Proverbs and Popular Sayings - I

At sixes and sevens. Beauty is but skin deep. Half a loaf is better than no bread. Better late than never. Better live well than long. Beware of no man more than thyself. Birds of a feather will flock together. Christmas comes but once a year; And when it comes, it brings good cheer; But when it's gone, it's never the near. Brag is a good dog, but Holdfast is a better. By fits and starts. By and by is easily said. Care will kill a cat. Cats hide their claws. Constant dropping wears the stone. Count not your chickens before they are hatched. Debt is the worst poverty. Do not spur a free horse. Don't cry till you are out of the wood. Drive thy business; let not that drive thee. Early to bed, and early to rise, Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. East or west, home is best. Enough is as good as a feast. Everybody's business is nobody's business.

A barking dog seldom bites. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. A cat may look at a king. A chip of the old block. A day after the fair. A fool and his money are soon parted. A fool may ask more questions in an hour than a wise man can answer in seven years. A fool may make money, but it needs a wise man to spend it. A friend in need is a friend indeed. A good garden may have some weeds. A good workman is known by his chips. A hard beginning makes a good ending.

A watched pot never boils. After dinner sit awhile; after supper walk a mile. All his fingers are thumbs. All is fish that comes to the net. All is not gold that glitters. All's well that ends well. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All your geese are swans. Always taking out of the meal tub, and never putting in, soon comes to the bottom. An inch on a man's nose is much. An old bird is not caught with chaff. An old dog will learn no new tricks. As bare as the back of my hand.

A lass that has many wooers oft fares the worst. A lazy sheep thinks its wool heavy. A little leak will sink a great ship. A living dog is better than a dead lion. A man of words, and not of deeds, is like a garden full of weeds. A man's house is his castle. A miss is as good as a mile. A penny for your thought. A penny saved is a penny got. A rolling stone will gather no moss. A small spark makes a great fire. A stitch in time saves nine. A tree is known by its fruit.

Forgive and forget. Fortune helps them that help themselves. Give a thief rope enough, and he'll hang himself. Give him an inch, and he'll take an ell. Go farther and fare worse. Good wine needs no bush. Handsome is that handsome does. Happy as a king. Haste makes waste, and waste makes want, and want makes strife between the good-man and his wife. He cannot say boo to a goose. He knows on which side his bread is buttered.

He sees an inch afore his nose. He takes the bull by the horns. He that fights and runs away may live to fight another day. He that goes a borrowing, goes a sorrowing. He that has but four and spends five has no need of a purse. He that knows not how to hold his tongue knows not how to talk. He that lives on hope has but a slender diet. He that plants trees loves others besides himself. He that will steal a pin will steal a better thing. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He's in clover. His bread is buttered on both sides. His room is better than his company. Hunger is the best sauce. I have other fish to fry.

Tell no tales out of school. The bird that can sing, and won't sing, must be made to sing. You have put the cart before the horse. It is the early bird that catches the worm. There is many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip. The more haste, the less speed. They who make the best use of their time have none to spare. Those who play with edge tools must expect to be cut. Three removes are as bad as a fire. Through thick and thin. Time and tide wait for no man. To beat about the bush. To break the ice. To buy a pig in a poke. To find a mare's nest.

If wishes were horses beggars would ride. Ill news travels fast. It never rains but it pours. It is a long lane that has no turning. It is an ill wind that blows no man good. It is easier to pull down than to build. It is never too late to mend. Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee. Leave well enough alone. Let every tub stand on its own bottom. Let them laugh that win. Like father, like son. Little and often fills the purse. Look ere you leap.

Love me little, love me long, Is the burden of my song. Many a true word is spoken in jest. Many hands make light work. Money is a good servant, but a bad master. My mind to me a kingdom is. Never be weary of well doing. No cross, no crown. No man can serve two masters. No news is good news. No smoke without some fire. Not worth a pin. Of two ills choose the least. One cannot be in two places at once. One good turn demands another.

One man's meat is another man's poison. Out of debt out of danger. Out of the frying-pan into the fire. Penny wise and pound foolish. Riches have wings. Robin Hood's choice: this or nothing. Rome was not built in a day. Save at the spiggot, and lose at the bung. Second thoughts are best. Set a thief to take a thief. A short horse is soon curried. Take the will for the deed. Take away my good name, take away my life. Take time by the forelock.

To follow one's nose. To have a finger in the pie. To hit the nail on the head. To kill two birds with one stone. To make a spoon, or spoil a horn. To pour oil into the fire is not the way to quench it. Two heads are better than one. Waste not, want not. We easily forget our faults when nobody knows them. We never know the worth of water till the well is dry. When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman? When the cat is away, the mice will play. Strike when the iron is hot. Where there's a will, there's a way. You cannot eat your cake and have it too. You must take the fat with the lean.