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English Proverbs and Proverb Humor
(revised 6 June 2003)
Proverbs
A stumble may prevent a fall
All good things come to those who wait
Everyone must row with the oars he has
Every path has its puddle
God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb
One of these days is none of these days
Revenge is a dish best served cold
Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow
See also Weather Proverbs (external)
Beauty without grace is like a hook without bait.
Contributed by Charon Muck, 26 Jan 2000
Caught between a rock and a hard place
Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea
(to be stuck with two choices that are both undesirable)
Out of the frying pan and into the fire
(to go from a bad to a worse situation)
Might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb
(if you're going to get into the same amount of trouble, you might as well commit
the greater offense)
Six of one, half a dozen of the other
(each choice is really the same thing)
Two sides of the same coin
(two aspects of a situation that are connected by necessity)
In for a penny, in for a pound
(if you're going to make a minor committment you might as well make the entire
committment)
Don't count your chickens before they're hatched
(don't start making plans for something until it is a reality, rather than a pleasant
speculation)
Don't cross your bridges before you get to them
(don't worry about future problems before you need to)
A stitch in time saves nine
(if you take care of a problem while it's small you won't have a bigger problem
to deal with later)
(or, as Dr. Who likes to say: A stitch in time takes up space)
Time and tide wait for no man
(act in a timely fashion because you can't get back lost chances)
(or, once again as Dr. Who likes to say: Time and tide melts the snowman.)
Contributed by Rebecca Loos, Spokane, Washington, 5 June 2000
To listen is to learn, and to understand is to inspire.
Contributed by Hannah Martinez, 5 February 2002
A lie well stuck to is as good as the truth.
Contrary Proverbs
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush | BUT | A man's reach should exceed his grasp |
A miss is as good as a mile | BUT | Half a loaf is better than none |
All good things come to those who wait | BUT | Time and tide wait for no man |
Birds of a feather flock together | BUT | Opposites attract |
Clothes make the man | BUT | Never judge a book by its cover |
Don't cross your bridges before you come to them | BUT | Forewarned is forearmed |
Doubt is the beginning of wisdom | BUT | Faith will move mountains |
Good things come in small packages | BUT | The bigger the better |
Great starts make great finishes | BUT | It ain't over 'till it's over |
He who hesitates is lost | BUT | Fools rush in where angels fear to tread |
BUT | Look before you leap | |
Practice makes perfect | BUT | All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy |
Silence is golden | BUT | The squeaky wheel gets the grease |
The pen is mightier than the sword | BUT | Actions speak louder than words |
You're never too old to learn | BUT | You can't teach an old dog new tricks |
What's good for the goose is good for the gander |
BUT | One man's meat is another man's poison. |
Wise men think alike | BUT | Fools seldom differ |
Cf. Brian S. Kendig's "Proverbs to Live By" (external).
Proverb Humor
Anti-proverbs
Sources | |
A penny saved makes Jack a dull boy | A penny saved is a penny earned, and All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy |
Absence makes the heart go wander | Absence makes the heart grow fonder Abstinence makes the heart go wander |
Chaste makes waste | Haste makes waste |
If practice makes perfect and nobody's perfect then why practice? | Practice makes perfect and Nobody's perfect |
The early bird catches the worm, but it is the early worm that gets caught | The early bird catches the worm |
The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese | |
Time wounds all heels | Time heals all wounds |
Where there's a will, there's a relative | Where there's a will, there's a way |
Circumlocutory Proverbs
A disposition towards inquiry deprived the feline of its vital state | Curiosity killed the cat |
Elementary sartorial techniques initially applied obviate the need for repetitive similar actions to the square of three | A stitch in time saves nine |
Exigency is the matriarch of ingenious contrivance | Necessity is the mother of invention |
The stylus is more potent than the claymore | The pen is mightier than the sword |
There is illumination at the termination of the subterranean excavation | There's a light at the end of the tunnel (Barry Klein, Melbourne, Australia) |
Contributed by Somakala Somakala, 3 September 2001
Stunted Proverbs
Familiarity breeds contempt | BUT | Familiarity breeds! |
People living in glass houses should not pelt stones | BUT | People living in glass houses should not! |
Contributed by N. Venkatakrishnan, Chennai, India, August 2000.
Silicon Proverbs
New Proverbs
Proverb completion
A first grade teacher collected old, well known proverbs. She gave each child in her class the first half of a proverb, and had them come up with the rest.
Hi my son Jackson is 11 and he completed this proverb like this:
Every dog has its ……………kennel
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