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English speaking countries | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: Proverbs, Famous Quotes, Axioms or Folk Sayings on Fortune and Fate
A
o A bad beginning makes a bad ending.
o A bad penny always turns up (Meaning: Mistakes will come back to haunt you).
o A bad workman always blames his tools (Meaning: People never blame themselves for what they do.).
o A banker is someone who lends you an umbrella when the sun is shining, and who asks for it back when it starts to rain.
o A bargain is something you don't need at a price you can't resist.
o A big fish (Meaning: An important or powerful person, often said with sarcasm).
o A bird-brain (Meaning: Someone who is dumb.).
o A bird in hand is worth two in the bush (What you have in your possession is worth more than what you want to have, but don't have as yet.).
o A bean in liberty is better than a comfit in prison.
o A bellyful is one of meat, drink, or sorrow.
o The best things in life are free.
o A big tree attracts the woodsman's ax.
o A bird's eye view.
o A burnt child dreads the fire (A person who has had bad experiences will shy away from certain things.).
o A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.
o A carpenter is known by his chips.
o A cash cow (Meaning: Something that generates a lot of profit.).
o A cat and mouse game (Meaning: Someone is trying to take advantage of a situation by means of trickery).
o A cat may look at a king (Meaning: If a cat may look at the king then anyone has the right to look where one pleases.).
o 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).
o A change is as good as a rest.
o A chicken and egg situation (Meaning: When one doesn't know which came first).
o A closed mouth catches no flies (Meaning: It is often safer to keep one's mouth shut.).
o A cock-and-bull story (Meaning: Something that is obviously not true).
o Come hell or high water.
o A constant guest never welcomes.
o A coward dies a thousand times before his death. The valiant tastes of death but once.
o A crown is no cure for a headache.
o A different kettle of fish (Meaning: Someone who is different from others.)
o A danger foreseen is half avoided.
o A dog is a man's best friend.
o A dog that will fetch a bone, will carry a bone.
o A drop in the bucket (Meaning: Not enough to make a difference.).
o A drop in the sea (Meaning: Not enough to make a difference.).
o A drowning man will clutch at a straw.
o A fair exchange is no robbery.
o A fat cat (Meaning: Someone very rich and possibly not nice.).
o A fine kettle of fish (Meaning: a difficult situation).
o A fish out of water (Meaning: feeling awkward or out of place in a given situation).
o A fly may sting a horse and make him wince.
o A fool and his money are soon parted.
o A fool may ask more questions in an hour than a wise man can answer in seven years.
o A fox smells in its own lair first. Or A fox smells its own stink (Meaning: One knows where they belong and knows when they make a mistake.)
o A friend in need is a friend indeed (Meaning: A genuine friend is with you even in times of trouble).
o A good beginning makes a good ending.
o A good man in an evil society seems the greatest villain of all (Meaning: Society is what makes good good and bad bad.).
o A goose quill is more dangerous than a lion's claw.
o A great talker is a great liar.
o A guilty conscience needs no accuser.
o A half truth is a whole lie.
o A hen party (Meaning: An all-girl's party).
o A horse may stumble though he have four legs.
o A jack of all trades a is master of none.
o A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
o A hungry man is an angry man.
o A kingdom is lost for want of a shoe (Meaning serious consequences can result from seemingly tiny or trivial omissions and errors).
o A lie can be halfway around the world before the truth gets its boots on.
o A little bird told me (Meaning: When one is unwilling to divulge the source of information one has, one might say in jest that the source was a bird.).
o A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
o A loaded wagon makes no noise (Meaning: People with real money don't talk about it).
o A man can only die once.
o A man's got to do what a man's got to do.
o A man is as old as he feels.
o A man's home is his castle.
o A man is known by the company he keeps.
o A man who never made a mistake, never made anything.
o A miss by an inch is a miss by a mile (Meaning: A miss is a miss regardless of the distance).
o A mutton dressed up as a lamb (An older woman who dresses too young for her age).
o A penny saved is a penny earned.
o A penny spent is a penny earned.
o A mill cannot grind with water that is past.
o A one horse race (Meaning: no competition).
o A picture is worth a thousand words.
o A poor craftsman blames his tools.
o A pot of milk is ruined by a drop of poison.
o A pretty kettle of fish (Meaning: a difficult situation.).
o A rolling stone gathers no moss (Meaning: Those who can't put down roots, will have a hard time being successful.).
o A road hog (Meaning: A bad driver who doesn't allow others to pass him, thereby "hogging" the road.).
o A ruler must sometimes humor as well as command.
o A sacred cow (Meaning: A belief that is so generally held and respected that no one would dare criticize it).
o A scaredy-cat (Someone who is easily scared for no reason).
o A short horse is soon curried.
o A snake in the grass (Meaning: Someone who pretends to be your friend when he is anything but).
o A stitch in time saves nine (Meaning Don't postpone things you can do today tomorrow. Or, Fix the small problem now before it becomes larger and harder to fix.).
o A stumble may prevent a fall.
o A trade not properly learned is an enemy.
o A tree falls the way it leans.
o A Trojan horse.
o A true soldier does not admit defeat before the battle.
o A watched pot never boils (Meaning: Time seems to pass quicker when you aren't consciously waiting for something.).
o A woman's place is in the home.
o A woman's work is never done.
o A wolf in sheep's clothing (Someone who pretends to be nice but is actually not nice at all).
o A word spoken is past recalling (Meaning: What's done is done).
o A work ill done must be twice done.
o Ability can take you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.
o Accidents will happen.
o Act today only tomorrow is too late.
o Action is the proper fruit of knowledge.
o Actions speak louder than words.
o Adapt and survive.
o Adversity is a gift.
o Adversity a great schoolmaster.
o Adversity makes strange bedfellows.
o Advice when most needed is least heeded.
o After rain comes fair weather.
o After a storm comes a calm.
o After all is said and done, more is said than done.
o After us the deluge.
o Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
o Aim for the stars.
o All are not hunters that blow the horn.
o All cats love fish but hate to get their paws wet.
o All flowers are not in one garden.
o All for one and one for all.
o All frills and no knickers.
o All good things must come to an end.
o All hat and no cattle (Meaning: All style no substance.).
o All in good time.
o All's fair in love and war (or All is fair in love and war.) (Meaning: Love and war are arenas of complete passion that often obfuscate reason.).
o All is not lost that is in peril.
o All's [is] well that ends well.
o All lies come back to haunt you.
o All men can't be first.
o All men can't be masters.
o All roads lead to Rome.
o All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy.
o All sizzle and no steak (Meaning: All style and no substance).
o All that glitters is not gold (Meaning: Some things may look a lot better than they are. Or, Not everything is what it appears to be.).
o All the world loves a lover.
o All the world is your country, to do good is your religion.
o All things are difficult before they are easy.
o All things come to him who waits.
o All things in moderation.
o All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy.
o All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
o Almost only counts in horseshoes.
o Always be prepared.
o Always care about your flowers and your friends. Otherwise they'll fade and soon your house will be empty.
o Always keep an open mind.
o Ambition is a good servant but a mad master.
o An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
o An eagle eye.
o An early bird.
o An empty vessel makes the most noise (Meaning: Those with the least understanding often complain about things the most).
o An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth (Old Testament. Meaning: Retribution should be equitable).
o An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.
o An hour may destroy what an age was building.
o An ill weed grows apace.
o An old dog will learn no tricks.
o An old goat (Meaning: the term often is applied sarcastically to older men who are over-sexed and promiscuous).
o An open foe may prove a curse but a pretended friend is worse.
o Anger is often more hurtful than the injury that caused it.
o Anger is one letter short of danger.
o Another day, another dollar.
o An ounce of discretion is worth a pound of wit (Meaning: It is better to be careful and discrete than to be clever.).
o Anyone can stand adversity but to test a person's character, give them power.
o Any port in a storm (Meaning: Beggars can't be choosers.)
o Any time means no time (Meaning: It ain't going to happen.).
o Anything for nothing.
o April showers brings May flowers.
o Appearances are deceptive.
o As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. [Old Testament]
o As free as a bird.
o As gentle as a lamb.
o As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
o As plain as two and two make four.
o As poor as church mice (Meaning: to be in dire straights).
o As sick as a dog.
o As scarce as hen's teeth (Meaning: being hard to find).
o As snug as a bug in a rug (Meaning: To feel very comfortable under the bed covers.).
o As soon as a man is born, he begins to die.
o As soon as one goes out the window, another comes in the door.
o As strong as a bull.
o As you make your bed, so you must lie in it (One must take responsibility for one's actions).
o As you sow so shall you reap (Meaning: Actions have consequences.).
o Ask a stupid question and you'll get a stupid answer.
o Ask it. Ask it don't get... Get it, get it don't want."
o Ask no questions and hear no lies.
o The ass that is common property is always the worst saddled.
o At the ends of the earth.
B
o Bad gains are true loses.
o A bad workman quarrels with his tools.
o Be careful for what you wish for.
o Be slow to promise and quick to perform.
o Be swift to hear, slow to speak.
o Be the change you wish to see in the world.
o Beggars can't be choosers.
o Believe not all that you see nor half what you hear.
o Believe nothing of what you hear and only half of what you see.
o Best defense is offense.
o Better be born lucky than rich.
o Better be envied than pitied.
o Better early than late.
o Better late than never.
o Better a lean peace than a fat victory.
o Better the devil you know than the one you don't.
o Better to ask the way than go astray.
o Better to be safe than sorry.
o A big fish (An important or powerful person, often said with sarcasm).
o A big fish in a small pond (An important or powerful person among a small group of people or in an organization, often said with sarcasm).
o Birds of a feather, flock together.
o A cold fish (An unfriendly person or someone who displays little emotion).
o Backed the wrong horse (Meaning: Failed to have foresight.).
o The bad gardener quarrels with his rake.
o Bad luck comes in threes (A disaster seldom comes alone.).
o Bad news travels fast.
o A bad penny always turns up.
o A bad workman quarrels with his tools.
o Barking dogs seldom bite (Equivalent: His bark is louder than his bite.).
o Barking up the wrong tree.
o Be as scarce as hen's teeth (Meaning: Being hard to find.).
o Be the cat's whiskers.
o Beauty is only skin-deep.
o Beggars can never be bankrupt.
o Beggars can't be choosers.
o Before criticizing a man, walk a mile in his shoes (Meaning: One should not criticize a person without understanding their situation.).
o The best go first.
o The best is yet to come.
o The best manure is under the farmer's foot.
o The best of friends must part.
o The best things in life are free.
o Better die with honor than live with shame.
o 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).
o Better ride on ass that carries me, than on a horse that throws me.
o Better be safe than sorry. Or, Better safe than sorry (Meaning: It is better to take precautions when it's possible that something can go amiss then to regret doing nothing later if something should indeed go wrong.).
o Better something than nothing.
o Better the devil you know than the one you don't.
o Better to be alone than in bad company.
o Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
o Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
o Beware of the Bear when he tucks in his shirt.
o Beware of the false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing and inwardly are ravening wolves (New Testament).
o Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.
o The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
o A bird in hand is worth two in the bush (What you have in your possession is worth more than what you want to have, but don't have as yet.).
o The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
o A bird-brain (Meaning: Someone who is dumb.).
o The birds and the bees.
o Birds of a feather flock [or stick] together (Meaning: People like to hang around with those who have the same interests.).
o The black sheep of the family (Someone who is perceived by the rest of the family as being irresponsible or unsuccessful).
o The blind leading the blind (Meaning: Somebody tries to explain something he knows nothing about).
o Blood is thicker than water (Family ties are stronger than any other type of ties to people.)
o Blood will out (Meaning: A person's ancestry or upbringing will eventually show.).
o Bloom where you are planted.
o Born with a silver spoon in his/her mouth (Meaning: born rich).
o Boys will be boys (Meaning: Boys are traditionally expected to misbehave, while girls are not.).
o Brain is better than brawn.
o Bread is the staff of life.
o Breed like rabbits (Meaning: People who have lots of babies, often said as a put-down.).
o Brevity is the soul of wit (Meaning: Be concise; don't ramble.).
o Building relationships is like fermenting wine: you may crush the grapes with ample efforts and give them enough warmth at the inception, yet the wine will age at its own leisurely pace.
o Bull-headed (Meaning: Someone who is very stubborn).
o A burnt child dreads the fire or The burnt child dreads the fire (Meaning: A person who has had bad experiences will shy away from certain things.).
o Business is business.
o Business before pleasure.
o Buy the best and you only cry once.
o By diligence and patience, the mouse bit in two the cable.
o By doing nothing we learn to do ill.
o By hook or by crook.
C
o Call a spade a spade (Meaning: Say what you mean, or shut up.).
o Call off the dogs.
o A calm sea does not make a skilled sailor (Calm times do not show anything; it's the tough times that make you what you are.).
o 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.).
o A change is as good as a rest.
o A chicken and egg situation (Meaning: One doesn't know which came first.).
o Can take the hind legs off a donkey (A real chatter-box.).
o Can't get blood from a stone.
o Can't see the forest for the trees (Meaning: You can't see the big picture because of all the details.).
o Carry your own cross (Meaning: One should be prepared to solve his own problems without any help).
o A carpenter is known by his chips.
o A cat and mouse game (Meaning: Someone trying to take advantage of a situation by means of trickery.).
o Cat got your tongue? (Meaning: Why aren't you speaking up, did the cat bite off your tongue).
o A cat may look like a king (Meaning: If a cat may look at the king -- then anyone has the right to look how one pleases).
o The cat would eat fish but would not get her feet wet.
o Caution is the parent of safety.
o A chain is no stronger than its weakest link.
o Chance favors the prepared mind.
o Change is inevitable.
o Character building begins in infancy and continues until death.
o Charity begins at home.
o Chicken feed (Meaning: A small amount of money, often said when one is not adequately paid for one's labor.).
o Chickens come home to roost (Meaning: Being haunted by one's past misdeeds).
o "The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity." [John F. Kennedy, American president]
o Christmas comes but once a year.
o Church ain't over till the fat lady sings.
o Cleanliness is next to godliness.
o Choose the hills wisely on which you must do battle.
o Circumstances alter cases.
o Closing the door after the horse has bolted.
o Clothes don't make the man (Meaning: Appearances can be deceptive).
o Clothes make the man (Meaning: money helps).
o Clouds gather before a storm.
o The cobbler's children go barefoot. Or, The clobbers children run without shoes.
o A cock-and-bull story (Meaning: Something that is obviously not true.).
o Come off your high horse (Meaning: Don't be so self-righteousness.)
o Come hell or high water (Meaning: Achieve something by whatever it will cost.).
o Come what may, time and hour runs through the roughest day.
o Common sense ain't common.
o Common sense is genius dressed in its working clothes.
o Company in distress makes trouble less.
o Confession is the first step to repentance.
o The covetous person is always in want.
o Count your blessings.
o Courage is not the absence of fear; it is the conquest of it.
o Cowards die many times before their death.
o Craft advice is often got from a fool.
o Creditors have better memories than debtors.
o Crime does not pay.
o A crown is no cure for a headache.
o Cry me a river (build a bridge and get over it).
o Cunning men deal in generalizations.
o Curiosity killed the cat (Meaning: 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.
o Curses like chickens, come home to roost.
o Custom is the plague of wise men and the idol of fools.
o Cut the mustard (Being able to perform a given task).
o Cut your coat according to your cloth.
o Cut your losses (Meaning: Stop an activity, before it harms you even more.).
D
o Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
o A danger foreseen is half avoided.
o The darkest hours are just before dawn.
o The day has eyes, the night has ears.
o Dead as a door nail (Meaning: Something that cannot be reused, no matter what).
o Dead men have no friends.
o Dead men tell no lies.
o Dead men tell no tales.
o Death is the great leveler.
o Deeds are fruits, words are leaves.
o Delays are dangerous.
o Diligence is the mother of success.
o Desperate times call for desperate measures.
o Destroy your enemy by making him your friend.
o The devil is in the details.
o The devil places a pillow for a drunken man to fall upon.
o The devil takes the hindmost (Meaning: The last one is unlucky.)
o The die is cast.
o A different kettle of fish (Meaning: Someone who is different from others.).
o Different strokes for different folks (Meaning: Different people have different preferences).
o Diligence is the mother of good fortune.
o Discretion is the better part of valor (Meaning: Caution is preferable to rash bravery).
o Divide and rule.
o Do as I say, and not as I do.
o Do as you would be done by.
o Do good to thy friend to keep him, to thy enemy to gain him.
o Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
o Do what comes natural.
o Do what is right, come what may.
o Doing is better than saying.
o Don't ask God to guide your footsteps if you're not willing to move your feet.
o Do not attempt too much at once.
o Do not be like the cat who wanted a fish but was afraid to get his paws wet.
o Don't cross a bridge before you come to it (Meaning: Don't fret unnecessarily about future problems.).
o Don't be led by the nose.
o Don't bite the hand that feeds you (Meaning: Don't put down the ones on whom you are dependent on, be they your parents or your employer.)
o Don't bite off more than you can chew (Meaning: Do not take on more responsibility than you can handle at any one time.).
o Don't bite the hand that feeds you.
o Don't bring a knife to a gun fight.
o Don't bug me (Meaning: Stop annoying me.).
o Don't burn your bridges (Meaning: Do not act in such a way as to leave yourself no alternative or no opportunity to retreat.).
o Don't change horses in the middle of a stream.
o Don't count your chickens before they're hatched.
o Don't count your eggs before they hatch.
o Don't cry over spilled milk (Meaning: Don't worry about things that have already happened).
o Don't cross a bridge before you come to it.
o Don't cry before you are hurt.
o Don't cut off your nose to spite your face (Meaning: Do not act to spite someone else if it is damaging to yourself).
o Don't fall before you're pushed.
o Don't find fault, find a remedy.
o Don't get your back up.
o Don't go barking up the wrong tree.
o Don't go looking for trouble.
o Don't go near the water until you learn how to swim.
o Don't have too many irons in the fire (Meaning: Do not take on more responsibility than you can handle at any one time.).
o Don't judge a book by its cover (Meaning: Do not judge by appearances).
o Don't judge a man by the size of his hat, but by the angle of his tilt.
o Don't keep a dog and bark yourself.
o Don't kill the goose that lays the golden egg.
o Don't leave till tomorrow what can be finished today.
o Don't let anyone get your goat.
o Don't let the critics get you down.
o Don't look a gift horse in the mouth (Don't criticize gifts.).
o Don't make a mountain out of a molehill (Meaning: Don't exaggerate).
o Don't mend what ain't broken.
o Don't postpone things you can do today to tomorrow.
o Don't put all your eggs in one basket (Meaning: Diversify.
Or, Do not rest all your hopes on one eventuality; plan for several cases).
o Don't pretend to be something you aren't.
o Don't put the cart before the horse (Meaning: Do things in the correct order).
o Don't raise more Demons than you can lay down.
o Don't shoot the messenger.
o Don't shut the barn door after the horse is gone (Meaning: Prepare for things to go wrong rather than worrying about them after the fact.)
o Don't spill the beans.
o Don't spit in the wind.
o Do not squander time for that is the stuff that life is made of.
o Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out of it alive.
o Don't take no for an answer.
o Don't talk unless you can improve the silence.
o Don't trouble trouble until trouble troubles you.
o Don't throw the baby out with the bath water (Meaning: Do not, in an attempt to remove something undesirable, lose things that are valuable).
o Don't shut the barn door after the horse is gone.
o Don't spare the horses.
o Don't spit into the wind.
o Don't toot your own horn.
o Don't treat the symptom instead find the cause.
o Don't try to reinvent the wheel.
o Don't wash your dirty linen in public.
o Do not wear out your welcome.
o Don't wish your life away.
o Don't worry, be happy.
o Do unto others as you would have done to you (New Testament).
o A dog and pony show.
o Dog days.
o Dog does not eat dog (Equivalent: There's honor among thieves.).
o Dog eat dog (Meaning: In a dog-eat-dog world individuals will do anything to get ahead.).
o A dog is a man's best friend.
o Dogs that bark at a distance never bite.
o A dog that will fetch a bone, will carry a bone.
o Dog tired (Meaning: very tired).
o Donkey work (Meaning: A boring job or task.).
o Donkey's years (Meaning: a long time.).
o Don't play the fool with me.
o Dot your i's and cross your t's.
o Doubt is the beginning, not the end, of wisdom.
o 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).
o Drink like a fish (Someone who consumes a lot of alcohol, but is not necessarily an alcoholic.).
o Drive gentle over the stones.
o A drop in the bucket (Meaning: Not enough to make a difference).
o A drop in the sea (Meaning: Not enough to make a difference.)
o A drowning man will catch at a straw. Or, A drowning man ill clutch at a straw.
o A dull pencil is greater than the sharpest memory.
o Dumb luck (Meaning: Luck that had nothing to do with being hard-working, clever etc.).
E
o Each day provides its own gifts.
o Each person has his strong point.
o The eagle does not catch flies.
o The early bird catches the worm. Or, The early bird gets the worm.
o The early bird gets the worm, the second mouse gets the cheese.
o Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
o Easier said than done.
o Easy come, easy go.
o Easy does it.
o Eat crow (Meaning: Admitting you were wrong.).
o Eat humble pie (Meaning: Having to admit you were wrong).
o Eat like a bird (Meaning: To eat very small amounts.).
o Education is a progressive discovering of our own ignorance.
o Education makes machines which act like men and produces men who act like machines.
o An empty purse frightens away friends.
o Empty vessels make most noise/sound (Meaning: Those who lack intelligence speak the most/loudest.).
o The end justifies the means.
o Enjoy what you don't know.
o Enough and no waste is as good as a feast.
o Even a broken/stopped clock is right twice a day.
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 Even angels have teeth.
o Even if an ass goes traveling he'll not come home a horse.
o Even the best laid plans go awry.
o Envy is based on an incomplete understanding of the other person's situation.
o Envy of others always shows.
o Every ass loves to hear himself bray.
o Every cloud has a silver lining (Meaning: In every bad situation -- something good).
o Every bird loves to hear himself sing.
o Everybody's business is nobody's business.
o Everybody makes mistakes.
o Every dog has [or hath] its [his] day (Meaning [often said sarcastically]: Don't give up -- everyone gets to experience success.).
o Every dog is allowed one bite.
o Every family has a skeleton in the cupboard.
o Every flow has its ebb.
o Every garden may have some weeds. Or, Every garden has some weeds.
o Every herring must hang by his own gill.
o Every horse thinks his own pack heaviest.
o Every Jack has his Jill; if only they can find each other.
o Every land has its own law.
o Every law has its loophole.
o Every man for himself.
o Every man is his own worst enemy.
o Every man has his faults.
o Every man has his price.
o Every man is the architect of his own fortune.
o Every picture tells a story.
o Every rose has its thorn.
o Everyone feels his own wound first.
o Everyone gets their just deserts.
o Everyone is ignorant only on different subjects.
o Everyone one can find fault, few can do better.
o Everyone wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die.
o Everything comes to him who waits. Or, Everything comes to those who wait.
o Everything is lovely when the geese honk high.
o Everything is good in in its season.
o Everything in moderation.
o Everything happens for a reason.
o Everything must come to an end.
o Everything with time.
o Example is the best precept.
o Expect the worst, but hope for the best.
o Experience is the best teacher.
o Experience is the mother of wisdom.
o Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other.
o Experience teaches slowly and at the cost of mistakes.
o Extremes meet.
F
o Face the music (Meaning: Have courage, and do what you have to do.)
o Fact is stranger than fiction.
o Failure is not falling down, you fail when you don't get back up.
o Failure is the stepping stone for success.
o Failure is a teacher; a harsh one, but the best.
p Failure is the path of least persistence.
o Failure teaches success.
o A fair exchange is no robbery.
o Faith will move mountains.
o Falling down does not signify failure but staying there does. Or Failure is not falling down, you fail when you don't get back up.
o Falling is easier than rising.
o Faint heart never won fair lady (Meaning: If one wants to accomplish great things one has to have a lot of guts.).
o Fair exchange is no robbery (Meaning: A contract is good when those who sign it, know exactly what they're getting themselves into.).
o Fame is a magnifying glass.
o Familiarity breeds contempt (Meaning: Long experience of someone or something can make one so aware of the faults as to be scornful.).
o Fear is stronger than love.
o Fear of death is worse than death itself.
o The female of the species is more deadly than the male.
o Fight fire with fire.
o Fighting like cats and dogs (Meaning: Arguing violently or having very strong disagreements that can't be resolved no matter what).
o Finders keepers, losers weepers.
o Fine feathers make fine birds.
o A fine kettle of fish (Meaning: a difficult situation).
o Fine feathers don't make fine birds.
o Fine words butter no parsnips (Equivalent: Actions speak louder than words.).
o Fingers were invented before knives and forks.
o Fire is a good servant but a bad master.
o First come, first served.
o First deserve, then desire.
o First impression is the last impression.
o The first step is the hardest.
o First think, then speak.
o First things first (Meaning: Do more important things before other things.).
o First think, and then speak.
o Fish and company stink in three days.
o Fish begins to stink at the head.
o Fish for compliments, Or, Fishing for compliments.
o Fish or cut bait (Hurry up and make a decision or take action).
o A fish out of water (Feeling awkward or out of place in a given situation.).
o Fit as a fiddle (Meaning: Very fit and well.).
o A fly may sting a horse and make him wince.
o Focus on what's right in your world instead of what's wrong.
o Follow your dreams.
o A fool always rushes to the fore.
o A fool and his money are soon parted.
o A fool may ask more questions in an hour than a wise man can answer in seven years.
o A fool may throw a stone into a well which a hundred wise m en cannot pull out.
o A fool's tongue runs before his wit.
o Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me (Meaning: To make the same mistake over again is your own fault.).
o Fools and madmen speak the truth.
o Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
o For the birds (Meaning: Something that has no value.).
o For the love of the game.
o For want of a nail the horseshoe was lot.
o For want of a nail the shoe is lost, for want of shoe the horse is lost, for want of a horse the rider is lost.
o A forced kindness deserves no thanks.
o The forest is the poor man's overcoat.
o Forever I only have in letters, feelings I only have for time.
o Forgive and forget.
o Forewarned is forearmed.
o Fortune favors the brave (Meaning: Courageous people make their own luck).
o Fretting cares make gray [gray] hairs.
o Friends are God's ways of taking care of us.
o From bad to worse.
o From pillar to post.
o From the horse's mouth.
o From the mouths of babes (Meaning: Children proclaim the truth.).
o The full Monty (someone without clothes).
G
o Garbage in, garbage out.
o Genius is ninety percent perspiration and ten percent inspiration.
o Gentility without ability is worse than plain beggary.
o Get off your high horse.
o Get to the root of the problem.
o Get your goat (Meaning: to get irritated or annoyed by someone's behavior).
o Give a dog a bad name and hang him.
o Give a fool rope enough and he will hang himself.
o Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
o Give a thing and take a thing, to wear the devil's gold ring.
o Give and take is fair play.
o Give and ye shall receive (New Testament).
o Give assistance not advice in a crisis.
o Give credit where credit is due.
o Give him an inch and he'll take a yard.
o Give people a common enemy and hopefully they will work together.
o Give the devil his due.
o Given a challenge, rise to the occasion.
o The grand instructor, time.
o The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
o A great talker is a great liar.
o Go for it.
o Go hog wild (Meaning: To become over-excited about something, sometimes in a ridiculous fashion.).
o Go the whole hog (Meaning: Go the whole nine yards, or all the way.).
o Go the whole nine years (Meaning: Going all out, not sparing any trouble.).
o Go whole hog (Meaning: To go the whole nine yards, or doing as much as possible in a giving situation.).
o Go with the flow.
o Going to the dogs (Meaning: Falling behind or becoming less successful as in the past.).
o God cures and the physician takes the fee.
o God don't like ugly and he ain't stuck on pretty.
o God help the rich man, let the poor man beg [Said sarcastically].
o God help the rich, the poor can look after themselves.
o God helps those who help themselves. Or, God helps them that help themselves.
o God prefers prayers to tears.
o God takes care of drunks.
o A good beginning is half the battle.
o A good beginning makes a good ending.
o Good fences make good neighbors.
o Good luck beats early rising.
o A good marksman may miss.
o A good name is better than riches.
o A good name is sooner lost than won.
o A good retreat is better than a bad stand.
o Good things come in numbers of three.
o Good men are hard to find.
o Good weight and measure are heaven's treasures.
o Good wine needs no bush (Meaning: Something desirable of quality and substance need not be embellished.).
o Goodness is better than beauty.
o A goose quill is more dangerous than a lion's claw.
o The grass is always greener on the other side.
o Gratefulness is the poor man's payment.
o A great fortune is a great slavery.
o Great minds think alike, but fools seldom differ.
o Great oaks from little acorns grow (Equivalent Like father, like son.).
o A great ship asks deep waters.
o Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
o Great trees keep little ones down.
o The greatest pleasure in life is ding what people say you cannot do.
o Green leaves and brown leaves fall from the same tree (Meaning: No matter of the outside, we are all the same inside.).
o Grinning like a Cheshire cat (Meaning: Having a big smile on one's face, often for no apparent reason.).
o Grow where you are planted.
H
o Hair of the dog that bit you.
o Half a loaf is better than none (Meaning: Be thankful for what you've got.).
o Half the world knows not how the other half lives.
o The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world.
o Handsome is as handsome does.
o Hang a thief when he's young and hell no steal when he's old.
o Happy is the person who learns from the misfortunes of others.
o Happy wife, happy life.
o Hard cases make bad law.
o Hard words break no bones.
o Has the cat got your tongue? (Meaning: Why aren't you speaking up, did the cat bite off your tongue?)
o Haste makes waste (Meaning: Slow and steady wins the race.).
o Hasty climbers have sudden falls.
o Have a cow (Meaning: Being worried about something.).
o Have a huge tiger by the tail.
o Have not, want not.
o Have bigger fish to fry or Having bigger fish to fry (Meaning: Having more important things to do than what is presently demanded of you.).
o Have other fish to fry or Having other fish to fry (Meaning: having more important things to do than what is presently demanded of you.).
o Have the courage of your convictions.
o Have the luck of the devil (Meaning: being very lucky).
o Hay is for horses.
o He is best general who makes the fewest mistakes.
o He is not laughed at that laughs at himself first.
o He is not poor that has little, but he that desires much.
o He is not wise that is not wise for himself.
o He is the most unfortunate who's today is not better than yesterday [Muhammad].
o He makes his home where the living is best.
o She smells best that smells of nothing.
o He steals a goose, and gives the giblets in alms.
o He that can't endure the bad will not live to see the good.
o He that cannot obey, cannot command.
o He that fights and runs away, lives to fight another day.
o He that hath a trade, hath an estate.
o He that knows nothing doubts nothing.
o He that is born to be hanged shall never be drowned.
o He that is full of himself is very empty.
o He that is hard to please, may get nothing in the end.
o He that is master of himself, will soon be master of others.
o He that is rich need not live sparingly and he that can live sparingly need not be rich.
o He that knows nothing, doubts nothing.
o He that lives on hope will die fasting.
o He that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent. [Old Testament]
o He that marries for money will earn it.
o He that never climbed never fell.
o He that pays the piper, calls the tune.
o He that plants a tree plants for posterity.
o He that plants thorns must never expect to gather roses.
o He that promises too much means nothing.
o He that steals an egg will steal an ox.
o He that takes the devil into his boat must carry him over the sound.
o He that talks much errs much.
o He that waits on fortune is never sure of a dinner.
o He that would have the fruit must climb the tree.
o He that would govern others, first should be the master of himself.
o He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.
o He would climb the ladder must begin at the bottom.
o He who dares wins.
o He who gets a name for early rising can stay in bed until midday.
o He who laughs last laughs best. Or He, who laughs last, laughs longest.
o He who fails to prepare, prepares to fail.
o He who fails to study the past is doomed to repeat it.
o He who has nothing to say, cannot write.
o He who hesitates is lost.
o He who knows does not speak. He who speaks does not know.
o He who is born a fool, dies a fool.
o He who is good at excuses is seldom good at anything else.
o He who is shipwrecked the second time, cannot lay the blame on Neptune.
o He who laughs last, laughs best.
o He who laughs last is the slowest to think.
o He who lives by the sword dies by the sword (New Testament/ Meaning: People die the way they live.).
o He who lives by the sword is shot by those who don't (Parody of "He who lives by the sword dies by the sword.
o He who lives too fast, goes to his grave too soon.
o He who pays the piper calls the tune (Meaning: To be able to control the details of a situation by virtue of being the one who bears the cost or provides for others).
o He who plots to hurt others often hurts himself.
o He who scatters thorns must not go barefoot.
o He who sits on tack is better off.
o He who sleeps forgets his hunger.
o He who stands for nothing will fall for everything.
o He who sups with the devil has need of a long spoon.
o He who was never sick dies of the first fit.
o He who will steal an egg will steal an ox.
o He would climb the ladder must begin at the bottom.
o Health is better than wealth.
o Heaven protects children, sailors and drunks.
o Help ever, hurt never.
o Help yourself and God will help you.
o Helping hands are better than praying lips [Mother Theresa].
o A hen's party (An all-girl's party).
o Her left hand doesn't know what her right hand is doing.
o The higher the monkey climbs, the more he shows his tail.
o Hindsight is 20/20 (Meaning: It is always easy to see your mistakes after they occur.).
o His bark is worse than his bite (Meaning: As long as talking (barking) continues, even albeit threatening, violence is averted.
o History repeats itself.
o Hit the nail on the head.
o Hold your horses (Meaning: Stop and listen.).
o Holy cow! (Meaning: Used to express surprise).
o Home is where the heart is.
o Honesty is the best policy.
o Honey catches more flies than vinegar (Meaning: One can get more cooperation from others by being nice.).
o The honey is sweet but the bee has a sting.
o Hope deferred makes the heart sick.
o Hope for the best, expect the worst.
o Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
o Hope is a good breakfast, but a poor supper.
o Hope is life.
o Hope springs eternal.
o A horse may stumble though he have four legs.
o Houston, we've got a problem.
o However long the day, night must fall.
o Huge tiger by the tail.
o Hunger is the best sauce.
o Hunger is the best spice.
o A hungry man is an angry man.
o A hut is a palace to the poor man.
I
o I came, I saw, I conquered [Julius Caesar] (Meaning: Often said in a joking matter about having succeeded at doing something that was very difficult).
o I might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb (Meaning: Knowing you'll be punished for doing something, so going out and doing something even worse as the punishment for doing it will be no worse).
o I think, therefore I am [Descartes].
o I wants, don't gets.
o An idle brain is the devil's workshop.
o Idle hands are the devil's playthings.
o If a hen does not prate she'll never lay.
o If a job is worth doing it is worth doing well.
o If all else fails, try the obvious.
o If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
o If God sends you down a stony path, may he give you strong shoes.
o If I had a nickel for every time I heard that, I'd be a millionaire.
o If it can't be cured, it must be endured.
o If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Or, If it isn't broken, don't fix it.
o If it's drowning you're after, don't torment yourself with shallow water.
o It's not a delay to stop and sharpen the scythe.
o If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
o If loving her would be a sin, I wish to sin for the rest of my life.
o If passion drives, let reason hold the reins.
o If something can go wrong, it will [Murphy's Law].
o If the mountain won't come to Muhammad, Muhammad must go to the mountain.
o If the shoe fits, wear it.
o If three dogs chase a rabbit they cannot kill it.
o If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
o If you're in a hole, stop digging.
o If you're prepared to be confused, be prepared for a sore bum.
o If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
o If you believe that dreams can come true be prepared for the occasional nightmare.
o If you buy cheaply, you pay dearly.
o If you buy quality, you only cry once.
o If you can't be good, be careful.
o If you can't be good, be good at it.
o If you can't beat them, join them.
o If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.
o If you cross your bridges before you come to them, you will have to pay the toll twice.
o If you cut down the trees you will find the wolf.
o If you desire many things, many things will seem but a few.
o If you don't buy a ticket, you can't win the raffle.
o If you don't have a plan for yourself, you'll be part of someone else's.
o If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.
o If you don't have what it takes you won't get on in the world.
o If you don't know where you're going, any train will get you there.
o If you don't laugh, you'll cry.
o If you won't want trouble, don't go looking for it.
o If you fake it, you can't make it.
o If you fall off a cliff, you might as well try to fly. After all, you got nothing to lose.
o If you go away, you can't expect people to keep your place for you.
o If you keep your mouth shut, you won't put your foot in it.
o If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. And if they don't, they never were.
o If you ride a horse, sit close and tight. If you ride a man, sit easy and light.
o If you snooze you lose.
o If you trust before you try, you may repent before you die [Nathan Bailey].
o If you want a thing done right, do it yourself.
o If you want breakfast in bed, sleep in the kitchen.
o If you want born to be shot, you'll never be hung.
o If you want something, get it yourself.
o If you want to judge a man's character, give him power.
o If you were born to be shot, you'll never be hung.
o If your messenger is slow, go to meet him.
o If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
o Ignorance is bliss [Short version of a Thomas Gray's line "Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise].
o Ignorance of the law excuses no man.
o Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
o Ill seed, ill wind.
o I'll give you the long and short of it. (Giving you the truth.)
o Imitation is the sincerest form of flatter.
o In a cat's eyes, all things belong to cats.
o In a crisis, give help first and then advice.
o In for a dime, in for a dollar.
o In for a penny, in for a pound (Meaning: Follow through, don't wimp out.).
o In order to get where you want to go, you first have to leave where you are [Sandy Elsberg].
o In the end, a man's motives are second to his accomplishments
o In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king (Meaning: Someone with limited means can only be considered superior by people with even more limited means).
o Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results.
o Into every life a little rain must fall.
o Is a bear Catholic?
o It ain't over till the fat lady sings.
o It ain't over til it's over.
o It comes as it comes.
o It's a cracked pitcher that goes longest to the well.
o It's a dog's life.
o It's a good horse that never stumbles.
o It's a long lane that has no turns.
o It is a long road that has no turning.
o It's all Greek to me (Meaning: I don't understand.).
o It's always darkest before the dawn.
o It is a bold mouse that nestles in the cat's ear.
o It's a dog-eat-dog world (Meaning: Higher ethics are not much of use to people whose basic needs are not met.).
o It's an ill wind that blows no good.
o It is best to be on the safe side.
o It is better to begin in the evening than not at all.
o It is better to be safe than sorry.
o It is better to be silent and thought a fool, than to speak up and remove all doubt.
o It is better to die on one's feet than live on one's knees.
o It's better to find a whole worm in your apple than half a worm.
o It's better to give than receive.
o It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
o It's cheaper to keep her.
o It's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.
o It's no use closing the barn door after the horse is gone.
o It is no use crying over spilled [spilt] milk.
o It is no use pumping a dry well.
o It's easier to ask forgiveness than permission [Grace Hopper]
o It's easier to be wise after the event.
o It's easy to become a father, but hard to be one.
o It's a blessing in disguise.
o It's all in how you look at things.
o It's an ill wind that blows no good.
o It's a poor job that can't stand at least one supervisor.
o It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself.
o It's a small world.
o It's better to be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
o It is easy to be brave from a distance.
o It is easy to despise what you cannot get.
o It is easy to kick a person when he is down.
o It is just a question of putting two and two together.
o It is far easier to start something than to finish it.
o It is possible to have too much of a good thing.
o It is a small world.
o It's like water off a duck's back.
o It is the last straw that breaks the camel's back.
o It's never too late to mend.
o It is not a matter of upper and lower class but of being up a while and down a while.
o It's not how much you do, but how much love you put into the doing that matters.
o It is not the same to go to the king's house as to come from it.
o It is not the end of the world.
o It's often a person's mouth broke their nose (Meaning: People talk themselves into trouble.)
o It is through the small things we do that we learn, not the big things.
o It's sink or swim (Meaning: You've got to make do with some unpleasant prospect because the alternative is even worse).
o It's the early bird that gets the worm.
o It's the empty can that makes the most noise.
o It's the bitter end.
o It's the exception that proves the rule.
o It's the squeaky wheel that gets the grease.
o It's no use crying over spilled milk.
o It's not over till it's over [Yogi Berra, American carton character].
o It's not so much the gift that is given but the way in which the gift is given.
o It's not the size of the boat, it's the motion of the ocean.
o It's raining cats and dogs.
o It fits like a glove (Meaning: Something -- clothes normally -- fits very good, like specially made just for that person.).
o It just makes things worse.
o It makes no difference.
o It never rains, but it pours (Meaning: Troubles never come alone.).
o It pays to be content with your lot.
o It pays to be prepared.
o It pays to pay attention.
o It takes all kinds to make the world go round.
o It takes all sorts to make the world go round.
o It takes both rain and sunshine to make rainbows.
o It takes time to build castles. Rome was not built in a day.
o It takes two to lie -- one to lie and one to listen.
o It takes two to make a quarrel.
o It takes two to tangle.
o It takes two to tango.
J
o Jack of all trades; master of none (Meaning: Good at everything, excellent at nothing.).
o Jack is as good as his master.
o Jam tomorrow and jam yesterday, but never jam today.
o The jig is up.
o The journey is more important than the destination (Meaning: The destination is not important, but the path leads thee is. Or Enjoy the present without always dreaming of a better future.).
o A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
o Judge not, lest ye be judged.
o Just because something doesn't do what you palnned it to do, doesn't mean it's useless.
o Just because something is common sense doesn't mean it's common practice.
o Just go with it.
o Justice is truth in action.
K
o Keep a stiff upper lip.
o Keep no more cats than will catch mice.
o Keep plugging.
o Keep thy stop, and they shop will keep thee.
o Keep your chin up.
o Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
o Keep your head about you.
o Keep your mouth shut and let others think you are stupid, rather then open your mouth and give evidence of the same.
o Keep your mouth shut and your ears open.
o Keep your nose to the grindstone.
o Keep your shirt on.
o Kill not the goose that lays the golden eggs.
o Kill two birds with one stone (Meaning: Can do two things at once. Or, be efficient).
o Know thyself.
o Know which side your bread is buttered on.
o Knowledge is more than equivalent to force.
o Knowledge is power.
L
o Lack of resource has hanged many a person.
o Last but not least.
o Last ship, best ship.
o The last straw breads the camel's back.
o Laugh and the world laughs with you; cry and you cry alone.
o Laughter is the best medicine.
o Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.
o Law is the solemn expression of legislative will.
o Laws catch flies but let hornets go free.
o Laws too gentle are seldom obeyed; too severe, seldom executed.
o A lawyer never goes to law himself.
o Laziness is a heavy burden.
o A leopard can't change his spots.
o Lead, follow, or get out of the way.
o Lead to success, follow to failure.
o Learn from other peoples' mistakes.
o Learn from your mistakes.
o Learn to walk before you run (Meaning: Do not rush into what you do not know).
o Learn wisdom by the follies of others.
o Learning is best when put into practice.
o Learning is better than house and land
o Least said sooner mended.
o Leave it alone and it will grow on its own.
o Leave no stone unturned.
o Lend your money and lose your friend.
o Less is more.
o The leopard does not change his spots.
o Let bygones be bygones.
o Let him who is without sin cast the first stone [New Testament].
o Let sleeping dogs lie.
o Let the buyer beware.
o Let the cat out of the bag (Meaning: Divulging a secret often unintentionally).
o Let the cobbler stick to his last.
o Let the dead bury their dead.
o Let the good times roll.
o Let the world say what it will.
o Let us go hand in hand, not one before another.
o Lie down with dogs, wake up with fleas.
o Life begins at forty.
o Life has its little ups and downs.
o Life is just a bowl of cherries.
o Life is like a box f chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.
o Life is not a bed of roses.
o Life is not a dress rehearsal.
o Life is one big experiment.
o Life is short and full of blisters.
o Life is too short to drink bad wine.
o Life is what you make of it.
o Life's battle don't always go to the stronger or faster man, but sooner or later the man who wins is the one who thinks he can.
o Life's what happens while you're making other plans.
o Light a man, he shall be warm for a night. Light a man on fire and he shall be warm for the rest of his life.
o Lightning never strikes twice in the same place.
o Like a bull at a gate (Meaning: Something done very quickly.).
o Like a bull in a china shop (Meaning: Someone who is awkward and inadvertently breaks things.)
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 a deer caught in the headlights (Meaning: Being so afraid, one can't move or do a thing to help oneself.)
o Like a dog with two tails (Meaning: When one is very happy.).
o Like a fish out of water (Meaning: To feel out of place in a given situation).
o Like a headless chicken.
o Like a lamb (Meaning: without resistance or complaints).
o Like a lamb to the slaughter (Meaning: Someone who is doing something unaware that something bad will happen to him because of it.).
o Like a lame man's legs that hang limp is a proverb in the mouth of a fool. [Old Testament]
o Like a needle in a hystack.
o Like a rabbit caught in the headlights (Meaning: Being so afraid, one can't move or do a thing to help oneself.)
o Like a red rag to a bull (Meaning: Something that generally upsets people, and shouldn't have been brought up.).
o Like begets like.
o Like breeds like.
o Like cures like (Meaning: A person can better help another if they have something in common.).
o Like father, like son.
o Like mother, like daughter.
o Like the cat that got the cream (Meaning: Someone who looks pleased with himself, often without reason.).
o Like water off a duck's back.
o Little by little and bit by bit.
o Little by little does the trick.
o Little enemies and little wounds must not be despised.
o Little leaks sink the ship.
o Little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
o LIttle things amuse little minds.
o Live and learn.
o Live and let live (Meaning: Live simply to let others simply live).
o Living high on the hog (Meaning: Living high, or living well, but often said sarcastically, when one is living beyond one's means).
o "Lo! Men have become the tools of their tools." [Henry David Thoreau, American author]
o A lock is better than suspicion
o Look after number one.
o Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves (Meaning: Take care of the details.).
o Look at the bright side.
o Look before you leap.
o Look before you leap, but having leapt never look back.
o Look like something the cat dragged in (Meaning: Something or someone that looks untidy).
o Look on the bright side.
o Look on the sunny side of life.
o Looks can be deceiving.
o Long absent, soon forgotten.
o The longest journey begins with the first step.
o Loose lips sink ships (In World War II used to encourage people to avoid talking about things which could have been overhead by spies.).
o Lose an hour in the morning and you'll be looking for it all day.
o Lost time is never found again.
o Love conquers all.
o Love is a bridge between two hearts.
o Love is blind.
o Love is not finding someone to live with, its finding someone whom you can't live without.
o Love laughs at locksmiths.
o Love makes the world go round.
o Love sees no faults.
o Love will find a way.
o Luck has a slender anchorage.
M
o Made do with what you have.
o Make hay while the sun shines (Meaning: Do the task while it is possible).
o Make haste slowly (Meaning: Slow and study wins the race.
o Make the best of a bad situation.
o Make the most of every situation.
o Making a rod for your own back (Meaning: Creating the thing with which you will be beaten.).
o A man can do no more than he can.
o A man can only die once.
o Man cannot live by bread alone.
o A man's got to do what a man's got to do.
o Man proposes, God disposes (Meaning: Humans think, God directs.).
o A man's home is his castle.
o A man is as old as he feels.
o A man is known by the company he keeps.
o Man is truly himself when he's alone.
o A man is known by the company he keeps.
o Man wasn't born to suffer but to carry on.
o A man who never made a mistake, never made anything.
o Many a sudden change takes place on an unlikely day.
o Many a true word is spoken in jest.
o Many hands make light work.
o Many things are lost for want of asking.
o Many yes go through the meadow, but few see the flowers.
o Many words will not fill a bushel.
o Marriages are made in heaven.
o Marriage equals hell and bankruptcy.
o Meaner than a junk-yard dog.
o Meaning of life is not meaningful.
o Measure for measure.
o Measure twice, cut once.
o Men may meet but mountains never.
o Men willingly believe what they wish.
o Might is always right.
o Might is right.
o Might goes before right.
o The mind is willing, but the flesh is weak (New Testament).
o Mind your own business.
o Mind your P's and Q's (Meaning: Mind your manners.).
o Mirrors do everything we do, but they cannot think for themselves.
o Misery loves company.
o Misfortunes tell us what fortune is.
o Misfortune tests the sincerity of friends.
o A miss by an inch is a miss by a mile.
o Missing the wood for the trees (Meaning: Overlooking the more important issue).
o A moment's insight is sometimes worth a life's experience.
o Money busy everything but good sense.
o Money can't buy everything, but everything needs money (Meaning: It's time to stop living in the fantasy world, and live in the real world).
o Money cannot buy happiness.
o Money for old rope.
o Money has no value if it is not used/
o Money is the root of all evil.
o Money isn't everything.
o Money makes the mare go.
o Money makes the world go round.
o Money talks.
o Monkey see, monkey do.
o More haste, less speed (Meaning: Slow and study wins the race).
o The more one knows, the less one believes.
o More than enough is too much.
o The more you get, the more you want.
o The more things change, the more they stay the same.
o Much ado about nothing.
o A mutton dressed up as a lamb (An older woman who dresses too young for her age.).
N
o Nature, time and patience are three great physicians.
o Necessity is the mother of invention. Or, Necessity is the mother of all invention.
o Necessity never made a good bargain.
o Neither fish nor fowl (Something that is difficult to describe, as it is not one or the other).
o Neither here nor there.
o Neither rhyme nor reason.
o Never change horses in midstream.
o Never do things by halves.
o Never judge from appearances.
o Never judge the book by its cover.
o Never leave a woman to do a man's work.
o Never let a man do a woman's job.
o Never let a monkey to do a man's job (Meaning: Employing someone less qualified to do your work will produce undesired results.).
o Never let the right hand know what the left hand is doing (Meaning: Do not boast in giving to the poor -- anonymous is best.).
o Never let your feet run faster than your shoes.
o Never lie to your doctor.
o Never lie to your lawyer.
o Never look a gift horse in the mouth.
o Never mix your liquor.
o Never put off till (until) tomorrow what you can do today.
o Never say die (Meaning: Never give up.).
o Never say never.
o Never speak ill of the dead.
o Never too late to learn.
o Never too late to repent.
o Never trouble trouble 'til trouble troubles you.
o Noblesse oblige (Meaning: A member of the nobility carries obligations to care for the lower classes.).
o No man can serve two masters [New Testament].
o No man is a prophet in his country.
o No man is an island (Meaning: Everybody needs other people).
o No man is content with his lot.
o No man is indispensable.
o No money, no justice.
o No man cries stinking fish.
o No need to cry over spilled milk.
o No news is good news.
o No pain, no gain.
o No room to swing a cat (Meaning: no space; a small place).
o No spring chicken (Meaning: Not being young anymore, often intended as a humorous comment).
o No time like the present.
o Nobody has ever bet enough on a winning horse.
o Nobody leaves us, we only leave others.
o None so blind as those who won't see.
o None so deaf as those that won't hear.
o Not enough room to swing a cat.
o Not give a rat's ass (Meaning: not to care in the least.).
o Not have a dog's chance.
o Nothing comes from nothing.
o Nothing is certain but death and taxes.
o Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.
o Nothing succeeds like success.
o Nothing to be feared in life, but understood.
o Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
o Nothing ventured, nothing have.
o Now we have doors so we can hide.
O
o Off with the old and on with the new.
o Often, less is more.
o Old habits die hard.
o Old flames never die.
o Old soldiers never die, they simply fade away.
o Once bitten, twice shy.
o Once burned, twice shy.
o Once in a lifetime comes often, so be prepared.
o Once you reach the top, take care as the only way left is down.
o One can take a horse to water, twenty cannot make him drink. Or, You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.
o One day at a time.
o One good turn deserves another.
o A one horse race (Meaning: no competition).
o One man can make a difference.
o One man's junk is another man's treasure.
o One' man's loss is another man's gain.
o One man's meat is another man's poison (Meaning: What is beloved to a person is hated by someone else).
o One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter (Ronald Reagan).
o One might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb.
o One murder makes a villain, millions a hero.
o One of these days is none of these days (Meaning: like never).
o One scabbed sheep mars the whole flock.
o Only bad drivers cut corners.
o Only losers say "Winning isn't everything."
o Only the good die young.
o Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches.
o Opinions are like assholes: everyone has them and they usually stink.
o Opportunity is waiting you need but to open the door.
o Opportunity knocks only once (Meaning: Do not waste time while grabbing opportunities.).
o Opportunity seldom knocks twice.
o Opportunities, like eggs, come one at a time.
o An ounce of discretion is worth a pound of wit (Meaning: It is better to be polite than to try to appear clever at someone else's expense.).
o Our costliest expenditure is time.
o Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising everything we fall (Confucius).
o Out of sight, out of mind.
o Out of the frying pan and into the fire (Meaning: Going from one unpleasant situation into one that is even worse.)
P
o Paddle your own canoe.
o Pain is only weakness leaving the body.
o Patience is a virtue.
o The pen is mightier than the sword.
o Penny wise, pound foolish.
o People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones (Meaning: Don't criticize other people when you yourself have faults and weaknesses.).
o Persevere no matter what.
o Persistence is the key.
o The person bringing good news knocks boldly on the door.
o Persuasion is better than force.
o Pick your battles.
o Pick your poison.
o A picture is worth a thousand words.
o A place for everything and everything in its place.
o Plan your life like you will live forever, and you live your life like you will die the next day.
o Playing (a) cat and mouse (game) (Meaning: Trying to get advantage through means of trickery).
o Playing a game of cat and mouse (Meaning: Trying to get advantage through means of trickery).
o Politics makes strange bedfellows.
o Politeness costs nothing and gains everything [M.W. Montagu].
o A poor craftsman blames his tools.
o The pot calls the kettle black.
o Poverty breeds discontent.
o Poverty waits at the gates of idleness.
o Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.
o Practice before you preach (Meaning: Before asking others to do something, make sure you are following it yourself.).
o Practice makes perfect.
o Practice may make perfect, but nobody's perfect so why practice.
o Practice what you preach!.
o Pray for the best, prepare for the worst.
o Pretty is as pretty does.
o Prevention is better than cure.
o Pride comes before a fall.
o Pride cometh before the fall (Meaning: People tend to be arrogant until they fall).
o Pride is said to be the last vice the good man gets clear of.
o Pride that dines on vanity sups on contempt.
o Prior preparation prevents poor performance.
o Procrastination is the thief of time.
o The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
o Proverbs are long life experiences, told in one short sentence.o Pull a rabbit out of a hat (Solving a problem, seemingly without effort.). Or, Pull a rabbit out of your hat.
o Put a beggar on horseback and he'll ride it to death.
o Put a beggar on horseback and he'll ride to the devil.
o Put it in song, put it in drink; but never, ever put it in ink.
o Put on your thinking cap.
o Put silk on a goat and it is still a goat.
o Put two and two together.
Q
o Quality, not quantity.
o Que sera, sera (Original Italian. Translation: What will be, will be).
o Quit while your ahead.
R
o A road hog (Meaning: A bad driver who "hogs" the road by not allowing others to pass him.)
o Rain, rain, go away, come again another day.
o Raining cats and dogs (Meaning: Raining heavily).
o Rats desert a sinking ship.
o Revenge is a dish best served cold.
o Revenge is sweet.
o "A revolution of government is the strongest proof that can be given by a people of their virtue and good sense." [John Adams, American president]
o The river is no wider from this side than the other.
o The road to Hell is paved by good intentions.
o Robbing Peter, to pay Paul.
o Roll with the punches.
o A rolling stone gathers no moss (Meaning: Those who can't put down roots, will have a hard time being successful.).
o Rome wasn't built in a day.
o Rules were meant to be broken.
o A ruler must sometimes humor as well as command.
o Running around like a headless chicken.
S
o Same meat, different gravy.
o Same trouble, different day.
o Say something nice or say nothing at all.
o Scalded cats fear even cold water.
o A scaredy-cat (Meaning: Someone who is easily scared for no reason).
o Scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.
o The secret of life is not to do what you like, but to like what you do.
o See which way the cat jumps (Meaning: Waiting to make a decision until one knows what others are doing in a given situation.).
o Seeing is believing.
o Seek and ye shall find (New Testament).
o Seize the day.
o Seldom is the last of anything better than the first.
o Self trust is the first secret of success.
o Sell a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach a man how to fish, you ruin a wonderful business opportunity [Karl Marx].
o Set a thief to catch a thief.
o Set the cat among the pigeons (Meaning: Stirring up trouble.).
o Setting a fox to guard the hen house (Meaning: To disregard a trustee's harmful conflict of interest.)
o Shit or get off the pot.
o The shoemaker's children have no shoes.
o Shutting the door after the horse has bolted.
o Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite.
o Slow and steady wins the race.
o Slow is every foot on an unknown path.
o Shoot the breeze (Meaning: Talking about nothing, or chit-chat).
o Shoot the bull.
o A short horse is soon curried.
o Silence equals consent.
o Silence is golden (Or Talk is cheap, silence is golden. Meaning: Sometimes it is better not to say anything).
o Silence is the fence around the haggard where wisdom is stacked.
o A silent fool is counted wise.
o Simple minds, simple pleasures.
o Simple minds think alike.
o A single swallow doth not the summer make (Meaning: One spark of hope does not mean all is well.).
o Skeletons in the closet (Meaning: Hiding ugly family secrets).
o Sink or swim (Meaning: You've got to make do with some unpleasant prospect because the alternative is even worse.).
o Six of one, half a dozen of the other (Meaning: Two solutions are basically equivalent.).
o Sleeping cats catch no mice.
o Slow and steady wins the race (Meaning: Slower is faster).
o A small leak will sink a great ship.
o Smile and the world smiles with you; cry, and you cry alone.
o Smiles open many doors.
o A snake in the grass (Meaning: Someone who pretends to be your friend, but is anything but.)
o Snake oil (Things that are of no use, originally referred to health tonics that were of no use but sold to make money.).
o A snake-oil salesman (Someone who tries to sell you something of no value, originally referred to those who peddled cold remedies and the like that were of questionable value.)
o Some days you get the bear, other days the bear gets you.
o Some men go through a forest and see no firewood (Meaning: some people don't see a good thing when it's right in front of their eyes).
o Someone who gossips to you will gossip about you.
o Sometimes it's too little, too late.
o Sometimes less is more.
o Something is better than nothing.
o Some things are better left unsaid.
o Sometimes, the remedy is worse than the disease.
o Something worth doing is worth doing well.
o Spare the rod, spoil the child (Meaning: Lack of deserved discipline develop undesired behavior in a child. Sometimes used to justify corporal punishment.)
o Speak of the devil and he's sure to appear.
o Speak now or forever hold your peace (If you want something, make yourself heard).
o Speak when you are spoken to.
o The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
o Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.
o Still waters run deep (Meaning: Looks can be deceiving, quite people are often the most deep).
o A storm in a teacup.
o Straight from the horse's mouth.
o Strictly for the birds (Meaning: Something that has no value.).
o Strike while the iron is hot (Meaning: When an opportunity arrives, take advantage of it.).
o A stitch in time saves nine (Meaning Don't postpone things you can do today tomorrow.).
o Stolen fruit is the sweetest.
o A stumble may prevent a fall.
o Success grows out of struggles to overcome difficulties.
o Success has many parents but failure is an orphan.
o Success has ruined many a man.
o Success is a journey not a destination.
o Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
o Sweet things are bad for the teeth.
T
o Talk is cheap, silence is golden.
o Talk of the devil and he's sure to appear.
o Talk the hind legs off a donkey (Meaning: someone who never shuts up.).
o Talking a mile a minute.
o Talking nineteen to the dozen.
o Take care of the minutes and the hours will take care of themselves.
o Take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.
o That's a bit fishy (Meaning: Something is wrong).
o Take it like a man (Meaning: Have courage.).
o Take it straight from the horse's mouth.
o Take life as it comes.
o Take the bull by the horns (Meaning: To have the strength of character to do something with conviction).
o That which does not kill you, makes you stronger.
o The acorn never falls far from the tree
o The bad gardener quarrels with his rake.
o The ball is in your court (Meaning: It's up to you to decide.)
o The belly has no ears.
o The best is yet to come.
o The best go first.
o The best of friends must part.
o The best of friends need not speak face to face.
o The best manure is under the farmer's foot.
o The best things come in small packages.
o The best things in life are free.
o The black sheep of the family (Someone who is perceived by the rest of the family as being irresponsible or unsuccessful).
o The blind leading the blind (Meaning: Somebody tries to explain something he knows nothing about.).
o The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
o The birds and the bees (Meaning: Refers to sex education.).
o The calm comes before the storm.
o The cat would eat fish but would not get her feet wet.
o The coat makes the man.
o The covetous person is always in want.
o The cure is worse than the disease.
o The customer is always right.
o The darkest hours are just before dawn.
o The die is cast.
o The devil is in the details.
o The devil takes the hindmost (The last one is unlucky, and often gets stabbed in the back so to speak.).
o The difference between a man and act or a dog is that only a man can write the names of the cat and the dog.
o The eagle does not catch flies.
o The early bird catches the worm. Or, The early bird gets the worm.
o The early bird gets the worm, the second mouse gets the cheese.
o The end justifies the means.
o The English are a nation of shopkeeper.
o The exception proves the rule.
o The female of the species is more deadly than the male.
o The first step is the hardest.
o The first step to health is to know that we are sick.
o The grand instructor, time.
o The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
o The greatest thing that could happen in my lifetime is for all my ideas to be stolen.
o The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world.
o The head and feet keep warm, the rest will take no harm.
o The honey is sweet but the bee has a sting.
o The key to all action lies in belief.
o The last straw (breaks the camel's back).
o The law is a jealous mistress.
o The leopard does not change his spots.
o The longest journey begins with the first step.
o The longest mile is the last mile home.
o The more one knows, the less one believes.
o The more, the merrier.
o The more things change, the more they stay the same.
o The more you study, the more you know. The more you know, the more you forget. The more you forget, the less you know. So why study?
o The more you get, the more you want.
o The more you study, the more you know. The more you know, the more you forget. The more you forget, the less you know. So why study?
o The more you know the more you know you don't know.
o The nail that sticks out gets pounded.
o The New Year is a new beginning.
o The only free cheese is in the mouse trap.
o The only stupid question is the one that is not asked.
o The only thing you get from picking bottoms (of the stock market) is a smelly finger.
o The pen is mightier than the sword.
o The person bringing good news knocks boldly on the door.
o The pitcher which goes too often to the well gets broken.
o The pot calls the kettle black.
o The proof of the eating is in the size of the pudding.
o The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
o The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
o The shoemaker's children have no shoes.
o The secret of life is not to do what you like, but to like what you do.
o The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak [New Testament].
o The squeaky wheel gets the grease [Meaning: If you speak up, you will go father in life.].
o The squeaky wheel gets replaced.
o The start of a journey should never be mistaken for success.
o The straw that broke the camel's back.
o The sun shines upon all alike.
o The tail wagging the dog.
o The teacher has not taught, until the student has learned.
o The truth is in the wine.
o The truth shall [will] set you free [New Testament].
o The value is determined by the agreement of two people
o The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
o The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong [Mahatma Gandhi].
o The wise man learns more from his enemies than the fool does from his friends.
o The whole is greater than its parts.
o The whole dignity of man lies in the power of though [B. Pascal].
o The whole nine yards (Meaning: Going all the way, doing as much as possible).
o The wish is father to the thought.
o The worse way to miss someone is to be sitting right beside them knowing you can't have them.
o The worst good day is always better than the best bad day.
o The younger brother the better gentleman.
o There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
o There are no birds in last year's nest.
o There are no endings only new beginnings.
o There are no facts, only interpretations of facts.
o There are no small parts, only small actors.
o There are only twenty-four hours in a day.
o There are so many things to say that are better left unsaid.
o There are three types of lies -- lies, damned lies, and statistics.
o There are two sides to every question.
o There's a black sheep in every flock.
o There's a method in his madness.
o There is a time and a place for everything.
o There is always a calm before a storm.
o There is always a catch.
o There is always someone worse off than you.
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 no accounting for taste.
o There's no arguing with the barrel of a gun.
o There is no fire without some smoke.
o There's no fool like an old fool.
o There's no god except God.
o There is no little enemy.
o There's no place like home.
o There is no point of knowledge or wisdom if not dotted.
o There's no smoke without fire.
o There is no substitute for experience.
o There's no such thing as a free lunch.
o There's no time like the present.
o There is no god except God.
o There is no point of knowledge or wisdom if not dotted.
o There is no such thing as a free lunch (Meaning: The outcome of your effort is related to the effort you put into it. If you don't try, you aren't going to get any results.).
o There's a method in his madness.
o There's no such word as "can't."
o There's nothing so bad that it couldn't be worse.
o There is nothing to fear but fear itself.
o There's many a slip 'twixt cup and lip.
o There's money in muck.
o There's more than one way to skin a cat.
o There's no accounting for taste.
o There's no arguing with the barrel of a gun.
o There is no honor among thieves.
o There is no peace for the wicked.
o There's no place like home.
o There's no time like the present.
o There is nothing which we receive with so much reluctance as advice.
o There's one law for the rich, and another for the poor.
o There is only eight years between success and failure in politics.
o There is safety in numbers.
o There is something rotten in Denmark.
o There is a time and place for everything.
o There's always a catch.
o There's many a good tune played on an old fiddle.
o There's no harm in trying.
o There's no such thing as a free lunch.
o There's no time like the present.
o There's strength in numbers.
o There never came ill of good advisement.
o There was never a good war or a bad peace.
o There will be bumps on the smoothest roads.
o They are good that are away.
o They that dance must pay the fiddler.
o They that live longest, see most.
o They that smell least, smell best.
o They that sow the wind, shall reap the whirlwind.
o They that will not be counseled cannot be helped.
o They traveled through thick and thin (Meaning: To stay together no matter what.).
o Things are seldom what they seem.
o Things are not always what they seem.
o Things come to those who wait.
o Things could be worse.
o Things happen for a reason.
o Things often when you least expect them.
o Think before you act.
o Think before you speak.
o Thinking the worst always prepares you for the worst.
o Third time is a charm.
o Third time lucky.
o This too shall pass.
o Through thick and thin (Meaning: Staying together no matter what).
o Throw someone to the dogs.
o Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
o Time and patience would bring a snail to America.
o Time and tide waits for no man.
o Time cures all things.
o Time doesn't stand still.
o Time flies.
o Time heals all wounds.
o Time is a great healer.
o Time is of the essence.
o Time is money.
o Time waits for no man.
o To be a public man is slavery.
o To be or not to be that is the question.
o To be proud of knowledge is to be blind with light.
o To bite the hand that feeds you.
o To blow hot and cold.
o To burn the candle at both ends.
o To buy a pig in a poke (Meaning: To pay for something you haven't seen or you know nothing about.).
o To chop and change.
o To each his own.
o To err is human, to forgive divine.
o To get my goat. Or, To get your goat. (Meaning: to get annoyed).
o To know the road ahead ask those coming back.
o To make a mountain out of a molehill (Meaning: To blow things out of proportion.]
o To put something in a new jacket.
o To separate the sheep from the goats (Meaning: to separate things that have quality and those that do not.).
o To those whom much is given, much is asked in return. (New Testament)
o To trust the cat to keep the cream.
o Today is the first day of the rest of your life.
o Tomorrow is another day.
o Tomorrow is a new day.
o Tomorrow never comes.
o Too many Chiefs and not enough Indians.
o Too many cooks spoil the broth.
o Too much is too much.
o Too much of one thing, good for nothing (Meaning: Don't overspecialize).
o Too soon old, too late smart.
o A trade not properly learned is an enemy.
o Trapped between a rock and a hard place.
o Tread on a worm and it will turn.
o A tree falls the way it leans.
o Trouble always comes in threes.
o Trouble shared is trouble halved.
o A true soldier does not admit defeat before the battle.
o True love never grows old.
o Trust is the mother of deceit.
o Truth is stranger than fiction.
o Truth will out.
o "Try not to become a man of success but a man of value." [Albert Einstein]
o Try try but don't cry (Meaning Never give up).
o Two heads are better than one.
o Turn the other cheek [New Testament]
o Two's company; three's a crowd. Or, Two is company, three is a crowd.
o Two heads are better than one.
o Two things prolong your life: a quiet heart and a loving wife.
o Two wrongs don't make a right (but three rights make make a left).
U
o United we stand, divided we fall.
o Until the cows come home (Meaning: A long time in coming, maybe never.).
o Unwillingness easily finds an excuse.
o Up a creek without a paddle (Meaning: in a situation without remedy.).
o Up shit creek (with a barbed wire paddle).
o Use it or lose it.
V
o Variety is the spice of life.
o Vices are their own punishment.
o Virtue alone is true nobility.
o Virtue is its own reward.
o Virtue which parleys is near a surrender.
o Violence begets violence.
o Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.
W
o A wager is a fool's argument.
o Walk the walk and talk the talk.
o Walls have ears.
o Wanton kittens make sober cats.
o Waste not, want not.
o War is sweet to those who haven't experienced it.
o Watch someone with an eagle eye.
o A watched pot never boils (Meaning: Time seems to pass quicker when you aren't consciously waiting for something.).
o We are all on this earth, we can't get off so get on.
o We're all in the same boat.
o We can't always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future [Franklin D. Roosevelt].
o We fear what we don't understand.
o We have nothing to fear, but fear itself [Franklin D. Roosevelt].
o We live and learn.
o Well begun is half done.
o Well done is better than well said.
o We must take the bad with the good.
o We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less without that drop.
o We tend to be perfect. That's why when we make mistakes we are hard on ourselves.
o Well begun is half done.
o Well begun is half ended.
o "Well done" is better than "well said."
o What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive (Meaning: a lie will always spawn a bigger lie.).
o What can't be cured, must be endured.
o What doesn't kill me, strengthens me. Or, What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
o What doesn't kill you makes you stronger (Friedrich Nietzsche).
o What goes around comes around (Meaning: You will eventually have to face the consequences of your actions towards others as people tend to behave towards you as you have behaved towards others.).
o What goes up must come down.
o What is bred in the bone will come out in the flesh.
o What's done is done (Meaning: It's in the past, can't do anything about it).
o What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander (Meaning: What's right for one, is fair for the other.).
o What's yours is yours.
o What may be done at any time will be done at no time.
o What one dishes out, one must also eat.
o What you don't know can't hurt you.
o What you give is what you get.
o What you see is what you get.
o What you sow is what you reap.
o When a thing is done, advice comes to late.
o When drums beat, laws are silent.
o When in doubt, do nothing.
o When in doubt, forebear.
o When in Rome, do as the Romans do (Meaning: Adapt yourself to the local customs.).
o When it rains, it pours (Meaning: troubles never come alone.).
o When one door closes, another door opens.
o When the cat is [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).
o When the cup is full, carry it even.
o When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
o When the shits hits the fan (Meaning: When the problems become obvious.).
o When you assume, you make an ass out of u and me.
o Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise [Thomas Gray].
o Where there's a will, there's a way.
o Where there is life, there's hope.
o Where there is no trust there is no love.
o Where there is smoke there is fire.
o Where vice goes before, vengeance follows after.
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).
o Whoever has a tail of straw should not get too close to the fire.
o Whoever wins the war gets to write the history.
o Who fights a lot, will be honored a lot (Said sarcastically).
o Who gives a gift, sells his liberty.
o Who never climbed, never fell. Or, Who never climbed high never fell low.
o The whole nine yards (Meaning: Going all the way, doing as much as possible).
o Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?
o Willful waste makes woeful want.
o Winning is earning. Losing is learning.
o Winning isn't everything.
o A wise man changes his mind, a fool never will.
o The wise man learns more from is enemies than the fool does from his friends.
o With time comes insight.
o Without justice, courage is weak.
o A wolf in sheep's clothing.
o A woman's place is in the home.
o A woman's work is never done.
o A word is enough to the wise.
o A word spoken is past recalling (or, What's done is done).
o Words uttered only causes confusion. Words written only causes history.
o A work ill done must be twice done.
o Work like a dog (Meaning: working hard.).
o Working hard or hardly working?
o Worrying never changed anything.
o Worship the Creator not His creation.
o Worse things happen at sea.
o Write injuries in the sand, kindnesses in marble.
Y
o Yield to all and you will soon have nothing to yield.
o You ain't seen nothing yet.
o You are as handy as pocket.
o You are responsible for you.
o You are what you eat.
o You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar (Meaning: kind words are more effective than harsh ones.).
o You can choose your friends, but you can't pick/choose your family.
o You can fool people some of the time, but you can't foold them all of the them.
o You can get glad in the same shoes you got mad in.
o You can kill two birds with one stone (Meaning it's possible to do two things at the same time.).
o You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.
o You can never plan the future by the past.
o You can't be in two places at the same time.
o You cannot beat a dead horse. Or, You can't flog a dead horse.
o You can't eat your cake and have it too (Meaning: You can't still have the cake once you've it, you can only enjoy something once.).
o You can't escape your destiny.
o You can't flog a dead horse.
o You can't have it both ways.
o You can't have your cake and eat it too.
o You can't get blood from stone.
o You can't judge a book by its cover (Meaning Beware of superficial first impressions).
o You can't judge a horse by its harness.
o You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs.
o You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
o You can't make something out of nothing (Meaning: The outcome of your effort is related to the effort you put into it. If you don't try, you aren't going to get any results.)
o You can't run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.
o You can't play all the time.
o You can't please everyone.
o You can't take it with you [when you die].
o You can't teach an old dog new tricks.
o You can't tell a book by its cover.
o You can't see the forest for the trees (Meaning: You only see the details, but not the big picture. Generally said when somebody fails to see the obvious solution to a problem.).
o You can't see the wood for the trees (Meaning: You only see the details, but not the big picture. Generally said when somebody fails to see the obvious solution to a problem.).
o You can't unscramble eggs.
o You can't win them all.
o You could have heard a pin drop.
o You do the crime, you do the time.
o You don't have to be different to be good. You have to be good to be different.
o You don't have to be faster than the bear, just faster than the slowest guy running from the bear.
o You don't get something for nothing.
o You don't know what you've got until it's gone.
o You've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was.
o You have to crawl before you can walk.
o You have to make the most of the chances that come your way.
o You made your bed, now lie in it. Or, you've made your bed, and now you'll have to lie in it. (Actions have consequences. Or, Everyone makes his own fate).
o You must empty a box before you fill it again.
o You must face the consequences of your actions.
o You must never confuse your feelings with your duties.
o You must take the little potato with the big potato.
o You need to bait the hook to catch the fish.
o You never know what you have till it's gone.
o You never miss your water until your well runs dry (Meaning: Until you are without what to need or want, you cannot appreciate it).
o You reap what you sow.
o You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.
o You'll always miss 100 % of the shots you don't take.
o You'll never plough a field by turning it over in your mind.
o You win some, you lose some.
o You won't learn to swim on the kitchen floor.
o You would forget your head if it weren't fastened on.
o Young men may die, old men must.
o Your time is the greatest gift you can give to someone.
o Youth looks forward but age looks back.
Z
Zeal without knowledge is like fire without light.
| Contributed by: Image courtesy of The New York Public Library, Digital Gallery #1576423
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German speaking countries | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: German Proverbs or Folk Sayings on Fortune and Fate
A
o in English translation (literally): Achieve something by whatever it will cost.
- Equivalent: Come hell or high water.
- German original: Koste es was es wolle.
o in English translation (literally): The action has a mightier impact than the word.
- Equivalent: Actions speak louder than words.
- German original: Die tat wirkt machtiger als das wort.
o in English translation: Actions instead of words!
- German original: Taten statt worter!
o in English translation (literally): All good things are three.
- Meaning: Good things come in numbers of three.
- German original: Adel verpflichtet.
o in English translation: All's well that ends well.
- German original: Ende gut, alles gut.
o in English translation (literally): Among the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
- Meaning: Someone with limited means can only be considered superior by people with even more limited means.
- Equivalent: In the land of the blind, the one-eyed is king.
o Anger without power is folly.
o in English translation: As you put yourself to bed, so you will lie.
- Meaning: Everyone makes his own fate.
- German original: Wie man sich bettet, so liegt man.
B
o A bad beginning may make a good ending.
o A bad cause requires many words.
o in English translation: Better an end with pain than pain without end.
- Meaning: Cut your losses.
- German original: Lieber ein ende mit schmerzen als schemerzen ohne ende.
o in English translation: Better late than never.
- German original: Besser spat als nie.
o in English translation: Better one-eyed than blind.
- Equivalent: Better something than nothing.
- German original: Besser einaugig als blind.
o in English translation (literally): Better to lick the knife than to give up the spoon.
- Meaning: It is preferable to face adversity than to die.
- German original: Lieber das messer ablecken als den loffel abgeben.
o in English translation (literally): A blind chicken finds a grain once in awhile.
- German original: Ein blindes huhn findet auch mal ein korn.
o in English translation (literally): The blind man explains the colors to the one-eyed man.
- Meaning: Somebody tries to explain something he knows nothing about.
- Equivalent: The blind leading the blind.
o A blind man swallows many a fly.
o A bold onset is half the battle.
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 original: Der knochen kommt nict zum hund, sondern der hund zum knochen.
o in English translation: The burned kid avoids the fire.
- Equivalent: Once bitten, twice shy.
- German original: Gebranntes kind scheut das feuer.
C
o in English translation: Carrying owls to Athens.
- Meaning: A pointless exercise or activity.
- German original: Eulen nach Athen tragen.
o in English translation (literally): City air makes you free.
- Meaning: In medieval times people living in German cities were free from a sovereign.
- German original: Stadtluft macht frei.
o in English translation (literally): A cock that crows too early gets a twisted neck.
- German original: Dem hahn, der zu fruh kraht, dreht man den hals um.
D
o A danger foreseen is half avoided.
o in English translation (literally): A disaster seldom comes alone.
- Equivalent: It never rains but it pours.
- German original: Ein ungluck kommt selten allein.
o "Disappointments are to the soul what the thunderstorm is to the air." [Freidrich von Schiller"
o in English translation (literally): Don't bet on only one card.
- Equivalent: Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
- German original: Setz nicht alles auf eine karte.
o in English translation (literally): Don't postpone things you can do today to tomorrow.
- German original: was du heute kannst besorgen, das vershiebe nicht auf morgen.
o in English translation (literally): Dreams are foam.
- Meaning: A dream has nothing to do with reality.
- German original: Traume sind schaume.
o in English translation (literally): A drop on a hot stone.
- Meaning: Not enough to make a difference.
- Equivalent: A drop in the bucket.
- German original: Ein tropfen auf den heiben stein.
o in English translation: The dumbest farmer harvests the thickest potatoes.
- Meaning: dumb luck.
- German original : Der dummste bauer erntel die dicksten kartoffeln.
E
o in English translation: Easier said than done.
- German original: Leichter gesagt als getan.
o in English translation: Every jester likes his hat.
- Meaning: Personal tastes differ.
- German original: Jedem narr gefallt sei kapp.
o in English translation (literally): Everything has an end, only a sausage has two.
- Meaning: Everything must come to an end.
- German original: Alles hat ein ende, nur die wurst hat zwei.
F
o in English translation: Fear lends wings.
- Meaning: Fear will make you do things you would deem impossible in a different situation.
- German original: Angst verleiht flugel.
o Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is.
o in English translation (literally) First comes chow, then morals.
- Meaning: A hungry man cannot afford a conscience.
- Equivalent: It's a dog-eat-dog-world.
- German original: Erst kommt das fressen, dann kommt die moral.
o in English translation: The first impressions counts.
- Meaning: First impression is the last impression.
- German original : Der erste eindruck zahlt.
o in English translation: First think, then act.
- German translation: Erst denken, dann lenken.
o in English translation (literally): From nothing comes nothing.
- Meaning: The outcome of your effort is related to the effort you put into it.
- German original: Von nichts kommt nichts.
G
o God gave us the nuts but he doesn't crack them.
o A golden hammer breaks an iron gate.
H
o A handful of might is better than a sack full of right.
o in English translation (literally) He who doesn't want to listen will have to experience.
- Meaning: If you don't want to listen to what I tell you, you will get to feel a spanking.
- German original: Wer nicht horen will, muss fuhlen.
o in English translation (literally): He who rests will be rusting.
- Meaning: If you stop moving it gets harder to start moving again. Or, A rolling stone gathers no moss.
- German original: Wer rastet, der rostet.
o in English translation (literally): He whom the shoe fits puts it on.
- Meaning: If something (usually bad) true has been said about you, better to accept it than to disagree.
- German original: Wem der schuh passt, der zieht ihn sich an.
o in English translation (literally): Hopped just as jumped.
- Meaning: Two solutions are basically equivalent.
- German original: Gehoppst wie gesprungen.
o in English translation (literally): Hurry with leisure.
- Meaning: Slower is faster.
- Equivalent: Slow and study wins the race.
- German original: Eile mit weile.
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 If you fail to practice your art, it will soon disappear.
o in English translation (literally) If you say A, you have to say B as well.
- Meaning: No half-assed evading or cherry picking.
- German original: Wer a sagt, muss auch B sagen.
o In America half an hour is forty minutes.
o In bad luck, hold out; in good luck, hold in.
o It's the whole, not the detail that matters.
o in English translation: Into the potatoes, out of the potatoes.
- Meaning: To chop and change.
- German original: Rein in die Kartoffein -- raus aus den Kartoffeln.
o in English translation: It comes as it comes.
- German original: Et kutt wie et kutt.
o in English translation (literally): It fits like cast-on.
- English equivalent: It fits like a glove.
- Meaning: Something -- clothes normally, fits very good, like specially made just for that person.
- German original : Das sitzt wie angegossen.
o in English translation (literally): It seems Spanish to me.
- Meaning: There's something strange. Or, That's a bit fishy.
- German translation: Das kommt mir spanisch vor.
o in English translation: It went well every time.
- Meaning: Do not fear the future.
- German original: Et hat noch immer jott jejange.
J
o in English translation: Jacket like pants.
- Meaning: Two solutions are basically alike.
- Equivalent: Six of one, half a dozen of the other.
- German original: Jacke wie hose.
L
o A lawyer and a wagon-wheel must be well greased.
o A little too late is much too late.
o "The longer a man's fame is likely to last, the longer it will be in coming." [Arthur Schopenhauer]
M
o in English translation: Make hay while the sun shines.
- Equivalent: Strike while the iron is hot.
- German original: Das eisen schmieden, solange es heib ist.
o in English translation (literally): Many roads lead to Rome.
- Meaning: There may be mroe than one way to solve this problem.
- German original: Viele wege fuhren nach Rom.
N
o in English translation (literally): No answer is also an answer.
- Meaning: Not responding to a question is still replying.
- Equivalent: Silence equals consent.
- German original: Keine antwort ist auch eine antwort.
o in English translation: No diligence, no prize.
- Meaning: no pain, no gain.
- German original: Ohne fleib kein preis.
o Noble and common blood is of the same color.
o in English translation: Nothing comes from nothing.
- German original: Von nichts kommt nichts.
O
o in English translation (literally): Once is never.
- Meaning: Often used as an excuse for trying something again after the first try or to make somebody prove himself again.
- German original: Einmal ist keinmal.
o in English translation: One cow moos, many cows make work.
- German original: Eine kuh macht muh, viele kuhe machen muhe.
o in English translation (literally): One should not awaken sleeping dogs.
- German original: Schlafende hunde soll man nicht wecken.
o in English translation (literally): One swallow doesn't make summer.
- Meaning: one spark of hope does not mean all is well.
- German original: Eine schwalbe macht noch keinen sommer!
o in English translation (literally): Only dead fish swim with the stream.
Meaning: People who do not possess willpower will simply follow the majority, doing what everyone else are doing, without thinking. Or, the foolish go happily and without fear to their doom.
- German original: Nur tote fische schwimmen mit dem strom.
o in English translation (literally): Other countries, other customs.
- English equivalent: When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
- Meaning: Foreigners have different customs.
- German original: Andere Lander, andere sitten.
o in English translation (literally): Out of the rain and into the eaves.
- Meaning: Going from one unpleasant situation into one that is even worse.
- German original: Vom regen in die traufe.
P
o in English translation: The path is the destination.
- Meaning: The destination is not important, but the path that leads there.
- German original: Der weg ist das ziel.
o People show their character by what they laugh at.
o in English translation (literally): Practice makes the master.
- Meaning: Practice makes perfect.
- German original: Ubung macht den meister.
R
o in English translation: Rome wasn't built in a day.
- German original: Rom ist auch nicht an einem tag erbaut worden.
S
o in English translation (literally): To saw off the branch you're sitting on.
- Equivalent: To bite the hand that feeds you.
- German original: Den ast absagen, auf dem man sitzt.
o in English translation (literally): Shoemaker, stick to your last.
- Meaning: Just do what you can do best.
- German original: Schuster, bleib bei deinem leisten.
o in English translation: Snow from yesteryear.
- Meaning: Something belongs to the past.
- German original: Schnee von gestern.
o in English translation (literally): A steady drop will carve the stone.
- Meaning: Continuous effort will eventually lead to success.
- German original: Steter tropfen hohlt den stein.
T
o in English translation (literally): To begin is easy, to persist is an art.
- Meaning: It is easy to start but hard to continue.
- German original: Anfangen ist leicht, beharren eine kunst.
o in English translation (literally) To make an elephant out of a mosquito.
- English equivalent: To make a mountain out of a molehill.
- Meaning: to blow things out of proportion.
- German original: Aus einer Mucke einen elefanten machen.
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.
o in English translation (literally): To go through thick or thin (together or with XY).
- Meaning: To stay together no matter what.
- Equivalent: They traveled through thick and thin.
- German original (Zusammen oder mit XY) durch dick und dunn gehen.
o in English translation: Tomorrow, tomorrow, just not today, all the lazy people say.
- Meaning: Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
- German original: Morgen, morgen, nur nicht heute, sagen alle faulen leute.
W
o in English translation (literally): Water beneath the bridge.
- Meaning: It is in the past.
- German original: Wasser unter der brucke.
o What good is running when you're on the wrong road?
o in English translation (literally): What one dishes out, he must also eat.
- English equivalent: you made your bed, now lie in it.
- German original: Was man sich eingebrockt hat, das muss man auch ausloffeln.
o in English translation: When I rest, I rust.
- German original: Rast ich, so rost ich.
o When God says today, the devil says tomorrow.
o Who begins too much accomplishes little.
o in English translation: With the wolves one must howl.
- Meaning: When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
- German translation: Mit den wolfen mub man heulen.
o in English translation (literally): The wheel that squeaks loudest gets most of the fat.
- Equivalent: The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
- German original : Das rad, das am lautesten quietscht, bekommt das meiste fett.
o in English translation (literally): Who comes first, grinds his grain first.
- English equivalent: First come, first served.
- German original: We zuerst kommt, mahlt zuerst.
o in English translation (literally): Who has the choice, has the suffering.
- Meaning: Decisions can be painful.
- German original: Wer die wahl hat, hat die qual.
o in English translation (literally): Who wagers nothing, he wins nothing.
- English equivalent: Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
- German original: Wer nicht wagt, der nicht gewinnt.
o in English translation (literally): Whose bread I eat, that's whose song I sing.
- Meaning: He who pays the piper calls the tune.
- German original: Wes' brot ich ess, des' lied ich sing.
o in English translation: Work ennobles.
- German original: Arbeit adelt.
o in English translation: Work involves work.
- German original: Arbeit zieht arbeit nach sich.
Y
o Yesterday's promise, like tomorrow's never comes.
o in English translation (literally): You fail to see the forest because of all the trees.
- Meaning: you only see the details, but not the big picture.
- Equivalent: You can't see the forest from the trees.
- German original: Du siehst den wald vor lauter baumen nicht.
| Contributed by: Image courtesy of the New York Public Library, Digital Gallery #834145
| | View full size image |
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