Proverbs and Sayings
English Proverbs and Sayings
What are proverb and sayings? A proverb and sayings are a short saying embodying some general truth or
moral precept which has gained permanence and often being used in the common speech.
Proverbs and sayings could be an impersonal observation on life, couched in a few telling words, made more
effective perhaps by rhyme, rhythm, alliteration or rhythmic balance.
Proverbs and sayings are usually common to all races and nationalities.
Many European proverbs, of which Spain has the greatest number, originated in the East and were
preserved by Hebrew, Greek, and Roman authors, the Crusaders and the Spanish Moors.
Below is a huge list of proverbs and sayings. Did we miss any?
Proverbs and sayings when spoken in the right context,
could make you sound wiser and remember one word is enough to the wise...
A bad beginning makes a bad ending
A bad corn promise is better than a good lawsuit
A bad workman always blames his tools
A bargain is a bargain
A beggar can never be bankrupt
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
A bird may be known by its song
A black hen lays a white egg
A blind leader of the blind
A blind man would be glad to see
A broken friendship may be soldered, but will never be sound
A burden of one's own choice is not felt
A burnt child dreads the fire
A cat has nine lives
A cat in gloves catches no mice
A cat may look at a king
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link
A change is as good as a rest
A city that parleys is half gotten
A civil denial is better than a rude grant
A clean fast is better than a dirty breakfast
A clean hand wants no washing
A clear conscience laughs at false accusations
A close mouth catches no flies
A cock is valiant on his own dunghill
A cracked bell can never sound well
A creaking door hangs long on its hinges
A curst cow has short horns
A danger foreseen is half avoided
A dog is a man's best friend
A drop in the bucket
A drowning man will catch at a straw
A drowning man will clutch at a straw
A fair face may hide a foul heart
A fault confessed is half redressed
A fish always rots from the head down
A fly in the ointment
A fool always rushes to the fore
A fool and his money are soon parted
A fool at forty is a fool indeed
A fool may ask more questions in an hour than a wise man can answer in seven years
A fool may throw a stone into a well which a hundred wise men cannot pull out
A fool's tongue runs before his wit
A forced kindness deserves no thanks
A foul morn may turn to a fair day
A fox is not taken twice in the same snare
A friend in need is a friend indeed
A friend is never known till needed
A friend to all is a friend to none
A friend's frown is better than a foe's smile
A golden key can open any door
A good anvil does not fear the hammer
A good beginning is half the battle
A good beginning makes a good ending
A good deed is never lost
A good dog deserves a good bone
A good example is the best sermon
A good face is a letter of recommendation
A good Jack makes a good Jill
A good man is hard to find
A good marksman may miss
A good name is better than riches
A good name is sooner lost than won
A good name keeps its lustre in the dark
A good wife makes a good husband
A great dowry is a bed full of brambles
A great fortune is a great slavery
A great ship asks deep waters
A guilty conscience needs no accuser
A hard nut to crack
A heavy purse makes a light heart
A hedge between keeps friendship green
A honey tongue, a heart of gall
A house divided against itself cannot stand
A house is not a home
A hungry belly has no ears
A hungry man is an angry man
A Jack of all trades is master of none
A Joke never gains an enemy but often loses a friend
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
A lawyer never goes to law himself
A lazy sheep thinks its wool heavy
A leopard cannot change its spots
A liar is not believed when he speaks the truth
A lie begets a lie
A light purse is a heavy curse
A light purse makes a heavy heart
A little body often harbours a great soul
A little fire is quickly trodden out
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing
A little learning is a dangerous thing
A little of what you fancy does you good
A little spark kindles a great fire
A man can die but once
A man can do no more than he can
A man cannot give what he hasn't got
A man is known by the company he keeps
A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds
A man who is his own lawyer has a fool for his client
A miserly father makes a prodigal son
A miss is as good as a mile
A new broom sweeps clean
A nod from a lord is a breakfast for a fool
A nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse
A penny saved is a penny earned
A penny saved is a penny gained
A penny soul never came to twopence
A person is known by the company he keeps
A picture is worth a thousand words
A picture paints a thousand words
A place for everything and everything in its place
A poor workman always blames his tools
A problem shared is a problem halved
A prophet is not recognized in his own land
A quiet conscience sleeps in thunder
A rising tide lifts all boats
A rolling stone gathers no moss
A round peg in a square hole
A shy cat makes a proud mouse
A silent fool is counted wise
A small leak will sink a great ship
A soft answer turned away wrath
A soft answer turns away wrath
A sound mind in a sound body
A stitch in time saves nine
A storm in a teacup
A tattler is worse than a thief
A thief knows a thief as a wolf knows a wolf
A thief passes for a gentleman when stealing has made him rich
A thing of beauty is a joy forever
A threatened blow is seldom given
A tree is known by its fruit
A trouble shared is a trouble halved
A volunteer is worth twenty pressed men
A wager is a fool's argument
A watched pot never boils
A wise man changes his mind, a fool never will
A wolf in sheep's clothing
A woman's place is in the home
A woman's work is never done
A wonder lasts but nine days
A word is enough to the wise
A word spoken is past recalling
A word to the wise is enough
Absence makes the heart grow fonder
Absolute power corrupts absolutely
Actions speak louder than words
Adversity is a great schoolmaster
Adversity makes strange bedfellows
After a storm comes a calm
After a storm comes a calm
After dinner comes the reckoning
After dinner sit (sleep) a while, after supper walk a mile
After rain comes fair weather
After us the deluge
Agues come on horseback, but go away on foot
All are good lasses, but whence come the bad wives?
All are not friends that speak us fair
All are not hunters that blow the horn
All are not merry that dance lightly
All are not saints that go to church
All asses wag their ears
All bread is not baked in one oven
All cats are grey in the dark (in the night)
All covet, all lose
All doors open to courtesy
All good things come to he who waits
All good things must come to an end
All is fish that comes to his net
All is grist that comes to the mill
All is not lost that is in peril
All is well that ends well
All lay load on the willing horse
All men are mortal
All men can't be first
All men can't be masters
All promises are either broken or kept
All publicity is good publicity
All roads lead to Rome
All roads lead to Rome
All sugar and honey
All that glisters is not gold
All that glitters is not gold
All the world loves a lover
All things are difficult before they are easy
All things come to those who wait
All things must pass
All truths are not to be told
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All you need is love
All's fair in love and war
All's for the best in the best of all possible worlds
All's well that ends well
Among the blind the one-eyed man is king
An apple a day keeps the doctor away
An army marches on its stomach
An ass in a lion's skin
An ass is but an ass, though laden with gold
An ass loaded with gold climbs to the top of the castle
An empty hand is no lure for a hawk
An empty sack cannot stand upright
An empty vessel gives a greater sound than a full barrel
An Englishman's home is his castle
An evil chance seldom comes alone
An honest tale speeds best, being plainly told
An hour in the morning is worth two in the evening
An idle brain is the devil's workshop
An ill wound is cured, not an ill name
An oak is not felled at one stroke
An old dog barks not in vain
An open door may tempt a saint
An ounce of discretion is worth a pound of learning
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
An ox is taken by the horns, and a man by the tongue
An unfortunate man would be drowned in a teacup
Anger and haste hinder good counsel
Another day, another dollar
Any port in a storm
Appearances are deceitful
Appearances are deceiving
Appetite comes with eating
April showers bring forth May flowers
As drunk as a lord
As innocent as a babe unborn
As like as an apple to an oyster
As like as two peas
As old as the hills
As plain as the nose on a man's face
As plain as two and two make four
As snug as a bug in a rug
As sure as eggs is eggs
As the call, so the echo
As the fool thinks, so the bell clinks
As the old cock crows, so does the young
As the tree falls, so shall it lie
As the tree, so the fruit
As welcome as flowers in May
As welcome as water in one's shoes
As well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb
As you brew, so must you drink
As you make your bed, so must you lie on it
As you make your bed, so you must lie upon it
As you sow so shall you reap
As you sow, so shall you reap
Ask a silly question and you'll get a silly answer
Ask no questions and hear no lies
Ask no questions and you will be told no lies
Ask no questions and you’ll be told no lies
At the ends of the earth
Attack is the best form of defense
Bacchus has drowned more men than Neptune
Bad money drives out good
Bad news has wings
Bad news travels fast
Barking does seldom bite
Barking dogs seldom bite
Be slow to promise and quick to perform
Be swift to hear, slow to speak
Beauty is but skin-deep
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Beauty is only skin deep
Beauty lies in lover's eyes
Before one can say Jack Robinson
Before you make a friend eat a bushel of salt with him
Beggars cannot be choosers
Beggars should not be choosers
Behind every great man there's a great woman
Believe not all that you see nor half what you hear
Believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see
Best defence is offence
Better a glorious death than a shameful life
Better a lean peace than a fat victory
Better a little fire to warm us, than a great one to burn us
Better an egg today than a hen tomorrow
Better an open enemy than a false friend
Better be alone than in bad company
Better be born lucky than rich
Better be envied than pitied
Better be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion
Better deny at once than promise long
Better die standing than live kneeling
Better early than late
Better give a shilling than lend a half-crown
Better go to bed supperless than rise in debt
Better late than never
Better lose a jest than a friend
Better one-eyed than stone-blind
Better safe than sorry
Better the Devil you know than the Devil you don't
Better the foot slip than the tongue
Better to be safe than sorry
Better to do well than to say well
Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all
Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness
Better to reign in hell, than serve in heaven
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool that to speak and remove all doubt
Better unborn than untaught
Better untaught than ill-taught
Between the cup and the lip a morsel may slip
Between the devil and the deep (blue) sea
Between the upper and nether millstone
Between two evils 'tis not worth choosing
Between two stools one goes (falls) to the ground
Betwixt and between
Beware of a silent dog and still water
Beware of Greeks bearing gifts
Beware the Ides of March
Big fish eat little fish
Bind the sack before it be full
Birds of a feather flock together
Blind men can judge no colours
Blood is thicker than water
Borrowed garments never fit well
Boys will be boys
Brevity is the soul of wit
Burn not your house to rid it of the mouse
Business before pleasure
By doing nothing we learn to do ill
By hook or by crook
By the street of 'by-and-bye' one arrives at the house of 'Never'
Caesar's wife must be above suspicion
Calamity is man's true touchstone
Care killed the cat
Catch the bear before you sell his skin
Caution is the parent of safety
Charity begins at home
Cheapest is the dearest
Cheats never prosper
Cheek brings success
Children and fools must not play with edged tools
Children are poor men's riches
Children should be seen and not heard
Choose an author as you choose a friend
Christmas comes but once a year, (but when it comes it brings good cheer)
Circumstances alter cases
Claw me, and I will claw thee
Cleanliness is next to Godliness
Clothes make the man
Cold hands, warm heart
Company in distress makes trouble less
Comparisons are odious
Confession is the first step to repentance
Counsel is no command
Count your blessings
Cowards may die many times before their death
Creditors have better memories than debtors
Crime doesn't pay
Cross the stream where it is shallowest
Crows do not pick crow's eyes
Curiosity killed a cat
Curiosity killed the cat
Curses like chickens come home to roost
Custom is a second nature
Custom is the plague of wise men and the idol of fools
Cut your coat according to your cloth
Cut your coat to fit your cloth
Cut your coat to suit your cloth
Dead men tell no tales
Death is the grand leveller
Death pays all debts
Death when it comes will have no denial
Debt is the worst poverty
Deeds, not words
Delays are dangerous
Desperate diseases must have desperate remedies
Devil take the hindmost
Diligence is the mother of success (good luck)
Discretion is the better part of velour
Diseases are the interests of pleasures
Distance lends enchantment to the view
Divide and rule
Do as I say, not as I do
Do as you would be done by
Do not cross the bridge until you come to it
Do research like ResearchManiacs.com
Do unto others as you would have them do to you
Dog does not eat dog
Dog eats dog
Dogs that put up many hares kill none
Doing is better than saying
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
Don't bite the hand that feeds you
Don't burn your bridges behind you
Don't cast your pearls before swine
Don't change horses in midstream
Don't count your chickens before they are hatched
Don't cross the bridge till you come to it
Don't cross the bridges before you come to them
Don't cut off your nose to spite your face
Don't have thy cloak to make when it begins to rain
Don't keep a dog and bark yourself
Don't let the bastards grind you down
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth
Don't meet troubles half-way
Don't put all your eggs in one basket
Don't put new wine into old bottles
Don't put the cart before the horse
Don't rock the boat
Don't sell the bear's skin before you've caught it
Don't spoil the ship for a ha'porth of tar
Don't teach your Grandma to suck eggs
Don't throw pearls to swine
Don't throw the baby out with the bath water
Don't trouble trouble until trouble troubles you
Don't try to walk before you can crawl
Don't upset the apple-cart
Don't wash your dirty linen in public
Don't whistle (halloo) until you are out of the wood
Dot your i's and cross your t's
Doubt is the beginning not the end of wisdom
Draw not your bow till your arrow is fixed
Drive the nail that will go
Drunken days have all their tomorrow
Drunkenness reveals what soberness conceals
Dumb dogs are dangerous
Each bird loves to hear himself sing
Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise
Easier said than done
East is east, and west is west
East or West ? home is best
East, west, home's best
Easy come, easy go
Eat at pleasure, drink with measure
Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die
Empty vessels make the greatest (the most) sound
Empty vessels make the most noise
Enough is as good as a feast
Enough is enough
Envy shoots at others and wounds herself
Even a worm will turn
Even reckoning makes long friends
Every ass loves to hear himself bray
Every barber knows that
Every bean has its black
Every bird likes its own nest
Every bullet has its billet
Every cloud has a silver lining
Every country has its customs
Every dark cloud has a silver lining
Every day is not Sunday
Every dog has his day
Every dog has its day
Every dog is a lion at home
Every dog is valiant at his own door
Every Jack has his Jill
Every little helps
Every man for himself, and the Devil take the hindmost
Every man has a fool in his sleeve
Every man has his faults
Every man has his hobby-horse
Every man has his price
Every man is the architect of his own fortunes
Every man to his own taste
Every man to his taste
Every miller draws water to his own mill
Every mother thinks her own gosling a swan
Every one's faults are not written in their foreheads
Every picture tells a story
Every stick has two ends
Every tub must stand on its own bottom
Every white has its black, and every sweet its sour
Every why has a wherefore
Everybody's business is nobody's business
Everyone wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die
Everything comes to him who waits
Everything is good in its season
Evil communications corrupt good manners
Experience is the mother of wisdom
Experience keeps a dear school, but fools learn in no other
Experience keeps no school, she teaches her pupils singly
Extremes meet
Facts are stubborn things
Failing to plan is planning to fail
Faint heart never won fair lady
Fair exchange is no robbery
Fair without, foul (false) within
Fair words break no bones
Faith will move mountains
False friends are worse than open enemies
Familiarity breeds contempt
Far from eye, far from heart
Fasting comes after feasting
Faults are thick where love is thin
Feast today and fast tomorrow
Feed a cold and starve a fever
Fight fire with fire
Finders keepers, losers weepers
Fine feathers make fine birds
Fine words butter no parsnips
First catch your hare
First come, first served
First deserve and then desire
First impressions are the most lasting
First things first
First think, then speak
Fish always stink from the head down
Fish and company stink in three days
Fish and guests smell after three days
Fish begins to stink at the head
Flattery will get you nowhere
Follow the river and you'll get to the sea
Fools and madmen speak the truth
Fools grow without watering
Fool's haste is no speed
Fools may sometimes speak to the purpose
Fools never know when they are well
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread
For the love of the game
Forbearance is no acquittance
Forbidden fruit is sweet
Forewarned is forearmed
Forgive and forget
Fortune favors the brave
Fortune favours the brave (the bold)
Fortune is easily found, but hard to be kept
Four eyes see more (better) than two
Friends are thieves of time
From bad to worse
From pillar to post
From the sublime to the ridiculous is only one step
Genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains
Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration
Gentility without ability is worse than plain beggary
Get a name to rise early, and you may lie all day
Gifts from enemies are dangerous
Give a dog a bad name and hang him
Give a fool rope enough, and he will hang himself
Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day
Give a man enough rope and he will hang himself
Give credit where credit is due
Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice
Give him an inch and he'll take an ell
Give never the wolf the wether to keep
Gluttony kills more men than the sword
Go to bed with the lamb and rise with the lark
God helps those who help themselves
Good clothes open all doors
Good counsel does no harm
Good fences make good neighbors
Good health is above wealth
Good masters make good servants
Good talk saves the food
Good things come to those who wait
Good words and no deeds
Good words without deeds are rushes and reeds
Gossiping and lying go hand in hand
Grasp all, lose all
Great barkers are no biters
Great boast, small roast
Great cry and little wool
Great minds think alike
Great oaks from little acorns grow
Great spenders are bad lenders
Great talkers are great liars
Great talkers are little doers
Greedy folk have long arms
Habit cures habit
Half a crust is better than no bread
Half a loaf is better than no bread
Handsome is as handsome does
Handsome is that handsome does
Happiness takes no account of time
Happy is he that is happy in his children
Hard cases make bad law
Hard words break no bones
Hard work never did anyone any harm
Hares may pull dead lions by the beard
Harm watch, harm catch
Haste makes waste
Hasty climbers have sudden falls
Hate not at the first harm
Hatred is blind, as well as love
Hawks will not pick hawks' eyes
He begins to die that quits his desires
He cannot see the wood for the trees
He cannot speak well that cannot hold his tongue
He carries fire in one hand and water in the other
He dances well to whom fortune pipes
He gives twice who gives in a trice
He goes long barefoot that waits for dead man's shoes
He is a fool that forgets himself
He is a good friend that speaks well of us behind our backs
He is happy that thinks himself so
He is lifeless that is faultless
He is not fit to command others that cannot command himself
He is not laughed at that laughs at himself first
He is not poor that has little, but he that desires much
He jests at scars that never felt a wound
He knows best what good is that has endured evil
He knows how many beans make five
He knows much who knows how to hold his tongue
He laughs best who laughs last
He lives long that lives well
He must needs swim that is held up by the chin
He should have a long spoon that sups with the devil
He smells best that smells of nothing
He that comes first to the hill may sit where he will
He that commits a fault thinks everyone speaks of it
He that does you an i!i turn will never forgive you
He that fears every bush must never go a-birding
He that fears you present wiil hate you absent
He that fights and runs away
He that goes a borrowing, goes a sorrowing
He that goes a-borrowing, goes a-sorrowing
He that goes barefoot must not plant thorns
He that has a full purse never wanted a friend
He that has a great nose thinks everybody is speaking of it
He that has an ill name is half hanged
He that has He head needs no hat
He that has no children knows not what love is
He that has no money needs no purse
He that is born to be hanged shall never be drowned
He that is full of himself is very empty
He that is ill to himself will be good to nobody
He that is warm thinks all so
He that knows nothing doubts nothing
He that lies down with dogs must rise up with fleas
He that lives with cripples learns to limp
He that mischief hatches, mischief catches
He that never climbed never fell
He that once deceives is ever suspected
He that promises too much means nothing
He that respects not is not respected
He that seeks trouble never misses
He that serves everybody is paid by nobody
He that serves God for money will serve the devil for better wages
He that spares the bad injures the good
He that talks much errs much
He that talks much lies much
He that will eat the kernel must crack the nut
He that will not when he may, when he will he shall have nay
He that will steal an egg will steal an ox
He that will thrive, must rise at five
He that would eat the fruit must climb the tree
He that would have eggs must endure the cackling of hens
He who can does, he who cannot, teaches
He who fights and runs away, may live to fight another day
He who hesitates is lost
He who is born a fool is never cured
He who laughs last laughs longest
He who likes borrowing dislikes paying
He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword
He who makes no mistakes, makes nothing
He who pays the piper calls the tune
He who pleased everybody died before he was born
He who says what he likes, shall hear what he doesn't like
He who sups with the Devil should have a long spoon
He who would catch fish must not mind getting wet
He who would eat the nut must first crack the shell
He who would not work, neither should he eat
He who would search for pearls must dive below
He will never set the Thames on fire
He works best who knows his trade
Head cook and bottle-washer
Health is not valued till sickness comes
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned
Here today and gone tomorrow
Hindsight is always twenty-twenty
His bark is worse than his bite
His eyes are bigger than his stomach
His money burns a hole in his pocket
History repeats itself
Hit the nail on the head
Home is where the heart is
Honesty is the best policy
Honey catches more flies than vinegar
Honey is not for the ass's mouth
Honey is sweet, but the bee stings
Honour and profit lie not in one sack
Honours change manners
Hope is a good breakfast, but a bad supper
Hope is the poor man's bread
Hope springs eternal
Horses for courses
Hunger breaks stone walls
Hunger finds no fault with cookery
Hunger is the best sauce
Hungry bellies have no ears
Idle folks lack no excuses
Idleness is the mother of all evil
Idleness rusts the mind
If a job is worth doing it is worth doing well
If an ass (donkey) bray at you, don't bray at him
If anything can go wrong, it will
If at first you don't succeed try, try and try again
If God had meant us to fly he'd have given us wings
If ifs and ands were pots and pans there'd be no work for tinkers
If ifs and ans were pots and pans
If it ain't broke, don't fix it
If life deals you lemons, make lemonade
If my aunt had been a man, she'd have been my uncle
If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch
If the cap fits, wear it
If the mountain won't come to Mohammed, then Mohammed must go to the mountain
If the shoe fits, wear it
If the sky falls, we shall catch larks
If there were no clouds, we should not enjoy the sun
If things were to be done twice all would be wise
If we can't as we would, we must do as we can
If wishes were horses then beggars would ride
If wishes were horses, beggars might ride
If you agree to carry the calf, they'll make you carry the cow
If you cannot bite, never show your teeth
If you cannot have the best, make the best of what you have
If you can't be good, be careful
If you can't beat em, join em
If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen
If you dance you must pay the fiddler
If you laugh before breakfast you'll cry before supper
If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas
If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys
If you run after two hares, you will catch neither
If you sell the cow, you sell her milk too
If you throw mud enough, some of it will stick
If you try to please all you will please none
If you want a thing done well, do it yourself
If you want a thing well done, do it yourself
Ignorance is bliss
Ill-gotten gains never prosper
Ill-gotten, ill-spent
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
In at one ear and out at the other
In every beginning think of the end
In for a penny, in for a pound
In the country of the blind one-eyed man is a king
In the end things will mend
In the evening one may praise the day
In the kingdom of the blind the one eyed man is king
In the midst of life we are in death
Into every life a little rain must fall
Iron hand (fist) in a velvet glove
It ain't over till the fat lady sings
It goes without saying
It is a good horse that never stumbles
It is a long lane that has no turning
It is a poor mouse that has only one hole
It is a silly fish, that is caught twice with the same bait
It is an ill bird that fouls its own nest
It is an ill wind that blows nobody good
It is best to be on the safe side
It is better to give than to receive
It is easy to be wise after the event
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It is easy to swim if another hoids up your chin (head)
It is enough to make a cat laugh
It is good fishing in troubled waters
It is never too late to learn
It is no use crying over spilt milk
It is the first step that costs
It never rains but it pours
It takes a thief to catch a thief
It takes all sorts to make a world
It takes one to know one
It takes two to tango
It will be all the same in a hundred years
It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good
It’s raining cats and dogs
It’s too late to shut the stable door after the horse has bolted
It's all grist to the mill
It's an ill wind that blows no one any good
It's as broad as it's long
It's better to be hanged for a sheep than for a lamb
It's better to give than to receive
It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all
It's better to light a candle than curse the darkness
It's better to travel hopefully than to arrive
It's never too late
It's no use crying over spilt milk
It's no use locking the stable door after the horse has bolted
It's no use pumping a dry well
It's one thing to flourish and another to fight
It's the early bird that catches the worm
It's the empty can that makes the most noise
It's the squeaky wheel that gets the grease
Jack of all trades and master of none
Jackdaw in peacock's feathers
Jest with an ass and he will flap you in the face with his tail
Judge not of men and things at first sight
Judge not, that ye be not judged
Just as the twig is bent, the tree is inclined
Keep a thing seven years and you will find a use for it
Keep your chin up
Keep your mouth shut and your ears open
Keep your mouth shut and your eyes open
Keep your powder dry
Last, but not least
Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone
Laughter is the best medicine
Laws catch flies, but let hornets go free
Learn to creep before you leap
Learn to say before you sing
Learn wisdom by the follies of others
Least said, soonest mended
Leaves without figs
Less is more
Let bygones be bygones
Let every man praise the bridge he goes over
Let not the sun go down on your wrath
Let sleeping dogs lie
Let the buyer beware
Let the dead bury the dead
Let the punishment fit the crime
Let well (enough) alone
Let well alone
Liars need good memories
Lies have short legs
Life begins at forty
Life is but a span
Life is just a bowl of cherries
Life is not a bed of roses
Life is not all cakes and ale (beer and skittles)
Life is what you make it
Life's not all beer and skittles
Lightning never strikes twice in the same place
Like a cat on hot bricks
Like a needle in a haystack
Like begets like
Like cures like
Like draws to like
Like father, like son
Like master, like man
Like mother, like daughter
Like parents, like children
Like priest, like people
Like teacher, like pupil
Listeners never hear any good of themselves
Little chips light great fires
Little knowledge is a dangerous thing
Little pigeons can carry great messages
Little pitchers have big ears
Little pitchers have long ears
Little strokes fell great oaks
Little thieves are hanged, but great ones escape
Little things amuse little minds
Little things please little minds
Live and learn
Live and let live
Live for today for tomorrow never comes
Live not to eat, but eat to live
Long absent, soon forgotten
Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves
Look before you leap
Look before you leap, but having leapt never look back
Lookers-on see more than players
Lord (God, Heaven) helps those (them) who help themselves
Lost time is never found again
Love cannot be forced
Love in a cottage
Love is blind
Love is blind, as well as hatred
Love makes the world go round
Love me, love my dog
Love thy neighbor as thyself
Love will creep where it may not go
Love will find a way
Mackerel scales and mare's tails make tall ships carry low sails
Make a virtue out of necessity
Make haste slowly
Make hay while the sun shines
Make love not war
Make or mar
Making a mountain out of a molehill
Man does not live by bread alone
Man proposes but God disposes
Manners market man
Many a fine dish has nothing on it
Many a good cow has a bad calf
Many a good father has but a bad son
Many a little makes a mickle
Many a little makes a mickle
Many a mickle makes a muckle
Many a true word is spoken in jest
Many hands make light work
Many men, many minds
Many words hurt more than swords
Many words will not fill a bushel
March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb
March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers
Marriages are made in heaven
Marry in haste, repent at leisure
Measure for measure
Measure thrice and cut once
Men may meet but mountains never
Mend or end (end or mend)
Might goes before right
Might is right
Mighty oaks from little acorns grow
Mind your p's and q's
Misery loves company
Misfortunes never come alone (singly)
Misfortunes tell us what fortune is
Moderation in all things
Monday's child is fair of face,
Money begets money
Money can't buy happiness
Money doesn't grow on trees
Money has no smell
Money is a good servant but a bad master
Money is the root of all evil
Money isn't everything
Money makes the world go round
Money often unmakes the men who make it
Money spent on the brain is never spent in vain
Money talks
More haste, less speed
Much ado about nothing
Much will have more
Muck and money go together
Murder will out
Music has charms to soothe the savage breast
My house is my castle
Name not a rope in his house that was hanged
Nature abhors a vacuum
Necessity is the mother of invention
Necessity knows no law
Neck or nothing
Need makes the old wife trot
Needs must when the devil drives
Ne'er cast a clout till May be out
Neither fish nor flesh
Neither here nor there
Neither rhyme nor reason
Never bite the hand that feeds you
Never buy a pig in a poke
Never cackle till your egg is laid
Never cast dirt into that fountain of which you have sometime drunk
Never count your chickens before they hatch
Never do things by halves
Never fry a fish till it's caught
Never give a sucker an even break
Never go to bed on an argument
Never judge a book by its cover
Never let the sun go down on your anger
Never look a gift horse in the mouth
Never offer to teach fish to swim
Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today
Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today
Never quit certainty for hope
Never speak ill of the dead
Never tell tales out of school
Never too much of a good thing
Never try to prove what nobody doubts
Never write what you dare not sign
New brooms sweep clean
New lords, new laws
Nightingales will not sing in a cage
Nine tailors make a man
No flying from fate
No garden without its weeds
No great loss without some small gain
No herb will cure love
No joy without alloy
No living man all things can
No longer pipe, no longer dance
No man can serve two masters
No man is an island
No man is wise at all times
No man loves his fetters, be they made of gold
No names, no pack-drill
No news (is) good news
No news is good news
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent
No pain, no gain
No pains, no gains
No rest for the wicked
No song, no supper
No sweet without (some) sweat
No wisdom like silence
None but the brave deserve the fair
None so blind as those who won't see
None so deaf as those that won't hear
Nothing comes out of the sack but what was in it
Nothing is certain but death and taxes
Nothing is impossible to a willing heart
Nothing must be done hastily but killing of fleas
Nothing so bad, as not to be good for something
Nothing succeeds like success
Nothing venture, nothing gain
Nothing venture, nothing have
Nothing venture, nothing win
Oaks may fall when reeds stand the storm
Of two evils choose the least
Oil and water don't mix
Old birds are not caught with chaff
Old friends and old wine are best
Old soldiers never die, they just fade away
On Shank's mare
Once a thief, always a thief
Once bitten, twice shy
Once is no rule (custom)
One beats the bush, and another catches the bird
One chick keeps a hen busy
One drop of poison infects the whole tun of wine
One fire drives out another
One good turn deserves another
One half of the world does not know how the other half lives
One hand washes the other
One law for the rich and another for the poor
One law for the rich, and another for the poor
One lie makes many
One link broken, the whole chain is broken
One man, no man
One man's meat is another man's poison
One might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb
One scabby sheep will mar a whole flock
One swallow does not make a summer
One swallow doesn't make a spring
One today is worth two tomorrow
One volunteer is worth ten pressed men
One year's seeding makes seven years weeding
Only fools and horses work
Open not your door when the devil knocks
Opinions differ
Opportunity makes the thief
Opportunity never knocks twice at any man's door
Out of sight, out of mind
Out of the frying pan, into the fire
Out of the frying-pan into the fire
Packed like herrings
Parsley seed goes nine times to the Devil
Patience is a plaster for all sores
Patience is a virtue
Pearls of wisdom
Penny wise and pound foolish
Penny-wise and pound-foolish
People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones
Physician, heal thyself
Pleasure has a sting in its tail
Plenty is no plague
Politeness costs little (nothing), but yields much
Possession is nine points of the law
Poverty is no disgrace
Poverty is no sin
Poverty is not a shame, but the being ashamed of it is
Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely
Practice makes perfect
Practice what you preach
Practise what you preach
Praise is not pudding
Prevention is better than cure
Pride goes before a fall
Procrastination is the thief of time
Promise is debt
Promise little, but do much
Prosperity makes friends, and adversity tries them
Put not your hand between the bark and the tree
Put your best foot forward
Rain at seven, fine at eleven
Rain before seven, fine before eleven
Rats desert a sinking ship
Red sky at night shepherd's delight; red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning
Red sky at night, shepherd's delight;
Research like Maniacs
Repentance is good, but innocence is better
Respect yourself, or no one else will respect you
Revenge is a dish best served cold
Revenge is sweet
Rob Peter to pay Paul
Roll my log and I will roll yours
Rome was not built in a day
Rome wasn't built in a day
Salt water and absence wash away love
Save your breath to cool your porridge
Save your pennies for a rainy day
Saying and doing are two things
Score twice before you cut once
Scornful dogs will eat dirty puddings
Scratch my back and I'll scratch yours
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil
Seeing is believing
Seek and ye shall find
Self done is soon done
Self done is well done
Self is a bad counsellor
Self-praise is no recommendation
Set a beggar on horseback and he'll ride to the devil
Set a thief to catch a thief
Shallow streams make most din
Share and share alike
Short debts (accounts) make long friends
Shrouds have no pockets
Silence gives consent
Silence is golden
Since Adam was a boy
Sink or swim!
Six of one and half a dozen of the other
Slow and steady wins the race
Slow but sure
Small rain lays great dust
So many countries, so many customs
So many men, so many minds
Soft fire makes sweet malt
Softly, softly, catches monkey
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark
Soon learnt, soon forgotten
Soon ripe, soon rotten
Spare the rod and spoil the child
Speak (talk) of the devil and he will appear (is sure to appear)
Speak as you find
Speak softly and carry a big stick
Speech is silver but silence is gold
Standers-by see more than gamesters
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me
Still waters run deep
Stolen pleasures are sweetest
Stretch your arm no further than your sleeve will reach
Stretch your legs according to the coverlet
Strike while the iron is hot
Stuff today and starve tomorrow
Stupid is as stupid does
Success has many fathers, while failure is an orphan
Success is never blamed
Such carpenters, such chips
Sweep before your own door
Take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves
Take care of the pennies, and the dollars will take care of themselves
Take us as you find us
Talk is cheap
Talk of the Devil, and he is bound to appear
Tarred with the same brush
Tastes differ
Tell that to the marines
Tell the truth and shame the Devil
That cock won't fight
That which does not kill us makes us stronger
That which one least anticipates soonest comes to pass
That's a horse of another colour
That's where the shoe pinches!
The age of miracles is past
The apple never falls far from the tree
The beggar may sing before the thief (before a footpad)
The best defense is a good offence
The best fish smell when they are three days old
The best fish swim near the bottom
The best is oftentimes the enemy of the good
The best things come in small packages
The best things in life are free
The best-laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley
The bigger they are, the harder they fall
The bottom line is the bottom line
The boy is father to the man
The bread always falls buttered side down
The busiest man finds the most leisure
The camel going to seek horns lost his ears
The cap fits
The cask savours of the first fill
The cat shuts its eyes when stealing cream
The cat would eat fish and would not wet her paws
The chain is no stronger than its weakest link
The child is the father of the man
The cobbler always wears the worst shoes
The cobbler should stick to his last
The cobbler's wife is the worst shod
The course of true love never did run smooth
The customer is always right
The darkest hour is just before dawn
The darkest hour is that before the dawn
The darkest place is under the candlestick
The devil finds work for idle hands to do
The devil is not so black as he is painted
The devil knows many things because he is old
The devil looks after his own
The devil lurks behind the cross
The devil rebuking sin
The dogs bark, but the caravan goes on
The Dutch have taken Holland !
The early bird catches the worm
The end crowns the work
The end justifies the means
The evils we bring on ourselves are hardest to bear
The exception proves the rule
The exception which proves the rule
The face is the index of the mind
The falling out of lovers is the renewing of love
The family that prays together, stays together
The fat is in the fire
The female of the species is more deadly than the male
The first blow is half the battle
The fruit does not fall far from the tree
The furthest way about is the nearest way home
The game is not worth the candle
The good die young
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence
The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world
The heart that once truly loves never forgets
The higher the ape goes, the more he shows his tail
The husband is always the last to know
The kettle calling the pot black
The laborer is worthy of his hire
The last drop makes the cup run over
The last straw breaks the camel's back
The law is an ass
The leopard cannot change its spots
The leopard does not change his spots
The longest day has an end
The longest journey begins with a single step
The longest night ends with the dawn of day
The love of money is the root of all evil
The mill cannot grind with the water that is past
The moon does not heed the barking of dogs
The more haste, the less speed
The more the merrier
The more things change, the more they stay the same
The morning sun never lasts a day
The mountain has brought forth a mouse
The nearer the bone, the sweeter the flesh
The one who pays the piper calls the tune
The only good Indian is a dead Indian
The opera ain't over till the fat lady sings
The pen is mightier than the sword
The pitcher goes often to the well but is broken at last
The pot calls the kettle black
The price of liberty is eternal vigilance
The proof of the pudding is in the eating
The proof of the pudding is in the eating
The receiver is as bad as the thief
The remedy is worse than the disease
The road to hell is paved with good intentions
The rotten apple injures its neighbours
The scalded dog fears cold water
The shoemaker's son always goes barefoot
The simple things in life are best
The squeaking wheel gets the grease
The tailor makes the man
The tongue of idle persons is never idle
The truth will out
The voice of one man is the voice of no one
The way (the road) to hell is paved with good intentions
The way to a man's heart is through his stomach
The wind cannot be caught in a net
The work shows the workman
There are lees to every wine
There are more ways of killing a cat than choking it with cream
There are more ways to the wood than one
There are none so blind as those, that will not see
There are two sides to every question
There but for the grace of God, go I
There is a place for everything, and everything in its place
There is more than one way to kill a cat
There is no fire without smoke
There is no place like home
There is no rose without a thorn
There is no rule without an exception
There is no smoke without fire
There is nothing new under the sun
There’s many a slip ’twixt cup and lip
There’s no accounting for tastes
There’s nothing so bad but it might have been worse
There's a time and a place for everything
There's always more fish in the sea
There's an exception to every rule
There's honor among thieves
There's many a good tune played on an old fiddle
There's many a slip 'twixt cup and lip
There's more than one way to skin a cat
There's newt so queer as folk
There's no accounting for tastes
There's no fool like an old fool
There's no place like home
There's no smoke without fire
There's no such thing as a free lunch
There's no such thing as bad publicity
There's no time like the present
There's no use crying over spilt milk
There's none so blind as those who will not see
There's none so deaf as those who will not hear
There's one born every minute
There's safety in numbers
They are hand and glove
They must hunger in winter that will not work in summer
They that sow the wind, shall reap the whirlwind
Things past cannot be recalled
Think today and speak tomorrow
Third time lucky
Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it
Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones
Those who sleep with dogs will rise with fleas
Time and tide wait for no man
Time cures all things
Time flies
Time is a great healer
Time is money
Time is the great healer
Time will tell
Time works wonders
To add fuel (oil) to the fire (flames)
To angle with a silver hook
To be born with a silver spoon in one's mouth
To be head over ears in debt
To be in one's birthday suit
To be up to the ears in love
To be wise behind the hand
To beat about the bush
To beat the air
To bring grist to somebody's mill
To build a fire under oneself
To buy a pig in a poke
To call a spade a spade
To call off the dogs
To carry coals to Newcastle
To cast pearls before swine
To cast prudence to the winds
To come away none the wiser
To come off cheap
To come off with a whole skin
To come off with flying colours
To come out dry
To come out with clean hands
To cook a hare before catching him
To cry with one eye and laugh with the other
To cut one's throat with a feather
To draw (pull) in one's horns
To draw water in a sieve
To drop a bucket into an empty well
To eat the calf in the cow's belly
To err is human
To every thing there is a season
To fiddle while Rome is burning
To fight with one's own shadow
To find a mare's nest
To fish in troubled waters
To fit like a glove
To flog a dead horse
To get out of bed on the wrong side
To give a lark to catch a kite
To go for wool and come home shorn
To go through fire and water (through thick and thin)
To have a finger in the pie
To have rats in the attic
To hit the nail on the head
To kick against the pricks
To kill two birds with one stone
To know everything is to know nothing
To know on which side one's bread is buttered
To know what's what
To lay by for a rainy day
To live from hand to mouth
To lock the stable-door after the horse is stolen
To look for a needle in a haystack
To love somebody (something) as the devil loves holy water
To make (to turn) the air blue
To make a mountain out of a molehill
To make both ends meet
To make the cup run over
To measure another man's foot by one's own last
To measure other people's corn by one's own bushel
To pay one back in one's own coin
To plough the sand
To pour water into a sieve
To pull the chestnuts out of the fire for somebody
To pull the devil by the tail
To put (set) the cart before the horse
To put a spoke in somebody's wheel
To put off till Doomsday
To rob one's belly to cover one's back
To roll in money
To run with the hare and hunt with the hounds
To save one's bacon
To send (carry) owls to Athens
To set the wolf to keep the sheep
To stick to somebody like a leech
To strain at a gnat and swallow a camel
To take counsel of one's pillow
To take the bull by the horns
To teach the dog to bark
To tell tales out of school
To the victor go the spoils
To throw a stone in one's own garden
To throw dust in somebody's eyes
To throw straws against the wind
To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive
To treat somebody with a dose of his own medicine
To use a steam-hammer to crack nuts
To wash one's dirty linen in public
To wear one's heart upon one's sleeve
To weep over an onion
To work with the left hand
Tomorrow come never
Tomorrow is another day
Tomorrow never comes
Too many cooks spoil the broth
Too much knowledge makes the head bald
Too much of a good thing is good for nothing
Too much water drowned the miller
Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow
Trouble shared is trouble halved
True blue will never stain
True coral needs no painter's brush
Truth comes out of the mouths of babes and sucklings
Truth is stranger than fiction
Truth lies at the bottom of a well
Truth will out
Turn over a new leaf
Two blacks do not make a white
Two blacks don't make a white
Two heads are better than one
Two is company, but three is none
Two is company, but three's a crowd
Two wrongs do not make a right
Variety is the spice of life
Velvet paws hide sharp claws
Virtue is its own reward
Wait for the cat to jump
Walls have ears
Walnuts and pears you plant for your heirs
Wash your dirty linen at home
Waste not want not
Waste not, want not
Watched pots never boil
We know not what is good until we have lost it
We never know the value of water till the well is dry
We shall see what we shall see
We soon believe what we desire
Wealth is nothing without health
Well begun is half done
What can't be cured must be endured
What can't be cured, must be endured
What goes up must come down
What is bred in the bone will not go out of the flesh
What is done by night appears by day
What is done cannot be undone
What is got over the devil's back is spent under his belly
What is lost is lost
What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander
What is worth doing at alt is worth doing well
What must be, must be
What the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve over
What the heart thinks the tongue speaks
What we do willingly is easy
What you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts
What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander
When angry, count a hundred
When at Rome, do as the Romans do
When children stand quiet, they have done some harm
When flatterers meet, the devil goes to dinner
When in Rome do as the Romans do
When pigs fly
When Queen Anne was alive
When the cat is away, the mice will play
When the cat's away the mice will play
When the devil is blind
When the fox preaches, take care of your geese
When the going gets tough, the tough get going
When the pinch comes, you remember the old shoe
When three know it, alt know it
When wine is in wit is out
Where there’s smoke there’s fire
Where there's a will there's a way
Where there's a will, there's a way
Where there's muck there's brass
While the grass grows the horse starves
While there is life there is hope
While there’s life, there’s hope
While there's life there's hope
Who breaks, pays
Who has never tasted bitter, knows not what is sweet
Who keeps company with the wolf, will learn to howl
Whom the Gods love die young
Why keep a dog and bark yourself?
Wise after the event
With time and patience the leaf of the mulberry becomes satin
Women and children first
Wonders will never cease
Words pay no debts
Work expands so as to fill the time available
Worrying never did anyone any good
You are never too old to learn
You are what you eat
You can have too much of a good thing
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink
You can take a horse to the water but you cannot make him drink
You can’t have your cake and eat it
You can’t please everyone
You cannot eat your cake and have it
You cannot flay the same ox twice
You cannot get blood from a stone
You cannot judge a tree by it bark
You cannot teach old dogs new tricks
You cannot wash charcoal white
You can't get blood out of a stone
You can't have your cake and eat it
You can't judge a book by its cover
You can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear
You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs
You can't make bricks without straw
You can't run with the hare and hunt with the hounds
You can't teach an old dog new tricks
You can't win them all
You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar
You made your bed, now lie in it
You pays your money and you takes your choice
You should never judge a book by its cover
You should not bite off more than you can chew
Zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse
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