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English speaking countries | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: English Proverbs, Famous Quotes, Axioms or Folk Sayings on Dogs
A
o As sick as a dog (Meaning: Very sick).
o As the big hound is, so will the pup be.
o "Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamp post what it feels about dogs." [John Osborne]
o "The average dog is a nicer person than the average person." [Andrew A. Rooney]
B
o "A barking dog is often more useful than a sleeping lion." [Washington Irving]
o Barking dogs seldom bite (Equivalent: His bark is louder than his bite.). Or, A barking dog never bites.
o Barking up the wrong tree.
o Better be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion.
o "A bone to the dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog, when you are just as hungry as the dog." [Jack London]
C
o A cat sees us as the dogs. A cat sees himself as the human.
o Chasing your tail gets you nowhere, except back to where you started.
o "Children and dogs are as necessary to the welfare of the country as Wall Street and the rail roads." [Harry S. Truman]
D
o The difference between cats and dogs is dogs come when they are called, cats take a message and get back to you.
o Dog does not eat dog.
o Don't give me that hound dog look.
o Don't keep a dog and bark yourself.
o A dog and pony show.
o A dog in a manger.
o A dog is a man's best friend.
o "A dog is not almost-human, and I know of no greater insult to the canine race than to describe it as such." [John Holmes]
o "The dog is the god of frolic." [Henry Ward Beecher]
o A dog that will fetch a bone, will carry a bone.
o Dog days.
o Dog does not eat dog (Equivalent: There's honor among thieves.).
o "The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven, not man's." [Mark Twain]
o "The dog is a yes-animal. Very popular with people who can't afford a yes man." [Robertson Davies]
o Dog tired (Meaning: very tired).
o A dog with two homes is never any good.
o Dogs are really people with short legs in fur coats.
o Dogs that bark at a distance never bite.
o Dumb dogs are dangerous.
E
o Even a dog can distinguish between being stumbled over and being kicked.
o Even a dog can make it to the top when there's a flood.
o Every dog has [or hath] its [his] day (Meaning: Don't give up -- everyone gets to experience success.).
o Every dog has his day, but the nights are reserved for the cats.
o Every dog is a lion at home.
o Every dog is allowed one bite.
o Every dog is valiant at his own door.
o Every dog must have his day.
G
o Give a dog a bad name and hang him.
o Going to the dogs (Meaning: Falling behind or becoming less successful as in the past.).
o A good dog deserves a good bone.
H
o "Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in." [Mark Twain]
o His bark is worse than his bite (Meaning: As long as talking (barking) continues, even albeit threatening, violence is averted).
o "Histories are more full of examples of the fidelity of dogs than of friends." [Alexander Pope, British writer]
o A hound's food is nit is legs.
o A house is not a home without a dog.
o Husband and dog missing... 25 cents reward for the dog.
I
o I ain't seen you since heck was a pup. (Archaic)
o "I am I because my little dog knows me." [Gertrude Stein]
o "I care not for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it." [Abraham Lincoln]
o "I love a dog. He does nothing for political reasons." [Will Rogers]
o If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where the dogs went.
o If three dogs chase a rabbit they cannot kill it.
o "If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man." [Mark Twain]
o If you wish the dog to follow you, feed him.
o If your dog doesn't like someone you probably shouldn't either.
o It's a dog-eat-dog world (Meaning: In a dog-eat-dog world individuals will do anything to get ahead.).
o It's a dog's life.
o It's raining cats and dogs (Meaning: Describes heavy rain.).
J
o "Just give me a comfortable couch, a dog, a good book, and a woman. Then if you can get the dog to go somewhere and read the book, I might have a little fun!" [Groucho Marx]
K
o "Know yourself. Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful." [Ann Landers]
L
o Let sleeping dogs lie.
o Lie down with dogs, wake up with fleas.
o Like a dog with two tails (Meaning: When one is very happy.).
o A living dog is better than a dead lion.
M
o "Man is an animal that makes bargains; no other animal does this -- one dog does not change a bone with another." [Adam Smith, economist and author of The Wealth of Nations]
o The more people I meet the more I like my dog.
o My dog is not spoiled -- I'm just well-trained.
N
o "No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does." [Christopher Morley]
O
o An old dog barks not in vain.
o The old dog for the hard road and leave the pup on the path.
o One reason a dog is such a lovable creature is his tail wags instead of his tongue.
o "Outside of a dog, a book is probably man's best friend, and inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." [Groucho Marx]
P
o "A pekingese is not a pet dog; he is an undersized lion." [A.A. Milne]
o "The poor dog, in life the firmest friend. the first to welcome, foremost to defend." [Lord Byron]
o "A professor must have a theory as a dog must have fleas." [ H.L. Mencken]
S
o Saskatchewan is so flat you can watch your dog run away for a week (Said in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, indicating that the place is flat and often treeless, so everyone and everything can be seen).
o A spoiled rotten dog lives here.
o "Some of my best leading men have been dogs and horses." [Elizabeth Taylor, actress]
o The sun doesn't shine on the same dog's back every day.
T
o Tail wagging the dog.
o "There are three faithful friends: an old wife, an old dog and ready money." [Benjamin Franklin]
o There's life in the old dog yet (Meaning: Often used to suggest an older man is still sexually active).
o There's no point in keeping a dog if you are going to do your own barking.
o Three things it is best to avoid: a strange dog, a flood and a man who thinks he is wise.
o "To his dog every man is King; hence the constant popularity of dogs." [Aldous Huxley]
o To err is human, to forgive "canine." [P.S. Take off on the famous line: To err is human, to forgive divine.]
W
o "When a dog bites a man that is not news, but when a man bites a dog that is news." [Charles Anderson Dana]
o "When a man's best friend is his dog, that dog has a problem." [Edward Abbey]
o When you feel dog tired at night, it may be because you've growled all day long.
o Why keep a dog and bark yourself?
o Wipe your paws or else.
o Work like a dog (Meaning: working hard.).
Y
o You can't teach an old dog new tricks. Or, an old dog will learn no tricks. Or, You cannot teach old dogs new tricks.
o You do not own a dog, the dog owns you.
| Contributed by: Image Courtesy of the New York Public Library, Digital Gallery #833460
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German speaking countries | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: German Proverbs, Famous Quotes, Axioms or Folk Sayings on Dogs
A
"All knowledge, the totality of all questions and all answers is contained in the dog." [Kafka, German writer]
B
o A bashful dog never fattens.
o Beware of a silent dog and still water.
o in English translation: The bone doesn't come to the dog, but the dog goes to the bone.
- Meaning: You must pursue your dreams, they won't come to you.
- German: Der knochen kommt niet zum hund, sondern der hund zum knochen.
D
o "Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love and always have to mix love and hate in their object-relations." [Dr. Sigmund Freud, German psychiatrist]
o in English translation: Dogs that bark a lot do not bite.
- Equivalent: His bark is worse than his bite.
- German original: Hunde die (viel bellen, beiben nicht.
o in English translation: Do not wake up dogs that are asleep.
- Equivalent: Let sleeping dogs lie.
- German original: Schlafende hunde soll man nicht wecken.
F
o A fence lasts three years, a dog lasts three fences, a horse three dogs, and a man three horses.
o in English translation (literally): One should not awaken sleeping dogs.
- German original: Schlafende hunde soll man nicht weeken.
L
o in English translation (literally): The last one is bitten by the dogs.
- Equivalent: The devil takes the hindmost.
- German original: Den letzten beiben die hunde.
S
o The silent dog is always the first to bite.
T
o To live long, eat like a cat, drink like a dog.
W
o "The world was conquered through the understanding of dogs; the world exists through the understanding of dogs." Nietzche, German philospher] | Contributed by: Image Courtesy of The New York Public Library, Digital Gallery #488429
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French speaking countries | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: French Proverbs, Axioms or Folk Sayings on Dogs
B
o The best thing about a man is his dog.
o By biting and scratching cats and dogs come together.
C
o in English translation: Dogs do not have [give birth to] cats.
- English equivalent: Like father, like son.
- French original: Les chiens ne font pas des chats.
D
o in English translation (literally): A dog can well see a bishop. Or, A dog can see a bishop for what he is.
- English equivalent: A cat may look at a king.
- French original: Un chien regarde bien un eveque.
o The dog may be wonderful prose, but only the cat is poetry.
o in English translation (literally): A dog that barks does not bite.
- Equivalent: His bark is worse than his bite.
- French original: Chien qui aboie ne mord pas.
o in English translation (literally): The dogs bark, the caravan passes by.
- Meaning: Let the world say what it will.
- French original: Les chiens aboient, la caravane passe.
o Dogs don't make cats (English equivalent: Like father, like son.).
o Don't snap your fingers at the dogs before you are out of the village.
E
o Every dog is valiant in his own kennel.
G
o in English translation (Literally): A good dog hunts by instinct.
- English equivalent: Like father, like son.
- French original: Bon chien, chasse de race.
o in English translation (literally): Give the dog a bone, so that he doesn't try to take your meat.
- French original: Donne au chien l'os pour qu'il ne convoite pas ta viande.
H
o He is like the gardener's dog -- he doesn't eat cabbage but won't let anyone else eat them either.
o in English translation: He wants to get rid of his dog accuses him of being mad.
- French original: Qui veut noyer son chien, l'accuse de la rage.
o in English translation: He who sleeps with dogs wakes up with fleas.
- French original: Qui se couche avec les chiens se leve avec des puces.
L
o in English translation: A live dog is worth more than a dead lion.
- English equivalent: A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.
- French original: Un chien vivant vaut mieux qu'un lion mort.
M
o Money makes dogs dance.
O
o The old dog barks not in vain.
o One must talk soothingly to the dog until one has passed him.
T
o Their dogs don't hunt in couples.
o There is no hunting but with old hounds.
o There is no showing the wolf to a bad dog.
o There are good dogs of all sizes.
W
o When the dog is drowning everyone brings him water.
o While the dogs are growling at each other, the wolf devours the sheep.
o Why keep a dog and bark yourself? | Contributed by: Image Courtesy of The New York Public Library, Digital Gallery #816074
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Spanish speaking countries | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: Spanish Proverbs or Folk Sayings on Dogs
B
o in English translation (literally): A barking dog doesn't bite.
- English Equivalent: His bark is worse than his bite.
- Spanish original: Perro ladrador, poco mordedor.
o A barking dog was never a good biter.
o The blacksmith's dog sleeps at the noise of the hammer, and wakes at the grinding of teeth.
o Brothers-in-law and red dogs few are good.
D
o A dog does not always bark at the front gate.
o A dog that barks all the time gets little attention.
o The dog that has its bitch in town never barks well.
E
o Everything moves with money, even the dog's will dance!
- Spanish original: Con dinero baila el perro.
F
o Fast as the hare runs, the greyhound outruns her, since he catches her.
o in English translation (Literally): Fleas jump on a skinny dog.
- Meaning: The weak attract problems.
- Spanish original: A perro flaco se le suben las pulgas.
o From a silent man, and a dog that does not bark, deliver us.
o in English translation: From the pedigree of a greyhound will come a long-tailed.
Meaning: Like father, like son.
G
o Give a dog a bad name and you hang him.
H
o He who loves me loves my dog too.
o He who wants to kill his dog only has to say he is mad.
I
o in English translation: IF you want the dog, accept the fleas.
- Spanish original: Si quieres el perro, acepta las pulgas.
L
o The lean dog is all fleas.
o Let the dog bark so he doesn't bite me.
M
o in English translation: MUCH as I like you, puppy, but not enough to give you bread.
- Meaning: You're not that attractive and I'm not that desperate.
- Spanish original: Tanto te quiero perrito, pero pa'pan muy poquito.
O
o in English translation: An old dog barks while lying.
- Meaning: An old dog knows that he has authority even if he is lying, so he doesn't need to waste energy in getting up.
- Spanish original: Perro viejo, Iadra echado.
o in English translation: An old dog for a new hunter.
- Meaning: The old have experience, and so they are useful to the young.
- Spanish original: A cazador nuevo, perro viejo.
T
o in English translation: There they don't tie dogs with sausages either.
- Meaning: Everywhere you go, that's how it is.
- Spanish original: Alli tampoco atan los perros con longanizas.
o Though your bloodhound be gentle, don't bite him on the lip.
o in English translation (literally): TO a skinny dog, all are fleas.
- Meaning: To the weak of character, all responsibilities are irritating.
- Spanish original: A perro flaco todo son pulgas.
W
o The well-bred hound, if he does not hunt today, will hunt tomorrow.
o Who has no bread to spare should not keep a dog.
o The wolf and the dog agree, at the expense of the goat which together they eat.
| Contributed by: Image Courtesy of The Library of Congress # 3g03202r
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English speaking countries | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: Proverbs, Idioms, Famous Quotes, or Folk Sayings on Cats
A
o All cats look gray in the dark.
o All cats love fish but hate to get their paws wet.
B
o Be the cat's whiskers (Meaning: thinking oneself better than others).
o Beware of people who dislike cats.
C
o Care killed the cat.
o A cat-call.
o Cat got your tongue (Meaning: Why aren't you speaking up?).
o A cat has nine lives.
o A cat's eyes are windows enabling us to see into another world.
o The cat is a good friend but she scratches.
o The cat is honest when the meat is out of her reach.
o The cat is mighty dignified until the dog comes.
o The cat is out of the bag.
o A cat may look at a king.
o The cat would eat fish but would not get her feet wet.
o A cornered cat becomes as fierce as a lion.
o Curiosity killed the cat (Often said in an attempt to warn someone that if he tries to find out the truth about something it might backfire).
o Curiosity killed the cat and satisfaction brought it back.
D
o The difference between cats and dogs is dogs come when they are called, cats take a message and get back to you.
o The dog for the man, the cat for the woman.
E
o Every dog has his day, but the nights are reserved for th cats.
F
o A fat cat (Meaning: Someone very rich and possibly not nice.).
o Fighting like cats and dogs.
H
o Has the cat got your tongue? (Meaning: Why aren't you speaking up?) Or, The cat got your tongue?
o Honest as the cat when the meat's out of reach.
I
o If you don't feed the cats you must feed the rats.
o In a cat's eyes, all things belong to cats.
o It is a bold mouse that nestles in the cat's ear.
o It's raining cats and dogs (Meaning: Heavy rain.).
o It takes a good many mice to kill a cat.
o It would make a cat laugh (Said in Ireland when something sounds funny).
G
o Grinning like a Cheshire cat (Meaning: Having a big smile on one's face, often for no apparent reason.).
L
o Let the cat out of the bag (Meaning: Divulging a secret often unintentionally.).
o Like a cat on a hot tin roof (Meaning: Being fidgety and unable to keep still.).
o Like a cat on hot bricks.
o Like the cat that got the cream (Meaning: Someone who looks pleased with himself, often without reason.).
o Lions are not terrified of cats.
o Look like something that the cat dragged in (Meaning: Something or someone that looks untidy.).
o Look what the cat dragged in.
N
o "No matter how much cats fight, there always seems to be plenty of kittens." [Abraham Lincoln]
o Not have a cat in hell's change (Meaning: Having no chance at all).
o Not enough room to swing a cat.
o Nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs.
P
o Playing a game of cat and mouse (Meaning: Trying to get advantage through means of trickery.).
R
o Raining cats and dogs. (Meaning: raining a lot).
S
o Scalded cats fear even cold water (Meaning: Once bitten, twice shy.).
o A scaredy-cat (Someone who is easily scared for no reason).
o Set the cat among the pigeons (Meaning: Stirring up trouble).
o She looks like an old cat carrying a kitten. (Archaic)
o Sleeping cats catch no mice.
T
o There is more than one way to skin a cat (Meaning: There are different strategies one can take to meet one's goals).
o There's not enough room in here to cuss a cat. (Archaic)
o There are many ways of skinning a cat.
o Thousands of years ago cats were worshiped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this.
o To trust the cat to keep the cream.
W
o Wanton kittens make sober cats
o When the cat's away, the mice will play.
o While the cat's away, the mice will play (Meaning: People will do what they like when those in power are not around, often said in regards to the workplace.). Or, When the cat's away the mice will play.
Y
o You will always be lucky if you know how to make friends with strange cats.
| Contributed by: Image Courtesy of The New York Public Library, Digital Gallery #1543496
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German speaking countries | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: German Proverbs, Idioms or Folk Sayings on Cats
A
o in English translation: All cats are gray in the dark.
- Meaning: All women are the same in the sack.
- German original: Bei nacht sind alle katzen grau.
B
o in English translation: Buying a cat in a sack.
- Meaning: Not knowing what you are getting.
- German original: Die katze in sack kaufen.
C
o in English translation: The cat cannot leave the mice alone.
- Meaning: You are what you are (a rake will always be a rake).
- German original: Die katze lasst das mausen nicht.
o A cat has nine lives, as the onion seven skins.
o A cat in gloves catches no mice.
o A cat is a lion to a mouse.
o The cat who frightens the mice away is as good as the cat who eats them.
I
o in English translation: In the night all cats are gray.
- Meanings: Polite version: Used when explaining why you could not discern one thing from the other.
- Impolite version: If it is late enough and I am drunk enough I don't care what my one-night-stand looks like.
- German original: Bei nacht sind alle katzen grau.
T
o in English translation: To buy a cat in a bag.
- Meaning: To pay for something you haven't seen or you know nothing about.
- Equivalent: To buy a pig in a poke.
- German original: Die katze in sack kaufen.*
W
o in English translation: When the cat is not in the house, the mice will dance on the table.
- German original: Wenn die katze aus dem hause ist, tanzen die mause auf dem tisch.
| Contributed by: Image courtesy of The New York Library, Digital Gallery, # 459678
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Spanish speaking countries | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: Spanish proverbs or Folk Sayings on Cats
C
o The cat always leaves her mark upon her friend.
o in English translation: A cat in gloves catches no mice.
- Spanish original: Gato con guantes no caza raton.
o in English translation: A cat for a rabbit.
- Meaning: Trying to cheat someone (As skinned cats and rabbits look a lot a like, some unscrupulous butchers might try to pass off a cat for a rabbit, hence the expression).
- Spanish original: Gato por liebre.
o The cat is friendly but scratches.
o in English translation: Cats always fall on their paws.
- Spanish original: Los gatos siempre caen de me.
D
o Don't send away your cat for being a thief.
I
o It is better to be a mouse in cat's mouth than a man in a lawyer's hands.
R
o The rat that knows but one hole is soon caught by the cat.
o Rats do not play tricks with kittens.
S
o in English translation: The scalded cat dreads cold water.
- Spanish original: El gato escalado del agua fria huye.
T
o The two agreed like two cats in a gutter.
o Those who play with cats must expect to be scratched.
W
o in English translation: When the cat is asleep, the mice dance.
- Spanish original: Cuando el gato duerme, bailan los ratones.
o in English translation: When the cat goes off to say her prayers, the mice dance.
- Spanish original: Cuando el gato va a sus devociones, bailan los ratones.
o in English translation: With priests and cats, little discussion possible.
- Meaning: Sometimes no matter how hard you try, you can't win.
| Contributed by: Image Courtesy of the New York Public Library, Digital Gallery #153833
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French speaking countries | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: French Proverbs, Idioms or Folk Sayings on Cats
A
o in English translation: At night all cats are gray.
- Meaning: When the lights are out (i.e. in bed) women all look the same.
- French original: La nuit tous les chats sont gris.
C
o The cat is nature's beauty.
o Cats, flies and women are ever at their toilets.
o Cats like men are flatters.
o in English translation: Dogs do not have [give birth to] cats.
- English equivalent: Like father, like son.
- French original: Les chiens ne font pas des chats.
D
o The dog may be wonderful prose, but only the cat is poetry.
o in English translation (literally): Don't wake a cat who sleeps.
- Equivalent: Let sleeping dogs lie.
- French original: Il ne faut pas reveiller le chat qui dort.
S
o in English translation (literally): A SCALDED cat fears cold water.
- Equivalent: Once bitten, twice shy.
- French original: Chat echaude craint l'eau froide.
T
o To a good rat, a good cat.
o To do like the monkey, get the chestnuts out of the fire with the cat's paw.
W
o Who was born a cat pursues the mice.
| Contributed by: Image Courtesy of the Library of Congress #3b50948r
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English speaking countries | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: Proverbs, Famous Quotes, Axioms or Folk Sayings on Horses
D
o A dog and pony show.
o Don't beat a dead horse.
o Don't look a gift horse in the mouth (Meaning: Don't criticize gifts.).
o Do not mistake a goat's beard for a fine stallion's tail.
o Don't shut the barn door after the horse is gone.
E
o Even if an ass goes traveling he'll not come home a horse.
o Every donkey thinks itself worthy of standing with the king's horses.
o Every horse thinks his own pack heaviest.
o Everybody lays his load on the willing horse.
F
o From the horse's mouth.
G
o Get off your high horse.
H
o Have a horse of your own own and then you may borrow another's.
o Hay is for horses.
o He rode on an ugly horse (In Alberta, Canada it is said of someone of someone who is in a bad mood. Equivalent: He got up on the wrong side of the bed.).
o A horse may stumble though he have four legs.
I
o If a race could be won after the first gallop, thousands would wear blue ribbons.
o If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride.
o If you ride a horse, sit close and tight. If you ride a man, sit easy and light.
o It is a good horse that draws its own cart.
o It's a good horse that never stumbles.
o It' no use closing the barn door after the horse is gone.
G
o Get off your high horse.
H
o A man may well bring a horse to the water, but he cannot make him drink.
N
o Never squat with your spurs on.
o A nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse.
O
o A one horse race.
S
o A short horse is soon curried.
o "Some of my best leading men have been dogs and horses." [Elizabeth Taylor, actress]
o The stable wears out a horse more than a road.
T
o That's enough to strangle a horse.
o To lock the stable-door after the horse is stolen.
o To flog a dead horse.
W
o While the grass grows the horse starves.
o Wild horses couldn't drag it out of me.
Y
o You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. Or, You can take a horse to the water but you cannot make him drink.
o You cannot beat a dead horse. Or, You can't flog a dead horse.
o You can't flog a dead horse.
Z
o Zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse. | Contributed by: Image Courtesy of The New York Public Library, Digital Gallery #822500
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German speaking countries | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: German Proverbs, Idioms, or folk sayings on Horses
B
o A blind horse goes straightforward.
D
o in English translation: Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
- German original: Einem geschenklen gault schaut man nicht ins maul.
F
o A fence lasts three years, a dog lasts three fences, a horse three dogs, and a man three horses.
I
o in English translation (literally): If the horseman is bad, it's the horse's fault.
- English equivalent: A poor craftsman blames his tools.
- German original: Wenn der reiter nichts taught, ist das pferd schuld.
O
o in English translation (literally): On old horses you learn how to ride.
- Meaning: Older women can you a lot in bed.
- German original: Auf alten pferden lernt man reiten.
Y
o A young wife is an old man's dispatch horse to the grave.
| Contributed by: Image Courtesy of The Library of Congress #01636r
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