not everything is what it appears to be.
All things come to those who wait.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy.
Always care about your flowers and your friends. Otherwise they'll fade, and soon your house will be empty.
An early bird catches worms.
... but the second mouse gets the cheese.
An Englishman's home is his castle.
Variant of "A man's home is his castle."
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
Translaton: If you kill a neighbor's ox you must buy him a new one. (In biblical times.)
Possible interpretation: retribution should be equitable, proportionate and "fit the crime". Biblical reference, modern usage often connotes support for capital punishment.
A common response, often attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, is "An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind," is often used as a criticism for this concept, implying that "an eye for an eye" will only perpetuate a potentially endless cycle of violence.
An empty vessel makes the most noise
Those with the least understanding often complain about things the most.
An old dog will learn no tricks. - Divers Proverbs, Nathan Bailey, 1721 [3]
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Possible interpretation: Similar to that of A stitch in time saves nine. Preventing something in advance is better than fixing it later on.
An ounce of discretion is worth a pound of wit.
Meaning: it is better to be careful and discrete than to be clever.
April showers bring May flowers.
Meaning: Something seeming bad or boring now brings good things in the future.
As fit as a fiddle.
Meaning: very fit and well
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another
As soon as a man is born, he begins to die.
As you make your bed, so you must lie in it.
Similar to "You reap what you sow"
Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies.
Interpretation: There are some things I'd rather not say, so don't ask me!
Aught for naught, and a penny change.
Interpretation: you can't get something for nothing -- you might as well expect to get paid to take it.
[edit] B
Bad news travels fast.
Barking dogs seldom bite.
Meaning: People who are busy complaining rarely take more concrete hostile action.
Alternate meaning: Those who cast threats will seldom follow through with them
Barking up the wrong tree.
Be careful before every step.
Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.
Before criticizing a man, walk a mile in his shoes.
Meaning: One should not criticize a person without understanding their situation.
Beginning is half done.
Quoted by Dr. Robert Schuller, West Coast clergyman.
Beggars can't be choosers.
Meaning: Those who are in need of help can't afford to be too demanding.
Better is the enemy of good.
Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
Variant: Better to remain silent and thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt. (often attributed to Abraham Lincoln but taken from Solomon's Proverbs)
Better late than never.
Meaning: It's better to make an effort to keep an appointment than to give up altogether when you discover you will be late.
Better safe than sorry.
Meaning: It is better to take precautions when it's possible that something can go amiss than to regret doing nothing later if something should indeed go wrong.
Better the devil you know (than the one you don't).
Beware of the Bear when he tucks in his shirt.
Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, and inwardly are ravening wolves. (Matthew; bible quote)
Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.
A reference to the Trojan Horse
Birds of a feather flock together.
Variant: Birds of the same feather flock together.
Meaning: People who are similar to one another tend to stay together.
Bitter pills may have blessed effects.
Meaning: Things that seem hard to take or handle at first may have positive and beneficial outcomes.
Blood is thicker than water.
Meaning: Bonds between family members are stronger than other relationships.
Blood will out.
Meaning: A person's ancestry or upbringing will eventually show.
Bloom where you are planted.
Meaning: Excel and flourish where you grow up, or where you fit in; be good at what you do.
A blow with a word strikes deeper than a blow with a sword.
Robert Burton cites this traditional proverb in The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621):
It is an old saying, "A blow with a word strikes deeper than a blow with a sword:" and many men are as much galled with a calumny, a scurrilous and bitter jest, a libel, a pasquil, satire, apologue, epigram, stage-play or the like, as with any misfortune whatsoever.
Part I, Section II, Member IV, Subsection IV
Compare: "The pen is mightier than the sword."
Contrast: "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me."
Born with a silver spoon in his/her mouth.
Meaning: Born in a rich family.
Boys will be boys.
Meaning: Boys are traditionally expected to misbehave, while girls are not.
Brag is a good Dog, but Holdfast is a better
This Proverb is a Taunt upon Braggadoccio's, who talk big, boast, and rattle:
It is also a Memento for such who make plentiful promises to do well for the
future but are suspected to want Constancy and Resolution to make
them good. - Divers Proverbs, Nathan Bailey, 1721 [4]
Brain is better than brawn.
Bread is the stuff of life.
Break the Law as the Law should be beaten.
Buy the best and you only cry once.
[edit] C
Cometh the hour cometh the man.
(Some information about the phrase and about its use by a 1940's cricketer)
Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once. William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar (play)[3]
Meaning: The valiant (the brave) take no account of possible danger, whereas cowards are constantly fearing the worst. [4]
[edit] D
A dull pencil is greater than the sharpest memory.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
Lorenzo Dow (d. 1834).[5]
Meaning: Refers to a situation where both possibilities will lead to harm or blame.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Different strokes for different folks.
Meaning: Someone prefers one thing; others, something different.
Discretion is the better part of valour.
Derived from "The better part of valour is discretion, in the which better part I have saved my life." Falstaff in Shakespere's Henry IV Part One.
Meaning: Caution is preferable to rash bravery.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Based on the Bible (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31).[6]; a statement of the ethic of reciprocity
Do it today, tomorrow it may be against the law.
Doctors make the worst patients.
Don't ask God to guide your footsteps if you're not willing to move your feet.
Don't bite the hand that feeds you.
Meaning: Behave respectfully or deferentially to those who provide for you.
Don't burn your bridges.
Meaning: Do not act in such a way as to leave yourself no alternative or no opportunity to "retreat."
Don't count your chickens before they're hatched.
Don't bite off more than you can chew.
Meaning: Do not take on more responsibility than you can handle at any one time.
Don't cry over spilt milk.
Meaning: Don't worry about things that have already happened.
Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.
Interpretation: Do not act to spite someone else if it is damaging to yourself.
Don't fall before you're pushed.
Don't judge a man by the size of his hat, but by the angle of his tilt.
Don't have too many irons in the fire.
Possible interpretation: Do not take on more responsibility than you can handle.
Don't judge a book by its cover.
Meaning: Do not judge by appearances.
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Possible interpretation: Do not look for faults in a gift.
Don't make a mountain out of a molehill.
Don't exaggerate small things / Don't make a big deal out of something minor.
Don't mend what ain't broken.
Alternatively, If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Alternatively, Leave well enough alone.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Meaning: Do not rest all your hopes on one eventuality; plan for several cases.
Don't put the cart before the horse.
Meaning: Do things in the correct order.
Cf. Dan Michael of Northgate, Ayenbite of Inwyt (1340): "Many religious folk set the plough before the oxen." (Middle English: "Moche uolk of religion зetteþ þe зuolз be-uore þe oksen.")
Don't raise more Demons than you can lay down.
Don't shut the barn door after the horse is gone.
Possible interpretation: Prepare for things to go wrong rather than worrying about them after the fact.
Don't spit into the wind.
Or, Don't piss into the wind.
Meaning, don't take actions which you know will harm yourself or be futile.
Don't spoil the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar.
Meaning: Don't jeopardize a project - especially a large one - by being miserly or cutting corners.
A ha'p'orth (pronounced haypeth) is a halfpenny-worth, i.e. a very small amount.
Don't take life too seriously; you'll never get out of it alive.
Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Possible interpretation: Do not, in an attempt to remove something undesirable, lose things that are valuable.
Don't try to teach a pig to sing. It doesn't work, and you'll annoy the pig.
Meaning: Don't go into a relationship expecting to change your partner, it doesn't work.
Don't cross a bridge before you come to it.
Meaning: Don't fret unnecessarily about future problems.
Doubt is the beginning, not the end, of wisdom.
Don't bring a knife to a gun fight.
Don't let procrastination eat your own clock.
Meaning: Don't procrastinate most of the time as your chances and opportunities are wasted away.
Dreams are not the ones which come when you sleep, but they are the ones which will not let you sleep.
Meaning: Dreams in your sleep are different from the dreams of your future.
Distance makes the heart grow fonder.
Don't bark if you can't bite.
meaning - Don't complain if you can't enforce your point of view.
Don't dig your grave with your own knife and fork.
meaning - Don't do something yourself which causes your own downfall.
[edit] E
Chacun à son goût
French for "Each to his own taste"
Alternatively: à chacun son goût - "To each his own".
Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. (attibuted to Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanac)
The early bird catches the worm. But the second mouse gets the cheese.
The ends justify the means.
Enjoy what you don't know.
Even a dog can distinguish between being stumbled over and being kicked.
Even a dog can make it to the top when there's a flood.
Even an old dog likes to be patted on the head and told, "Good boy!" -Justice Holmes
Even angels have teeth.
Nathaniel Wenger "Poetry to Grow a Tree"
Every dog has its day.
Variation on a quote from Hamlet: "...whatever Hercules says, the cat will mew and dog will have its day."
Every cloud has a silver lining.
Everyday living is life lessons. by Allen Zimama.
Meaning: Every negative thing has positive aspects.
Everything good in life is either illegal, immoral, or fattening.
Everyone wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die.
Empty vessels make most noise/sound.
Meaning: Those who lack intelligence speak the most/loudest.
Even a broken/stopped clock is right twice a day.
Even the best perfumes of the world lose their fragrance when you are not around me.
Education is a progressive discovering of our own ignorance. <W. Durrant>
Education makes machines which act like men and produces men who act like machines
Every rose has its thorn.
Meaning: Every good thing has its downside
Everything can be justified until it happens to you.
Everything with time
Everything in its own time.
Everything changes; everything stays the same.
Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort makes all the difference!
[edit] F
Faint heart ne'er won fair lady.
Meaning: Not speaking up or taking action to achieve things (in this case, fall in love) will never get you anywhere (or, help you fall in love).
Failure is the stepping stone for success.
Failing will make you more determined to succeed the next time you try, or make you put in more effort to get something right with successive attempts.
Falling down does not signify failure but staying there does.
Letting failing/falling is not failure in itself, but letting it get you down or stop trying is.
Familiarity breeds contempt.
Long experience of someone or something can make one so aware of the faults as to be scornful.
Fifty percent of something is better than one hundred percent of nothing.
Fine feathers make fine birds.
Fine words butter no parsnips.
Alternative: Actions speak louder than words.
Fingers were invented before knives and forks.
First come, first served.
First deserve, then desire.
First things first.
Meaning: Do more important things before other things.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Meaning: To make the same mistake over again is your own fault.
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
Alexander Pope, "An Essay on Criticism"
For want of a nail the shoe is lost, for want of a shoe the horse is lost, for want of a horse the rider is lost.
Proverb reported by George Herbert, Jacula Prudentum (1651), #495
Forewarned is forearmed.
If one is told about an event beforehand, they can (adequately) prepare.
Forgive, but don't forget.
Let things/issues go or pass, but don't forget what they were, why they happened, other consequences, etc. Can lead to knowledge about not repeating the same mistake.
Fortune favours the brave.
Fretting cares make grey hairs.
From those to whom much is given, much is expected.
Biblical quote Luke 12:48
There are no facts; only interpretations of facts.
Failure is the first step to success.
Failure is not falling down, you fail when you don't get back up.
Fall down seven times, stand up eight.
Definition: Fail seven times, and succeed the eighth. (Keep trying and you will succeed.)
Translation of the Japanese proverb "Nana korobi ya oki", often associated with Daruma figurines.
[edit] G
Get four Episcopalians together and a fifth will always appear. (Humor intended!)
Go with the flow.
Sometimes abbreviated GIGO.
Give and take is fair play.
Give a dog a bad name and hang him.
Give a dog a bad name and he'll live up to it. (or repay you for it)
Implying that people live up to stereotypes given to them or that individuals are corrupted by the illtreatment that goes with being given a bad name
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
Knowledge is the best charity.
To learn a lesson is a far better reward than to receive a gift.
It is better to know how to help yourself than to beg from others.
Give credit where credit is due.
Variant: Give the Devil his due.
Give, and ye shall receive.
Give him an inch and he'll take a yard.
meaning: Once concessions have been made to someone they will demand a great deal more
Variant: Give the Camel and inch and it will take an ell.
Variant: Give him an inch and he'll take a mile.
Give people a common enemy and hopefully they will work together
God takes care of drunks.
God cures and the physician takes the fee.
God don't like ugly and he ain't stuck on pretty.
Good eating deserves good drinking.
Good fences make good neighbors.
Robert Frost, "Mending Wall"
Good men are hard to find.
Good wine needs no bush.
Meaning: Something desirable of quality and substance need not be embellished. It was customary since early times to hang a grapevine, ivy or other greenery over the door of a tavern or way stop to advertise the availability of drink within, once something establishes a good reputation for quality the advertisement is rendered superfluous.
Great cry little wool.
Great events cast their shadows before them.
Great minds think alike, but fools seldom differ.
Great minds think alike, as do lesser ones.
Great oaks from little acorns grow.
meaning: Wonderful things come from tiny things.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
Green leaves and brown leaves fall from the same tree.
Many possible interpretations- Things change over time- If you are good at one aspect of a skill, you should be skilled at the other aspects, such as a painter who says he can't draw, yet both painting and drawing are aspects of art.- No matter of the outside, we are all the same inside.
Grow where you are planted.
Give respect, take respect.
[edit] H
Health is wealth
Home is where the heart is
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned
Hindsight is always twenty-twenty
He laughs best who laughs last
He doesn't boast who does the most
[edit] I
I complained I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.
It takes both rain and sunshine to make rainbows
It takes good and bad to make good things in the future, or make them stand out.
I think, therefore I am
Descartes' most famous statement (Cogito Ergo Sum in Latin)
I came, I saw, I conquered
Said by Julius Caesar, spoken as Veni, Vidi, Vici during a message to the Roman senate
It is better to die on one's feet than live on one's knees.
I have the whole world against me, I show my back and the whole world is following me.
Idle hands are the devil's playthings. 'Alt.' The devil makes work for idle hands.
If a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well.
If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing badly.
If all else fails, try the obvious.
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
If in doubt go left.
If in doubt, pick "C"
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Variation: If it isn't broken, don't fix it.
If it can't be cured, it must be endured.
From Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
If it's too good to be true, then it probably is.
If it's worth doing, it's worth over-doing.
If God had wanted man to fly, he would have given him wings.
If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
If something can go wrong, it will.
If the shoe fits, wear it.
If the mountain won't come to Muhammad, Muhammad must go to the mountain.
"If the mountain won't come to Muhammad, Muhammad must go to the mountain", Answers.com
If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
If you buy quality, you only cry once.
If you buy cheaply, you pay dearly.
Alternatively: You get what you pay for
If you can't beat them, join them.
If you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten.
If you can't be good, be good at it.
If you can't be good, be careful.
If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.
If you cross your bridges before you come to them, you will have to pay the toll twice.
If you don't buy a ticket, you can't win the raffle.
If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all
If you don't know where you're going, any train will get you there.
If you fake it, you can't make it.
If you keep your mouth shut, you won't put your foot in it.
If you snooze you lose
If you trust before you try, you may repent before you die. - Divers Proverbs, Nathan Bailey, 1721 [5]
If you want a thing done right, do it yourself.
If you want breakfast in bed, sleep in the kitchen.
If you want to judge a man's character, give him power.
If you were born to be shot, you'll never be hanged.
If you're in a hole, stop digging.
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
Ignorance is bliss.
Common mal-shortening of "Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise.
Thomas Gray, "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College" [[6]]
In for a penny, in for a pound.
Alternate version: In for a dime, in for a dollar.
In order to get where you want to go, you first have to leave where you are.
From Sandy Elsberg's Bread Winner, Bread Baker; Upline Press, Charlottesville, VA; 1977, p. 80
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
In the law there are no small cases, only small lawyers.
Ben Harlow
In the middle of difficulties lie opportunities -
In the mind of thieves the moon is always shining.
Marathi proverb, meaning: dishonest persons have to be always on the alert to avoid getting caught.
In the end, a man's motives are second to his accomplishments.
In one ear and out the other.
Infatuations are a plenty. Love is rare. - Pashi
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results.
Alternatively "Stupidity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results"
Is the Pope a Catholic?
Do bears shit in the woods?
Used in response to what is considered to be a question with an extremely obvious answer.
It's always darkest before the dawn
It's better to want something you can't have than have something you don't want.
It's cheaper to keep her.
It's not over till it's over.
It ain't over till the fat lady sings.
Variation: Church ain't over until the fat lady sings.
Attributed as an old Southern saying in Smith & Smith, Southern Words and Sayings (1976), according to Quinion, Michael (21 August 1999). "It Ain't Over Till the Fat Lady Sings". World Wide Words. Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
Often attributed to sportscaster Dan Cook (1978)
It is not so much the gift that is given but the way in which the gift is driven.
It never rains, but it pours.
Alternatively: When it rains, it pours.
It pays to pay attention.
Rewards come to those who are attentive, or wary of events in the past/present/future.
It takes all sorts to make a world.
Alternatively: It takes all sorts to make the world go round.
Alternatively: It takes all kinds to make the world go round.
It takes two to make a quarrel.
Alternatively: It takes two to tango.
It takes two to tango.
It takes two to lie — one to lie and one to listen.
It's a cracked pitcher that goes longest to the well.
It's a good horse that never stumbles.
It's a long lane that has no turning.
It's an ill wind that blows no good.
It's a poor job that can't stand at least one supervisor.
It's a blessing in disguise.
It's better to be safe than sorry.
It's better to be silent and thought a fool, than to speak up and remove all doubt.
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 easier to ask forgiveness than permission.
Attributed to Grace Hopper
It's easy to be wise after the event.
It's never too late to mend.
It's not the size of the boat, it's the motion of the ocean.
It's no use crying over spilt milk.
It's often a person's mouth broke their nose.
Meaning: People talk themselves into trouble.
It's the early bird that gets the worm.
It's the empty can that makes the most noise.
It's the squeaky wheel that gets the grease.
I wants, don't gets.
An alternative used in the black British community is: "Ask it, Ask it don't get... Get it, get it don't want."
"If you're prepared to be confused, be prepared for a sore bum"
He is the most Unfortunate who's today is not better than yesterday.
Attributed to Muhammed
If you fall off a cliff, you might as well try to fly. After all, you got nothing to lose.
If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. And if they don't, they never were.
If you believe that dreams can come true be prepared for the occasional nightmare.
It is through the small things we do that we learn, not the big things
Impossible itself says I'm Possible
I was born on a Friday, but not last Friday.
Alternative: I wasn't born yesterday.
[edit] J
Justice pleaseth few in their own house.
Joan is as good as my lady in the dark. (17th Century)
Jack of all trades and master of none. (18th Century)
Literal meaning: Anyone who's good at everything is not a master of anything.
Justice dela
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