English proverbs

People tend to gather where they see something worth pursuing. The image of birds converging on a carcass makes that attraction seem predictable rather than surprising.

The card-game image contrasts dishonestly arranging the deck with knowing how to play. A person may be able to secure an advantage before the game begins yet still lack the skill needed at the table.

Worrying about a difficulty does not, by itself, make the difficulty go away. Concern may be understandable, but it is not a remedy.

The proverb treats worry as powerful enough to harm even a cat. Here, “care” means anxious preoccupation rather than kindness or responsible attention.

The proverb urges attention to small amounts of money. Minor expenses can add up, so handling them carefully helps protect a larger sum.

Someone who says they do not care whether they get a thing may still want it. The proverb contrasts an outward show of indifference with a wish to have what is being discussed.

The image is of someone trying to get away with so much that the weight itself makes escape difficult. Taking more can become a disadvantage rather than a gain.

The comparison describes bringing something to a place that already has plenty of it. The effort is unnecessary because the destination has no need of what is being offered.

Imagining an impressive future is easy when there is no need to confront the effort or obstacles involved in achieving it.

A person may have plenty of something and still gain no benefit from it. The cat is surrounded by corn, but corn does not meet its needs.

The proverb presents the home as a place where its occupant can expect privacy and decide what happens within it. The castle image conveys security and independence.

People may relax the rules or indulge themselves when the person who normally supervises them is absent. The proverb casts that freedom as an opportunity they are quick to seize.

Even someone of low standing may look at a person of great power. High rank does not make a person too important to be seen by others.

Severe hunger can make a meagre offering acceptable to someone who would ordinarily reject it. The cat’s willingness to eat bread reveals the strength of her need.

The cat does not notice the mouse. The saying presents a watcher who fails to see what it might be expected to see; watching alone is no guarantee of noticing.

The speaker will not maintain cats that fail to do the job for which they are kept. Their place depends on whether they catch mice.

Even a creature imagined to survive repeated dangers can be worn down by worry. The contrast gives anxiety a force that ordinary hazards seem not to have.

The mouse cannot tell what the cat has in mind from a wink. A small outward gesture gives no reliable access to another creature’s intentions.

An observer may seem not to notice what is happening while remaining fully capable of seeing and understanding it. An outward sign of inattention is not proof of ignorance.

Someone may want a desirable result while shrinking from the effort or discomfort involved in getting it. The proverb contrasts a strong appetite for the reward with reluctance to act.

Whoever is able to seize an available chance or prize will do so; no one can count on having it reserved for them.

The proverb treats the absence of anyone willing to argue for a cause as a sign that the cause is deeply flawed. It presents a lack of defenders as a judgment on the position itself.

Experience can teach a person to recognize risks and act more carefully. The proverb treats that willingness to learn as a form of wisdom.

The proverb contrasts life's many uncertainties with two outcomes it presents as unavoidable: death and the obligation to pay taxes. Its claim is deliberately sweeping rather than a precise statement about every person's circumstances.

The proverb advises against giving up something dependable for a gain that exists only as a possibility. It places value on keeping what is secure.

The speaker claims that experience has made them hard to deceive. Like a wary bird that ignores poor bait, they recognize an unconvincing attempt to draw them in.

The proverb means that two things are markedly different. Its claim that they are alike is ironic: chalk and cheese make a deliberately mismatched pair.

Illness can make spiritual concerns feel more immediate. A person facing pain or uncertainty may turn to prayer for comfort or strength.

Keep your attention on the opportunity most likely to benefit you. The proverb urges practical awareness of where a worthwhile gain may lie.

The proverb warns against abandoning a dependable option in the hope that an uncertain one will turn out better. The choice may leave a person worse off than before.

An event may occur within a single hour even though nothing like it has happened for many years. A long wait does not rule out a sudden change.

A new environment can bring benefits that a familiar one no longer provides. The image of calves growing well after a move presents change as a source of renewed nourishment and growth.

The proverb presents generosity as compatible with having enough: a person gives to others, and divine provision restores what was given. Its doorway and window turn that belief into a picture of goods leaving by one route and arriving by another.

Care for people close to you, especially those who depend on you, should come before efforts to help people farther away.

The proverb presents correction as having an effect beyond the person who receives it. Addressing one person’s misconduct may prompt others to change their behavior too.

The proverb gives cheese a temper and a strange power: it can deal with every other food but not with itself. The contradiction makes the observation humorous.

The saying treats cheese as the final part of a meal: once it has been served, there is no further course to follow.

The proverb makes early attention part of producing cheese that is good enough to keep. Its instruction is to turn the cheese seven times before it cools, rather than leave that work until later.

A year with plenty of cherries is pictured as a happy year. The rhyme links an abundant crop with a broader feeling of good fortune.

The image warns that eggs may not produce all the chicks someone expects, so counting them in advance can give a false sense of what one has.

The proverb treats correction as part of a household’s care for its members. If no one challenges mistakes or misconduct, problems may be allowed to grow.

The proverb presents childhood guidance as a powerful, lasting influence. It expresses confidence that a person taught the right way early in life will continue to follow it in old age.

The proverb warns that a mother’s care can become so indulgent that it no longer helps her child. Its concern is not affection itself, but an excess that may spoil the child.

The proverb contrasts nominal ownership with the enjoyment of its rewards. Although the pig is called the child’s, the father receives the bacon.

People who have not learned, or do not follow, the usual rules of tact may say aloud what others hesitate to acknowledge. Their lack of restraint can make an uncomfortable observation hard to ignore.

The saying links a cheerful life with having fewer worries. Children may be sheltered from adult responsibilities, while foolish people may fail to recognize reasons for concern.

The saying compares a child's appetite with a chicken's repeated pecking. Both are pictured as wanting food in small amounts throughout the day.

The proverb treats children as a form of wealth for people who lack material riches. It places the value of family beside money and suggests that the former can matter more.

The saying demands that children refrain from listening to, watching, or speaking about matters around them. Its threefold command makes silence only one part of the expected restraint.

The saying treats children's unusual quietness as a reason to suspect that they have done something wrong and are keeping it to themselves.