Questions tagged [proverbs]
A simple truth that expresses an idea or fact.
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Is there English counterpart(s) to Japanese old saying, “Present salt to your enemy.”?
We have a popular Japanese saying, “敵に塩を送る” — literally, “present (supply) salt to one's enemy”, meaning ‘play fair and square, not taking advantage of the weak point of your rival.’ It’s different ...
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English equivalent of the Persian proverb "When there's fire, wet and dry burn together"
There's a well-known proverb in Persian, which, translated literally, goes like this:
Where there's fire, wet and dry burn together.
The original being ".وقتی آتش موجود باشد) تر و خشک با هم می ...
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Are there counterpart English expressions to Japanese proverb, "the nail that pops up is always hammered down?
I was once reminded by Robusto-san of a Japanese popular saying, ‘出る釘は打たれる - the nail that pops up is always hammered down,’ when I complained about sequential down-votes that I received.
I wondered ...
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"Whatever a Russian does, they end up making the Kalashnikov gun"? Are there any similar proverbs in English?
I'm translating a Russian blog post into English and got stuck with the proverb, "Whatever a Russian does, they end up making the Kalashnikov gun." (Humorously meaning it's hard or even impossible to ...
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What is the English equivalent to the Chinese/Japanese saying, “塞翁失馬— Life is like Old Sai’s horse”?
Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, 2012 Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine, the initiator of all-around (iPS) cells told a recently-held public symposium, quote:
“I’m often asked by many people: ‘You ...
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English proverb for "They danced, but didn't take a bow", as for failing good work on a final step
There is proverb in Ukrainian, "They danced and danced, but didn't take a bow" (Танцювали, танцювали, та не вклонилися).
It is used to point out that someone has put a significant amount of time and ...
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Are there English proverbs that warn against “speaking up” in front of people?
I recall a Japanese proverb, “犬も歩けば棒に当たる,” of which literal translation is “When a dog rambles around outside, he get a hit with a neighbor’s stick,” meaning, “Don’t come on the surface, don’t try to ...
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Is there a saying or proverb for a situation where the weakest party will always lose?
Context - One might use it in the following situations:
"An employee has an argument with their boss and a dispute follows." (they get fired a few weeks later)
"A student having an ...
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How many birds in the bush?
There is a well known proverb,
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
However, I have discovered that the earliest English version of this proverb according to phrases.org.uk is found in John ...
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Are there English equivalents for “as beautiful as butt inside out”?
There is an old saying in Ukrainian folklore, which literally sounds like “[someone is] as beautiful as ass inside out” (“Гарна як срака навиворіт”). It is used when one wants to point a person's ...
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I don't have a ___ in this ___ (saying)
Earlier this evening, I was trying to tell someone, "I don't care who wins the Superbowl this year. I don't have a-"
I could't remember how to complete this saying (to mean I don't have a personal ...
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Proverb or expression for a situation with two choices, both leading to a different kind of trouble
I'm searching for a proverb or expression that describes a situation which has two choices or two ways out (that is, somewhat of a forced choice) where both lead to some kind of trouble (but not the ...
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Can someone explain the phrase "All is fair in love and war"?
What are its origins and what does it really mean?
user9879
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English equivalent of the Malayalam saying "don't stab/poke the dead body"?
ശവത്തിൽ കുത്തരുത് (śavattil kuttarut)
is a Malayalam saying that in literal translation means "Don't stab/poke the dead body". The meaning would be something like: don't humiliate a person when he is ...
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Don't look a gift-horse in the mouth
Don't look a gift-horse in the mouth.
What is a gift-horse? Why shouldn't you look in its mouth?
What does this idiom actually mean and how is it used?
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Words are not sparrows; once they have flown they cannot be recaptured
The title of my question is a Russian proverb, for which I cannot think of an analog. All the examples I have seen on this website refer to actions rather than specifically speech. Can anyone give me ...
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Idiom for the effect that money from funding is easier to spend, as opposed to one's own savings
I am looking for an idiom in English, if it exists.
In Czech it goes like "Z ciziho krev netece", literally "Someone else's property never bleeds" which was probably originally meant to describe the ...
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Is there English proverb equivalent to Japanese and Korean one, “The ground becomes solid after a heavy rain”?
In the speech after toasting at the dinner party hosted by President of the Republic of Korea subsequent to the Meeting of Three-country (China, Japan and Korea - in Alphabetic order) Leaders held in ...
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In my native language, we have this obscene saying - don't take a dump in the barrel of honey
The implication is that one must not display a disrespectful behavior in regards to his/her friends or the people he/she knows very well, because as the honey in the barrel won't be edible anymore ...
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Is there English proverb or saying equivalent to Chinese / Japanese common proverb 李下に冠を正さず- Don’t touch (redress) your coronet under the plum tree?
Recently I made an inadvertent mistake, which reminded me a familiar Japanese proverb to admonish us to stay away from situation and the likelihood to be suspected as a rule-offender.
It is a set of ...
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What's the equal and opposite proverb of "Variety is the spice of life"?
It is a little-known law that most proverbs have an equal and opposite. For example...
Too many cooks spoil the broth: Many hands make light work.
Fortune favours the brave: Fools rush in where ...
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Proverb: If Something is Managed By Many, Things Are Missed
I'm wondering if there is a well-known, documented and succinct proverb that matches the idea of:
Too many managers or departments overseeing a single task
The task fails because there are too many ...
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Meaning of "medicine bringeth double care when the malady is past cure"
This is an excerpt from John Lyly 'Euphues: the Anatomy of Wit, does anybody know what does it mean?
Search the wound while it is green; too late cometh the salve when the sore
festereth, and the ...
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What does Théoden’s quote “Oft evil will shall evil mar” in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings mean?
‘Yes, there can be no doubt,“ said Aragorn. ‘At last we know the link between Isengard and Mordor, and how it worked. Much is explained.’
‘Strange powers have our enemies, and strange weaknesses!’...
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Are there any English sayings equivalent to the Japanese proverb, “Go to bed early and wait for the good news”?
When politicians are waiting for the results in a Primary election, your son is waiting for admission to Harvard, an entrepreneur is waiting the bank’s approval for a financial loan, everyone frets ...
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Are there English equivalents to a Japanese old saying, “Be the mouth of cock rather than remaining as the tail of ox”?
Every time I hear about the success story of entrepreneurs such as IT business, not to mention Apple, Microsoft, and Soft Bank founders, an old Japanese saying, 鶏口となるとも牛後となる勿れ‐“(Choose to) be the ...
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Is there an adage in English for "realizing you are not the biggest"?
There is an adage in South Asia which literally translates to: A camel has finally seen the mountain. Which basically goes back to a story where a camel used to think that it was the tallest until it ...
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What method of counting puts Twelfth Night on January 6th?
I know English has (or at least had) some strange usages of eve and night, but I still can’t figure out how December 25th and 12 can be combined to come up with January 6th.
(This stems from my ...
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Origin of "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand."?
I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand. - Confucius
What is the origin, and evolution, of this popular quote? It has a nice air of pseudo-profundity to it; one problem ...
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English idiom or proverb equivalent for "if everybody is doing it, I will also do it"
Can somebody please help me by giving an English idiom or proverb equivalent for:
If everybody is doing it, I will also do it.
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Time and tide wait for no man
In the old proverb:
Time and tide wait for no man.
Our first record of the proverb is from St Marher in 1225:
And te tide and te time þat tu iboren were, schal beon iblescet.
When it was ...
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Spoken word equivalent for "paper does not refuse ink"
This phrase advises a healthy skepticism of the written word.
Is there a similar idiom that advises skepticism of the spoken word?
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The logic behind "better safe than sorry"
It struck me that the phrase "better safe than sorry" is somewhat illogical, or perhaps more accurately, it is so logical and obvious that it seems to carry no meaning at all.
My problem with this ...
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Is there honour among thieves or not?
I'm not sure which one of these apparently flatly contradictory proverbs I heard first but I have definitely heard both several times. One of them is:
There is honour among thieves.
Another is:
...
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Is there an English equivalent of the Hindi saying “sau chuhe maar billi haj ko chali”? (After killing/eating 100 mice, the cat goes on a pilgrimage)
In Hindi language, there is a prevalent saying:
sau chuhe maar billi haj ko chali
which, if directly translated into English, becomes
After killing/eating 100 mice, the cat goes on a pilgrimage
...
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Is "Jack of all trades, master of none" really just a part of a longer proverb?
This post on 9GAG claims that the actual proverbs read:
Curiosity killed the cat. > Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. [FAKE, the second part was actually added later]
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English proverb for when a solution comes too late
In Flemish we have a saying "Vijgen na pasen". Translated: "figs after Easter".
It means a solution comes too late to be of any use.
What is the English equivalent for this?
Some googling gives me "...
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Are there figurative English proverbs (or idioms) to mean an expert (or likely winner) makes a great mistake?
The latest news that Serena Williams lost the semi-final round of U.S. Open to an unseeded Italian player, Roberta Vinci, whom Williams had never lost in the past reminded me of Japanese proverb, '...
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Why is "xxxx doth not a yyyy make" considered valid English?
Reading doth not a writer make.
This sounds all wrong so why it is acceptable to use?
The word order looks to be all out sequence (Object-Subject-Verb).
It should be "reading does not make you a ...
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Proverb or expression for someone taking on too much
What is an appropriate proverb or expression that means one has:
Taken on too many tasks
Set out to do something that one isn't qualified to do and hence probably will fail
Set out to do something ...
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Origin of 'a rising tide lifts all boats'
'A rising tide lifts all boats' is a saying that has become more and more common in recent decades and is often used in economic and political contexts:
The aphorism "a rising tide lifts all ...
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Origin of “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”
According to the following source the adage The apple doesn't fall far from the tree originated in AmE in the first half of the 19th century:
The first recorded use in the USA was by Ralph Waldo ...
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The etymology of "to prove dough"
prove
[NO OBJECT] (Of bread dough) become aerated by the action of yeast; rise.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to prove for about two hours in a warm area.
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Origin of "do not argue with idiots" [closed]
What is the origin of the phrase “do not argue with idiots”? Please cite some credible references.
From googling around, I found these three variations. One came from the Bible but I couldn’t find ...
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Idiomatic expression for "putting off a task until a disaster strikes" [duplicate]
In Russian language there is a proverb "Пока гром не грянет, мужик не перекрестится".
Literal translation would be something like this: the peasant will not cross himself before it begins to ...
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"When a father gives to his son, both laugh; when a son gives to his father, both cry." --- What does it mean?
"When a father gives to his son, both laugh; when a son gives to his father, both cry."
I can't understand what this quotation means.
Can anyone help me understand its meaning?
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What is the meaning of "Many a mickle makes a muckle"?
I've heard this phrase, and don't know what a "mickle" or a "muckle" is. Hence I have no idea at all what the phrase itself is supposed to mean.
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Translation of German "Es wird nichts so heiß gegessen, wie es gekocht wird"
A German speaker wrote:
As the German saying goes: You never eat the food as hot as it is
cooked.
This is a literal translation of the proverb, "Es wird nichts so heiß gegessen, wie es gekocht ...
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A swallow does not make a summer ..... or a spring?
The famous proverb, one swallow does not make a summer means:
A single fortunate event doesn’t mean that what follows will also be good.
(ODO)
the origin, according to the Phrase Finder:...
user66974
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English equivalent of "To those you try to help, he says I am only right." [closed]
There is an old Indian Marathi saying (Mhan in marathi)
Jyacha karava bhala to mhanato majhach khara (Pronunciation: Jya-ch
K-ra-v Bh-l, To Mh-n-to Ma-zch Kh-r)
It means
Those you try to help say ...
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