English proverbs

Even someone especially capable in a particular situation may welcome help when conditions become difficult. Natural advantages do not remove the value of an extra aid when it is genuinely needed; the image does not specify any particular hardship or kind of assistance.

The saying criticizes the habit of treating personal failings as products of the age, prevailing circumstances, or general social decline. Here, “the times” means the broader era or conditions, not a particular clock time or occasion; blaming them can avoid acknowledging one’s own part in a fault.

The saying advises working with a material’s inherent structure rather than forcing it in a direction that resists it. In practical terms, splitting wood along its fibres is easier, cleaner, and less wasteful than trying to break across them.

The saying warns that marrying someone of higher social standing may create an unequal relationship. Rather than gaining status or security, the less advantaged spouse may find that the other partner has authority and expects obedience.

The saying is ironic: a minor official, once given even limited authority, may behave as though he were highly important. “Great” is exaggeration, pointing to inflated self-regard rather than genuine stature.

The saying warns that a preoccupation with finery, display, or luxury can draw attention away from basic practical needs. Its criticism is of misplaced priorities, not of clothing or comfort in themselves.

The saying suggests that someone untouched by misfortune may lack the steadiness or judgment needed to meet great good fortune without becoming overwhelmed.

Those with limited strength, resources, or experience should avoid conditions beyond their capacity. Like a small craft that is safer near land, a vulnerable person or modest enterprise may need to choose a less hazardous course.

The saying contrasts initiating an undertaking with bringing it to a successful conclusion. Those with modest means or influence may set events in motion, while stronger or better-equipped people secure the result.

The saying favors arriving or acting well ahead of a deadline, because the inconvenience of being early is usually smaller than the cost of missing the necessary moment.

The saying treats luck as enough to protect a person even when he is placed in grave peril. Its image makes good fortune seem stronger than the danger surrounding him.

In its archaic wording, “speak us fair” means to address us pleasantly or flatter us. Pleasant, flattering, or agreeable words alone do not prove genuine friendship, loyalty, or goodwill.

A joke is not worth damaging a valued relationship. If humor risks causing real hurt, humiliation, or resentment, it is wiser to let the joke go unsaid or abandon it than to jeopardize friendship.

Pleasure is rarely wholly pure: even a welcome experience may bring inconvenience, anxiety, loss, or some other burden alongside it. The saying treats mixed feeling as an ordinary feature of happiness.

Once a person, enterprise, or institution has been brought down, many people hurry to take advantage of its weakness. The image suggests opportunists arriving after the decisive loss, ready to cut away what remains for their own benefit.

The saying values frank correction. A true friend is wished for because a friend can point out one’s defects with concern, rather than conceal them out of politeness or fear of causing offence.

The saying contrasts nominal ownership with lived possession. A garment belongs, in a practical sense, to the person who wears it; similarly, the world yields value to the person who takes pleasure in living within it. The traditional paired pronouns do not make enjoyment or ownership gender-specific.

The saying accepts an overdue action as preferable to leaving the action undone altogether. It frames delay as regrettable, but not as a reason to abandon a useful, necessary, or promised task.

The saying portrays someone who treats every opportunity, gain, or person within reach as usable. Like a fisherman who keeps whatever enters the net, such a person does not reject possibilities merely because they are unexpected or unlike the ideal catch. The traditional masculine wording need not limit the interpretation to men.

The saying urges goodwill toward nearby people while preserving sensible personal limits. Its older “thy” gives the traditional wording an archaic tone. Kindness, cooperation, and affection do not require surrendering boundaries that protect one’s home, privacy, property, or independence.

Some things attain their proper value only after an unpromising stage of decline or delay. The saying draws on the traditional idea that medlars become edible only after pronounced softening, turning apparent spoilage into a condition of readiness.

An account may seem convincing or satisfying when it is the only version heard. Its apparent strength can change once someone else tells a different account.

The saying contrasts spiritual sufficiency with social abundance: within its monotheistic religious frame, one God is held to be enough, while many friends are presented as a valuable form of wealth.

The saying urges loyalty when someone close is in trouble or depends on help. It condemns withdrawing support when that person is most exposed, inconvenienced, or unable to manage alone. Here, “in the lurch” means being left in a difficult position without expected help, not being left at a physical place.

Physical harm may heal, yet a damaging reputation can endure long after the injury itself has passed. The saying contrasts bodily recovery with the stubborn afterlife of public disgrace.

Troubles may arrive rapidly and in great quantity, while removing or repairing their effects takes much longer and proceeds only little by little.

The saying observes that frightening the very one one hopes to win over makes success less likely. A hind is a female deer; figuratively, intimidation drives away the person whose cooperation or presence is sought.

Do not destroy or consume something at its beginning if you hope to receive the fuller benefit it may yield later. Immediate gratification can remove the very possibility of a better future result.

A person is less likely to feel grief, jealousy, or regret over something they do not witness or know about. Distance from a painful sight can therefore spare emotions that direct awareness might awaken.

Progress, achievement, or reward generally demands effort, discipline, and a willingness to endure difficulty. It rejects the expectation that worthwhile results can be obtained entirely easily or without personal cost.

Powerful forces are beneficial when people direct them carefully, yet harmful when they escape human control. The contrast warns that usefulness does not remove danger; the same thing that helps can also dominate or destroy. It is advisory, not a claim that fire or water are inherently harmful.

A person cannot give complete loyalty and obedience to two authorities whose demands compete. When obligations pull in different directions, attempting to satisfy both sides creates a conflict of allegiance.

A person without money has no need for something designed to carry or protect money. The saying points out that a useful possession becomes unnecessary when the thing it serves is absent.

The deliberately paradoxical saying distrusts honesty practiced solely because it is advantageous. Here, “policy” means expedient self-interest: if truthfulness is chosen as a profitable tactic rather than from sincere regard for truth, the speaker treats that calculation as evidence that the person lacks genuine honesty.

The saying treats marriage as strongly shaped by financial considerations rather than by affection alone. It points to the economic calculations surrounding a match, including income, property, security, or the cost of establishing a household.

The saying contrasts a religious belief that healing ultimately comes from God with the public credit commonly given to the doctor. It points to the gap between the power thought to produce recovery and the person people visibly praise for it.

The saying observes that companions may stay only while they are well looked after. Here, “good cheer” includes generous hospitality: food, drink, a warm welcome, and pleasant company.

Wealth or advantage acquired through wrongdoing is likely to be spent in harmful, wasteful, or morally corrupt ways. Here “gotten” means acquired, and “evil” expresses a strong moral judgment.

Address your own faults, duties, or disorder before criticizing similar shortcomings in other people.

Those who make, administer, or enforce laws have a particular moral duty to obey them. When they violate those rules, they undermine the fairness and authority they are expected to protect.

Conditions at either extreme—whether unusually favorable or unusually harsh—are often temporary. The saying counsels against assuming that an intense situation will continue unchanged.

Here, “ability” uses an older sense of financial means. The saying argues that genteel status or a refined way of living, when unsupported by money, may be harder to maintain than open poverty.

Pleasure and generosity can feel carefree while expenses are deferred. The mood changes when the bill must be paid, revealing the financial or practical cost of earlier indulgence.

What offers little height or resistance is not hard to cross. The image presents a modest barrier as one that can be cleared with little effort.

A single person's foolish conduct can encourage imitation, multiplying the same poor judgment among those who watch or follow.

When authority changes hands, the rules often change with it. A new ruler, owner, or leadership group may impose different expectations, policies, and priorities on those subject to its control.

A setback often arrives alongside other troubles. The saying expresses the familiar feeling that bad luck can cluster, so that one difficulty is followed or accompanied by another.

Advance warning gives a person time to prepare, reducing surprise and improving their ability to meet a threat, difficulty, or decision. Information received early can therefore function like a practical form of protection.

It advises restraint before attempting to exceed another person's offer, rather than acting from immediate eagerness.

A seemingly minor additional burden can trigger collapse when it comes after many earlier pressures. The final event is not necessarily the heaviest problem; it matters because accumulated strain has already reached its limit.