English proverbs

A person can forfeit possessions or a rightful claim by failing to ask for them, assert them, or pursue their return. Here, “goods” means property broadly, not merely merchandise; inaction may be as costly as an overt mistake when what is due is left unclaimed.

Once a powerful person or force has been defeated, even those who were formerly too weak to challenge it can attack, mock, or show contempt without danger.

Even places that seem empty or secluded may contain observers or people who can overhear. The saying warns that private words and actions can become known beyond the intended audience.

The saying figuratively rebukes someone whose own words have created a problem. A promise, claim, or rash remark may bind the speaker so tightly that later explanations cannot release him.

Harm can be inflicted in an instant, whereas recovery usually demands far more time. The saying stresses the unequal speed of injury and healing, whether the damage is bodily or affects a person's feelings and sense of security.

Achievement is pictured as climbing a ladder: progress comes through successive actions rather than a single leap. The saying encourages patience with gradual advancement and attention to the next manageable stage.

Take advantage of a favorable opportunity while the conditions that make success possible are still present. Delay can waste a chance that may not return once circumstances change.

The saying can be direct practical advice: when wind can catch or chill you, secure the side most exposed rather than waiting for discomfort or loss. In context, its image may also support a broader caution.

Kind and reassuring speech can calm anger, hurt, or distress more effectively than physical relief alone. The saying values words that reduce emotional heat and help people feel settled.

People may show affection or respect toward a child or other dependent chiefly to win the goodwill of the caregiver or influential person connected with them. Here “nurse” means a child’s caregiver, not necessarily a medical professional; the apparent kindness may be strategic rather than wholly personal.

Even something inherently valuable can be a bad bargain when its price is excessive. Here, “too dear” means too costly, not emotionally cherished: value alone does not make a purchase wise if the cost outweighs the benefit.

The saying criticizes unequal enforcement: rules are readily applied to small, weak, or insignificant offenders, while powerful or more formidable wrongdoers escape restraint. Its imagery is metaphorical, contrasting easy targets with those harder to challenge.

The saying insists that wrongdoing need not be large to be unacceptable. A supposedly minor prank, breach of trust, or disruptive act can already cross a proper boundary and should not be excused merely because its effects seem limited; “mischief” may range from playful pranks to more harmful conduct, depending on context.

A lie may seem to help someone escape immediate trouble, but it cannot carry them far. Deception is portrayed as having only a limited reach, though the saying does not promise that it will be uncovered at once.

The saying expresses faith that compassion, generosity, and considerate treatment can overcome hostility or resistance more effectively than cruelty or force. Its “always” is aspirational, not a reliable prediction of every outcome.

The saying advises holding back part of what is available rather than using everything at once. Here, “till” means “until,” and “some” means a portion of the resource under discussion.

It describes a search so difficult that success is unlikely: the desired thing is tiny, while the material through which one must hunt is dense, plentiful, and unhelpful.

Hope gives people emotional strength to endure grief, hardship, or uncertainty. Here, a “broken heart” figuratively means profound despair or emotional collapse, not physical injury.

The saying advises that having no work may be preferable to taking work that is harmful, degrading, dishonest, or otherwise badly chosen. Employment is not treated as automatically beneficial when its conditions or consequences are seriously wrong.

Even an enviable or luxurious form of constraint remains a constraint. Wealth, status, comfort, or ornament cannot fully compensate for the loss of freedom and personal choice.

A person cannot be physically present in two separate places at the same time. The saying acknowledges the practical conflict when two commitments require attendance at once.

The saying means that love and lordship, or authority, can both resist sharing. A lover may resent a rival, while a ruler may resist an equal partner, because either situation can encourage claims to exclusive loyalty or control.

Strong need makes a person thorough in using what is available. Like a hungry horse that leaves no feed behind, someone under real pressure is unlikely to waste provisions, opportunities, or help.

When everyone with access takes something for themselves, the person or resource being exploited is left with nothing. The image presents repeated small acts of taking as collectively ruinous.

The saying commends thrift and competent household management. Here “husband” has an older sense of a prudent manager of resources, rather than necessarily a male spouse; careful stewardship can leave enough for personal needs, lending, and generosity toward friends.

Something pressed into development before its proper time is likely to lose quality. Although the wording can also be read literally of fruit grown under artificial pressure, its figurative image suggests that haste or premature completion can produce an outward result lacking expected richness.

Survival, however humble or undistinguished, is preferable to grandeur, strength, or reputation once death has ended it. The contrast stresses that modest continued life has practical value, while an impressive status without life does not.

The saying argues that timidity and lack of resolve do not lead to success in seeking a desired romantic partner. It presents courage and initiative as necessary for someone hoping to express interest or pursue a personal goal.

The saying expresses a traditional seafaring superstition that beginning a voyage on a Friday brings bad luck and makes failure likely. Its compact rhyme makes the warning memorable, not reliable guidance about travel or success.

The phrase describes someone who is cheerful, easygoing, and inclined to take life as it comes rather than dwell on worries or make elaborate plans.

From the long view of a century, the present difference will cease to matter. The saying urges detachment from immediate disputes, disappointments, or anxieties by placing them against the eventual passing of time.

Access to a limited good, service, or opportunity is given in the order people arrive or make their claim. Those who act earlier receive priority over those who wait.

The saying argues that kindness is not a real loss. A helpful act may require time, effort, or money, yet it is presented as bringing value rather than leaving the giver poorer in any meaningful sense.

Prompt help has greater worth than the same help offered after delay. Someone in need may benefit as much from timeliness as from the gift itself, so quick generosity can feel like an additional act of giving.

The saying criticizes using valuable resources to pursue a result worth far less. The silver shovel represents costly effort or investment, while the lead represents a return too modest to justify that expense.

Capital can generate further wealth when it is invested, lent, or otherwise put to productive use, though the saying does not guarantee profit from any particular investment. It emphasizes the self-reinforcing capacity of financial resources rather than the effort of earning a first sum.

Regular contact with harmful talk, conduct, or social influences can erode a person’s decent behaviour and moral habits. Here, “communications” can mean associations or interactions as well as messages, and “good manners” can include both courtesy and moral conduct.

The saying contrasts damaging excess water with beneficial snow: flooding or persistent wetness is imagined as bringing crop failure, whereas snow is associated with a later supply of food.

Visible signs associated with a trade, role, or accomplishment do not prove that a person genuinely belongs to that group. Someone may copy its outward signals without possessing its knowledge, authority, or ability.

When every available course carries some harm, prefer the option that causes the least damage. The saying frames this as a practical choice between undesirable alternatives, not as approval of wrongdoing.

The saying expresses a traditional weather belief that a frosty March will be balanced by an equally frosty May. It presents the seasons as following a compensating pattern rather than treating each cold spell as isolated.

A person who remains helpful when someone faces hardship proves the reality and strength of that friendship. Pleasant companionship in easy circumstances is less revealing than practical loyalty during trouble.

The saying warns that a person should learn from an earlier mistake. Repeating the same error is treated not as bad luck but as a failure to notice, remember, or act on a lesson already made clear by experience.

Progress is often greatest when one proceeds gently, patiently, and without needless force. Here “fair” has its older sense of acting gently or properly, not modern ideas of equality or appearance; careful conduct can achieve more than haste or harshness.

Patient restraint, tolerance, or a decision not to press a claim does not by itself cancel the underlying obligation. Someone may refrain from demanding payment or imposing a penalty while still retaining the claim.

The phrase points to the part of a situation that supplies its humour, often an unexpected twist that makes the preceding account amusing.

Another person's disaster, whether a literal nearby fire or a metaphor for a closely related danger, may expose a risk that could soon reach you. Their misfortune should prompt alertness and practical steps to protect what is vulnerable in your own affairs.

Repeated, focused practice improves skill and performance. It encourages continuing to work at an ability rather than expecting immediate mastery.

People often direct attention, favors, or extra resources toward those who already have plenty, while those in greater need are neglected. The saying uses an archaic cooking image, not a literal instruction.

Severe danger and hardship can make a person recognize their vulnerability and turn earnestly to prayer or spiritual reliance.