INDEX.
French 1-64. Italian 65-132. German 133-192. Spanish 193-262.
Portuguese 263-295. Dutch 296-345. Danish 346-403.
A.
A bad beginning may make a good ending, [167]
[A bad] (or lean, or meagre) compromise is better than a good (or fat) lawsuit, [62], [97], [135], [144], [231], [314], [350]
A bad heart and a good stomach, [38]
A bad horse eats as much as a good one, [366]
A bad knife cuts one’s finger instead of the stick, [273]
A bad labour, and a daughter after all, [239]
A bad man’s gift is like his master, [210]
A bad penny always comes back, [136]
A bad thing never dies, [209]
A bad tree does not yield good apples, [394]
A bad wife wishes her husband’s heel turned homewards, and not his toe, [394]
A bad workman never finds a good tool, [38]
A bad wound may be cured, bad repute kills, [227]
A baptised Jew is a circumcised Christian, [149]
A bargain is a bargain, [150]
A barking cur does not bite, [76]
A barking dog was never a good biter, [240]—see [Barking dogs]
A barking dog was never a good hunter, [291]
A barren sow is never kind to pigs, [371]
A bashful dog never fattens, [147]
A beard lathered is half shaved, [74], [268]
A beard well lathered is half shaved, [204]
A beautiful woman smiling, bespeaks a purse weeping, [74]
A beggar is never out of his road, [35]
A beggar’s estate lies in all lands, [300]
A beggar’s hand is a bottomless basket, [306]
A beggar’s wallet is never full, [277]
A bellyful is a bellyful, [59]
A bespattered hog tries to bespatter another, [261]
A better seldom comes after, [168]
A big (long) nose never spoiled a handsome face, [27]
A bird in the cage is worth a hundred at large, [97]
A bird may be ever so small, it always seeks a nest of its own, [346]
A black hen lays a white egg, [40]
A blind hen can sometimes find her corn, [61]
A blind horse goes straightforward, [136]
A blind man is no judge of colours, [101]
A blind man may sometimes shoot a crow, [312]
A blind man swallows many a fly, [142]
A blind man’s stroke, which raises a dust from beneath water, [239]
A blind pigeon may sometimes find a grain of wheat, [351]
A blow from a frying-pan, if it does not hurt, smuts, [217]
A bold attempt is half success, [369]
A bold man has luck in his train, [363]
A bold onset is half the battle, [170]
A bolt does not always fall when it thunders (There are more threatened than struck), [147]
A boor remains a boor, though he sleep on silken bolsters, [365]
A borrowed horse and your own spurs make short miles, [383]
A boy’s love is water in a sieve, [199]
A brain is worth little without a tongue, [61]
A braying ass eats little hay, [72]
A brilliant daughter makes a brittle wife, [312]
Abroad one has a hundred eyes, at home not one, [141]
A buffeting threatened is never well given, [205]
A burnt child dreads the fire, [149], [313]
A burnt child dreads the fire, and a bitten child dreads a dog, [351]
A bustling mother makes a slothful daughter, [280]
A buxom widow must be married, buried, or cloistered, [262]
A cake and a bad custom ought to be broken, [19]
A calm portends a storm, [105]
A capon eight months old is fit for a king’s table, [208], [272]
A cat has nine lives, as the onion seven skins, [143]
A cat may look at a king, [169], [314]
A cat pent up becomes a lion, [99]
A cat that licks the spit is not to be trusted with roast meat, [68]
A cat that meweth much catcheth but few mice, [314]
A child must creep until it learns to walk, [348]
A child of a year old sucks milk from the heel, [210]
A child’s back must be bent early, [348]
A child’s sorrow is short-lived, [348]
A church stone drops gold—(Galician), [239]
A churl knows not the worth of spurs (i.e. honour), [64]
A clean hand moves freely through the land, [395]
A clean mouth and an honest hand, will take a man through any land, [166]
A clear bargain, a dear friend, [118]
A clear conscience is a good pillow, [61]
A clever man’s inheritance is found in every country, [354]
A cloak is not made for a single shower of rain, [114]
A close mouth and open eyes never did any one harm, [172]
A clown enriched knows neither relation nor friend, [64]
A cock is valiant on his own dunghill, [314]
A colt is good for nothing if it does not break its halter, [55]
A contented ass enjoys a long life, [267]
A courtier should be without feeling and without honour, [61]
A covetous abbot for one offering loses a hundred, [193]
A covetous woman deserves a swindling gallant, [2]
A cow does not know what her tail is worth until she has lost it, [63]
A cow from afar gives plenty of milk, [63]
A cow is not called dappled unless she has a spot, [381]
A cow-year, a sad year; a bull-year, a glad year, [314]
A coward often deals a mortal blow to the brave, [14]
A cracked bell will never be sound, [207]
A cracked pot never fell off the hook, [120]
A crazy vessel never falls from the hand, [261]
A crooked log makes a good fire, [9]
A cross-grained woman and a snappish dog take care of the house, [347]
A crow is never the whiter for often washing, [383]
A crown is no cure for the headache, [93], [146], [318]
A cur’s tail grows fast, [69]
A curse will not strike out an eye unless the fist go with it, [348]
A daily guest is a great thief in the kitchen, [312]
A dainty stomach beggars the purse (Much taste, much waste), [190]
A dead man does not make war, [131]
A dead man does not speak (Dead men tell no tales), [279]
A dead man has neither relations nor friends, [62]
A deaf auditor makes a crazy answerer, [365]
A deaf husband and a blind wife are always a happy couple, [38]
A dealer in onions is a good judge of scallions, [38]
A determined heart will not be counselled, [209]
A devotee’s face and a cat’s claws, [208]
A doctor and a boor know more than a doctor alone, [142]
A dog in the manger, that neither eats nor lets others eat, [271]
A dog is a dog whatever his colour, [380]
A dog is never offended at being pelted with bones, [114]
A dog may look at a bishop, [61]
A dog never bit me but I had some of his hair, [97]
A dog with a bone knows no friend, [314]
A door must either be open or shut, [22]
A dram of discretion is worth a pound of wisdom, [144]
A drop of honey catches more flies than a hogshead of vinegar, [162]
A drop of water breaks a stone, [124]
A drowning man clings to a blade of grass, [62]
A drowning man would catch at razors, [86]
A drunken man may soon be made to dance, [363]
A dull ass near home trots without the stick, [267]
A fair exchange bring no quarrel, [384]
A fair face will get its praise, though the owner keep silent, [367]
A fair promise binds a fool, [8]
A fair skin often covers a crooked mind, [400]
A fair-weather friend changes with the wind, [198], [265]
A farthing saved is twice earned, [123]
A fast day is the eve of a feast day, [217]
A fast horse does not want the spur, [272]
A fat kitchen, a lean testament, [100]
A fat kitchen is next door to poverty, [69]
A fat kitchen makes a lean will, [19], [148]
A father’s love, for all other is air, [199]
A father maintains ten children better than ten children one father, [145]
A fault confessed is half forgiven, [291]
A fault denied is twice committed, [61]
A fence between makes love more keen, [145]
A fence lasts three years, a dog lasts three fences, a horse three dogs, and a man three horses, [145]
A fifth wheel to a cart is but an incumbrance, [228]
A fine cage won’t feed the bird, [28]
A fine girl and a tattered gown always find something to hook them, [8]
A fine shot never killed a bird, [74]
A finger’s length in a sword, and a palm in a lance, are a great advantage, [274]
A fish should swim three times: in water, in sauce, and in wine, [138]
A flying crow always catches something, [316]
A fool and his money are soon parted, [313]
A fool can ask more questions than seven wise men can answer, [130]
A fool, if he holds his tongue, passes for wise, [216]
A fool is always beginning, [62]
A fool is like other men as long as he is silent, [393]
A fool knows his own business better than a wise man knows that of others, [124]
A fool laughs when others laugh, [347]
A fool may chance to say a wise thing, [313]
A fool only wins the first game, [365]
A fool sometimes gives good counsel, [213]
A fool throws a stone into a well, and it requires a hundred wise men to get it out again, [130]
A fool, unless he know Latin, is never a great fool, [259]
A foolish judge passes a brief sentence (A fool’s bolt is soon shot), [14]
A foolish woman is known by her finery, [18]
A fool’s bolt is soon shot, [144], [163]
A fool’s head never whitens, [58]
A fortress on its guard is not surprised, [208]
A foul mouth must be provided with a strong back, [366]
A friend, and look to thyself, [71]
A friend at one’s back is a safe bridge, [316]
A friend in need is a friend indeed, [316]
A friend is known in time of need, [6], [41]
A friend is better than money in the purse (Better a friend than money to spend), [316]
A friend is not known till he is lost, [106]
A friend is to be taken with his faults, [287]
A friend to my table and wine, is no good neighbour, [60]
A friend’s dinner is soon dressed, [341]
A friend’s fault should be known but not abhorred, [264]
A friend’s faults may be noticed, but not blamed, [403]
A friend’s meat is soon ready, [63]
A full belly counsels well, [63]
A full belly dances better than a fine coat, [397]
A full belly is neither good for flight nor fighting, [260]
A full belly sets a man jigging, [15]
A full man is no eater, [279]
A full sack pricks up its ear, [124]
A full stomach praises Lent, [390]
A full vessel must be carried carefully, [369]
A galled horse does not want to be curried, [13]
A gaunt brute bites sore, [15]
A gentleman of Beauce who stays in bed till his breeches are mended, [19]
A gift delayed, and long expected, is not given, but sold dear, [93]
A gilt bridle for an old mule, [7]
A girl, a vineyard, an orchard, and a bean-field, are hard to watch, [283]
A girl draws more than a rope, [231]
A girl unemployed is thinking of mischief, [18]
A glad heart seldom sighs, but a sorrowful mouth often laughs, [397]
A glaring sunny morning, a woman that talks Latin, and a child reared on wine, never come to a good end, [57]
A glutton young, a beggar old, [156]
A goaded ass must needs trot, [4], [72]
A golden bit makes none the better horse, [99], [150]
A golden hammer breaks an iron gate (Gold goes in at any gate), [150]
A golden key opens every door, [78]
A golden key opens every door save that of heaven, [372]
A good advice is as good as an eye in the hand, [61]
A good anvil does not fear the hammer, [75]
A good appetite does not want sauce, [75]
A good beast heats with eating, [9]
A good beginning makes a good ending, [76]
A good cause needs help, [8]
A good cavalier never lacks a lance, [65]
A good cock was never fat, [278]
A good conscience is a soft pillow, [151]
A good dog hunts by instinct, [8]
A good dog never barks at fault, [27]
A good dog never gets a good bone, [1]
A good driver turns in a small space, [8]
A good fire makes a quick cook, [320]
A good fox does not eat his neighbour’s fowls, [61]
A good friend is better than silver and gold, [314]
A good gaper makes two gapers, [61]
A good handicraft has a golden foundation, [371]
A good head does not want for hats, [48]
A good heart breaks bad fortune, [206]
A good horse and a bad horse need the spur; a good woman and a bad woman need the stick, [76]
A good horse is worth his fodder, [313]
A good horse never lacks a saddle, [65]
A good king is better than an old law, [371]
A good lawyer, a bad neighbour, [8], [205]
A good life defers wrinkles, [206]
A good man is a man of goods, [9]
A good meal is worth hanging for, [143]
A good name covers theft, [205]
A good name is a rich inheritance, [143]
A good name is better than oil (i. e. riches), [313]
A good neighbour is better than a brother far off, [371]
A good paymaster does not hesitate to give good security, [76]
A good paymaster is keeper of other men’s purses, [216]
A good paymaster needs no security, [196]
A good pilot is not known when the sea is calm and the weather fair, [371]
A good repast ought to begin with hunger, [61]
A good swimmer is not safe against drowning, [8]
A good swordsman is never quarrelsome, [9]
A good thing is known when it is lost, [269]
A good thing lost is a good thing valued, [205]
A good thing lost is valued, [75]
A good trade will carry farther than a thousand florins, [161]
A good word extinguishes more than a pailful of water, [231]
A good word quenches more than a caldron of water, [281]
A goose, a woman, and a goat, are bad things lean, [263]
A goose drinks as much as a gander, [365]
A gosling flew over the Rhine, and came home a goose, [145]
A gossiping woman talks of everybody, and everybody of her, [283]
A grain does not fill a sieve, but it helps its fellow, [223]
A greased mouth cannot say no, [75]
A great book is a great evil, [314]
A great church and little devotion, [100]
A great estate is not gotten in a few hours, [19]
A great lance-thrust to a dead Moor, [199], [260]
A great leap gives a great shake, [195]
A great liar has need of a good memory, [74]
A great man’s entreaty is a command, [254]
A great talker is a great liar, [19]
Agree between yourselves (as to the time), quoth Arlotto, and I will make it rain, [66]
A greedy mill grinds all kinds of corn, [370]
A green Christmas makes a fat churchyard, [365]
A guest and a fish after three days are poison, [37]
A guest and a fish stink in three days, [109], [218], [288], [313]
A hair casts its shadow on the ground, [260]
A hair of the dog cures the bite, [91]
A handful of good life is better than seven bushels of learning, [39]
A handful of might is better than a sack full of right, [143]
A handful of motherwit is worth a bushel of learning, [231]
A handsome hostess is bad for the purse, [8], [224], [279]
A handsome woman is either silly or vain, [227]
A handsome shoe often pinches the foot, [31]
A handsome man is not quite poor, [205]
A happy heart is better than a full purse, [96]
A hard bit does not make the better horse, [372]
A hawk’s marriage: the hen is the better bird, [38]
A head is not to be cut off because it is scabby, [387]
A headless army fights badly, [380]
A hearth of your own is worth gold, [365]
A heavy shower is soon over, [104]
A hired horse and one’s own spurs make short miles, [149], [313]
A honeyed tongue with a heart of gall, [30]
A horse grown fat kicks, [77]
A horse may stumble, though he have four legs, [76], [315]
A house filled with guests is eaten up and ill spoken of, [208]
A house full of daughters is a cellar full of sour beer, [314]
A house ready built and a vineyard ready planted, [208]
A house ready made and a wife to make, [37]
A huckster who cannot pass off mouseturd for pepper, has not learned his trade, [144]
A hundred bakers, a hundred millers, and a hundred tailors are three hundred thieves, [328]
A hundred tailors, a hundred millers, and a hundred weavers are three hundred thieves, [208]
A hundred waggonsful of sorrow will not pay a handful of debt, [380]
A hundred years a banner, a hundred years a barrow—A very old proverb, signifying the changeful fortunes of great feudal families], [10]
A hundred years cannot repair a moment’s loss of honour, [70]
A hundred years hence we shall all be bald, [193]
A hundred years is not much, but never is a long while, [10]
A hundred years of regret pay not a farthing of debt, [10], [153]
A hundred years of wrong do not make an hour of right, [153]
A hungry ass eats any straw, [72]
A hungry belly has no ears, [63], [131], [143], [220], [290], [314]
A hungry clown is half mad, [64]
A hungry dog and a thirsty horse take no heed of blows, [380]
A hungry dog does not fear the stick, [13], [76]
A hungry man discovers more than a hundred lawyers, [231]
A hungry wolf is not at rest, [280]
A husband with one eye rather than with one son, [218]
A jackfish does more than a letter of recommendation, [61]
A jade eats as much as a good horse, [110]
A joyous evening often leads to a sorrowful morning, [371]
A kick from a mare never hurt a horse, [27]
A kitchen-dog is never a good rabbit-hunter, [240]
A kitchen dog never was good for the chase, [76]
A lame goat will not sleep by day, [206]
A lame man won’t walk with one who is lamer, [60]
A landmark is well placed between two brothers’ fields, [28]
A large fire often comes from a small spark, [346]
A lawsuit for a maravedi consumes a real’s worth of paper, [198]
A lawyer and a cart-wheel must be greased, [142]
A lazy boy and a warm bed are difficult to part, [354]
A lazy ox is little the better for the goad, [193]
A lean calf forgets to skip, [386]
A lean compromise is better than a fat lawsuit (Agree, for the law is costly), [144], [314]—see also [A bad compromise], &c.
A lean horse does not kick, [77]
A liar is sooner caught than a cripple, [121], [126], [281]
A liar must have a good memory, [74], [314]
A lie has short legs, [273]
A light belly, a heavy heart, [158]
A litigious man, a liar, [20]
A little absence does much good, [62]
A little dinner, long expected and cold, is by no means given, but dearly sold, [45]
A little dog, a cow without horns, and a short man, are generally proud, [399]
A little gall spoils (or embitters) a great deal of honey, [62], [121], [240], [242]
A little help does a great deal, [62]
A little injury dismays, and a great one stills, [292]
A little leaven leavens (sours) a great mass, [45]
A little loss frightens, a great one tames, [240]
A little makes a debtor and much an enemy, [290]
A little man fells a great oak, [45]
A little man often casts a long shadow, [92]
A little man sometimes casts a long shadow, [62]
A little pack serves a little pedlar, [4]
A little pot is soon hot, [314]
A little rain stills a great wind, [45]
A little sheep always seems young, [45]
A little spark kindles a great fire, [120], [173], [212]
A little spark shines in the dark, [45]
A little stone may upset a large cart, [120], [384]
A little thing often helps, [45]
A little too late, much too late, [144], [316]
A little truth makes the whole lie pass, [130]
A living ass is better than a dead doctor, [131]
A load of March dust is worth a ducat, [144]
A long tongue betokens a short hand, [226], [265]
A lord of straw devours a vassal of steel, [62]
A lord without land, is like a cask without wine, [374]
A lordly taste makes a beggar’s purse, [151]
A lovelorn cook oversalts the porridge, [172]
A lover’s anger is short-lived, [125]
A loving man, a jealous man, [131]
A mad dog cannot live long, [13]
A mad parish, a mad priest, [68]
A man cannot carry all his kin on his back, [388]
A man assailed is half overcome, [20]
A man, a word; a word, a man, [144]
A man conducts himself abroad as he has been taught at home, [375]
A man dances all the same, though he may dance against his will, [373]
A man does not always aim at what he means to hit, [400]
A man does not look behind the door unless he has stood there himself, [354]
A man forewarned is as good as two—(Forewarned is forearmed), [224]—see [A man warned, &c.]
A man is bound by his word, an ox with a hempen cord, [395]
A man is not a lord because he feeds off fine dishes, [386]
A man is not known till he cometh to honour, [333]
A man is valued according to his own estimate of himself, [7]
A man may hap to bring home with him what makes him weep, [196]
A man may threaten yet be afraid, [58]
A man must eat, though every tree were a gallows, [333]
A man must keep his mouth open a long while before a roast pigeon flies into it, [389]
A man of straw is worth a woman of gold, [62], [279]
A man of straw needs a woman of gold, [130]
A man often kisses the hand he would fain see cut off, [386]
A man overboard, a mouth the less, [315]
A man’s character reaches town before his person, [396]
A man’s face is a lion’s, [140]
A man’s own opinion is never wrong, [103]
A man’s will is his heaven, [386]
A man’s word is his honour, [386]
A man takes his own wherever he finds it, [43]
A man that has had his fill is no eater, [224]
A man that is lean, not from hunger, is harder than brass, [256]
A man travels as far in a day as a snail in a hundred years, [6]
[A man warned] is as good as two, [62], [130], [224]
A man warned is half saved, [149]
A man well mounted is always proud, [62]
A man who has but one eye must take good care of it, [50]
A man who is not spoken of is not abused, [396]
A man who wants bread is ready for anything, [15]
A man who wants to drown his dog says he is mad, [54]
A man without money is like a ship without sails, [315]
A meagre (or lean) compromise is better than a fat lawsuit, [350]
A measly hog infects the whole sty, [219]
A melon and a woman are hard to know (or choose), [18], [219]
A merry host makes merry guests, [316]
A merry life forgets father and mother, [28]
A mewing cat is never a good mouser, [223]
A mild sheep is sucked by every lamb, [119]
A modest dog seldom grows fat, [397]
A monkey remains a monkey, though dressed in silk, [203]
A Montgomery division: all on one side, nothing on the other, [44]
A morsel eaten gains no friend, [269]
A morsel eaten selfishly does not gain a friend, [205]
A muffled cat never caught a mouse, [27], [99]
A mule and a woman do what is expected of them, [227]
A nail secures the horse-shoe, the shoe the horse, the horse the man, the man the castle, and the castle the whole land, [144]
A naughty child must be roughly rocked, [394]
A near neighbour is better than a distant cousin, [97]
A necessary lie is harmless, [143]
A neighbour’s eye is full of jealousy, [393]
A new broom is good for three days, [100]
A new net won’t catch an old bird, [124]
A noble prince or king never has a coin to bless himself, [62]
A north wind has no corn, and a poor man no friend, [259]
A pack of cards is the devil’s prayer-book, [156]
A pair of light shoes is not all that is wanted for dancing, [357]
A peasant between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats—(Catalan), [202]
A peg for every hole, [7]
A penny in time is as good as a dollar, [366]
A penny saved is a penny gained, [145]
A penny saved is twopence got, [142]
A penny spared is a penny saved, [247]
A penny spared is better than a florin gained, [316]
A pet child has many names, [381]
A pig bought on credit grunts all the year, [242]
A pig on credit makes a good winter and a bad spring, [268]
A pig’s life, short and sweet, [63]
A pig’s tail will never make a good arrow, [212]
A plaster house, a horse at grass, and a friend in words, are all mere glass, [314]
A pleasant companion on a journey is as good as a postchaise, [14]
A pleasant thing never comes too soon, [362]
A plough that worketh, shines; but still water stinks, [315]
A poor man has few acquaintances, [368]
A poor man is all schemes, [224]
A poor man is hungry after eating, [279]
A poor man’s joy has much alloy, [368]
A Portuguese apprentice who can’t sew, yet would be cutting out, [200]
A priest’s pocket is not easily filled, [395]
A promise is a debt, [172]
A proud pauper and a rich miser are contemptible beings, [75]
A ragged coat finds little credit, [74]
A ragged colt may make a handsome horse, [38], [272]
A ragged sack holds no grain, a poor man is not taken into counsel, [124]
A rash man, a skin of good wine, and a glass vessel, do not last long, [279]
A reconciled friend is a twofold enemy, [199]
A resolute heart endures no counsel, [273]
A restive morsel needs a spur of wine, [3]
A rich child often sits in a poor mother’s lap, [394]
A rich man is never ugly in the eyes of a girl, [62]
A rich widow weeps with one eye and laughs with the other, [268]
A rich wife is a source of quarrel, [396]
A rickety chair will not long serve as a seat, [392]
A rod is better than a fox’s brush, [396]
A rolling stone gathers no moss, [45], [120], [174], [240], [291], [315]
A royal heart is often hid under a tattered cloak, [393]
A runaway horse punishes himself, [77]
A runaway monk never speaks well of his convent, [316]
A sack full of fleas is easier to watch than a woman, [143]
A sack is best tied before it is full, [42]
A sack was never so full but it could hold another grain, [33], [113]
A sad bride makes a glad wife, [313]
A saddle fits more backs than one, [130]
A scabby colt may make a good horse, [212]
A scabby head fears the comb, [315]
A scald head needs strong lye, [357]
A scalded cat dreads cold water, [13], [278]
A scalded dog thinks cold water hot, [65]
A scorpion never stung me but I cured myself with its grease, [113]
A seat in the council is honour without profit, [288]
A secret between two is God’s secret, a secret between three is everybody’s, [242]
A secret imparted is no longer a secret, [125]
A servant and a cock must be kept but one year, [289]
A sharp tooth for hard bread, [200], [266]
A sheep’s bite is never more than skin deep, [110]
A shock dog is starved and nobody believes it, [240]
A short cut is often a wrong cut, [370]
A short halter for a greedy horse, [194]
A short mass and a long dinner, [14]
A short rest is always good, [384]
A short sword for a brave man, [7]
A short tail won’t keep off flies, [89]
A shut mouth keeps me out of strife, [269]
A sick man sleeps, but not a debtor, [215]
A silent man’s words are not brought into court, [400]
A silly song may be sung in many ways, [368]
A silver hammer breaks an iron door, [62]
A sin concealed is half pardoned (meaning when care is taken to conceal the scandal), [45], [119]
A sin confessed is half forgiven, [119], [130]
A single day grants what a whole year denies, [312]
A single penny fairly got, is worth a thousand that are not, [144]
A single stroke don’t fell the oak, [173]
A slight suspicion may destroy a good repute, [396]
A slothful man never has time, [131]
A small bolt to the house is better than none at all, [350]
A small cloud may hide both sun and moon, [367]
A small fire that warms you, is better than a large one that burns you, [366]
A small hatchet fells a great oak, [291]
A smart coat is a good letter of introduction, [317]
A smooth tongue is better than smooth locks, [350]
A soft answer turneth away wrath, [316]
A solitary man is either a brute or an angel, [131]
A son-in-law’s friendship is a winter’s sun, [199]
A sow is always dreaming of bran, [59]
A sow may find an acorn as well as a hog, [366]
A sow prefers bran to roses, [60]
A sparrow in the hand is better than a bustard on the wing, [231]
A sparrow in the hand is better than a crane on the wing, [62]
A sparrow in the hand is better than a pigeon on the roof, [144]
A sparrow in the hand is better than a pigeon on the wing, [39]
A sparrow suffers as much when it breaks its leg as does a Flanders horse, [366]
A spot shows most on the finest cloth, [221]
A starved town is soon forced to surrender, [88]
A stepmother has a hard hand, [356]
A stick is a peacemaker, [7]
A stick is soon found to beat a dog, [128]
A still sow eats up all the draff, [307]
A stingy man is always poor, [20]
A stout heart tempers adversity, [89], [270], [320]
A Sunday’s child never dies of the plague, [50]
A table friend is changeable, [3]
A tender-hearted mother makes a scabby daughter, [38], [106]
A thankless man never does a thankful deed, [400]
A thief makes opportunity, [312]
A thief seldom grows rich by thieving, [142]
A thief thinks every man steals, [402]
A thing done has a head (The exultation of an ancient sculptor on his satisfactorily completing the head of his statue), [89]
A thing is never much talked of but there is some truth in it, [114]
A thing is not bad if well understood, [142]
A thing lost is a thing known, [13]
A thing too much seen is little prized, [13]
A thorn comes into the world point foremost, [33]
A thousand probabilities do not make one truth, [110]
A threatened buffet is never well given, [125]
A threatened man lives long, if he can get bread, [383]
A threatened man lives longer than one that is hanged, [132]
A threatened man lives seven years, [312]
A timid man has little chance, [395]
A tottering man must lean upon a staff, [399]
A tree often transplanted is never loaded with fruit, [69]
A tree often transplanted neither grows nor thrives, [240]
A true gentleman would rather have his clothes torn than mended, [224]
A truth-teller finds the doors closed against him, [363]
A truth-telling woman has few friends, [397]
A turn of the key is better than the conscience of a friar, [232]
A used plough shines, standing water stinks, [149]
A usurer, a miller, a banker, and a publican, are the four evangelists of Lucifer, [316]
A vagabond monk never spoke well of his convent, [110]
A vicious colt may make a good horse, [38]
A vicious dog must be tied short, [3]
A voluntary burthen is no burthen, [77]
A well-formed figure needs no cloak, [273]
A well-wisher sees from afar, [246]
A white wall is the fool’s paper, [39], [110]
A wicked dog must be tied short, [38]
A willing helper does not wait until he is asked, [366]
A wise man, a strong man, [176]
A wise man and a fool together, know more than a wise man alone, [125]
A wise man does at first what a fool must do at last, [123]
A wise man may learn of a fool, [62]
A wolf hankers after sheep even at his last gasp (The ruling passion strong in death), [316]
A woman and a glass are always in danger, [144], [227]
A woman and a hen are soon lost through gadding, [265]
A woman and a melon are hard to choose, [18], [219]
A woman conceals only what she does not know, [61], [144]
A woman laughs when she can, and weeps when she pleases, [18]
A woman may be ever so old, if she take fire she will jump, [346]
A woman strong in flounces is weak in the head, [145]
A woman’s first counsel is the best, [362]
A woman’s in pain, a woman’s in woe, a woman is ill when she likes to be so, [93]
A woman’s tears and a dog’s limping are not real, [235]
A woman’s tongue is her sword and she does not let it rust, [29]
A woman’s vengeance knows no bounds, [176]
A woman who accepts, sells herself; a woman who gives, surrenders, [18]
A woman who looks much in the glass spins but little, [18]
A woman who loves to be at the window is like a bunch of grapes on the wayside, [93]
A word and a stone once let go cannot be recalled, [239], [267]
A word from the mouth, a stone from the hand (A word and a blow), [239], [291]
A word once out flies everywhere, [44]
A word is enough to the wise, [149], [270]
A wound foreseen pains the less, [120]
A wound never heals so well that the scar cannot be seen, [346]
A wreck on shore is a beacon at sea, [316]
A young angel, an old devil, [15]
A young ewe and an old ram, every year bring forth a lamb, [314]
A young foal and an old horse draw not well together, [402]
A young wife is an old man’s post-horse to the grave, [156]
Abbot of Carçuela, you eat up the pot and ask for the pipkin, [193]
About the King and the Inquisition, hush!, [209]
Absence is a foe to love; away from the eyes, away from the heart, [204]
Absence is a foe to love; out of sight out of mind, [73]
Absent, none without blame; present, none without excuse, [1], [233]
Abstinence and fasting cure many a complaint, [369]
According to his pinions the bird flies, [396]
According to the arm be the bleeding, [56]
According to the custom of Aragon, good service, bad guerdon, [194]
According to the worth of the man is the worth of his land, [58]
Act honestly, and answer boldly, [370]
Act so in the valley, that you need not fear those who stand on the hill, [370]
Adam got a hoe, and Eve got a spinning-wheel, and thence came all our nobles, [346]
Adam must have an Eve to blame for his own faults, [133]
Adversity makes a man wise, [63]
Advice after the mischief is like medicine after death, [395]
Advice is not compulsion, [166]
Advice should precede the act, [166]
Advice to a fool goes in at one ear and out at the other, [351]
Advisers are not givers, [337]
Advisers are not the payers, [34]
Advising is easier than helping, [166]
Advising is often better than fighting, [166]
After a feast a man scratches his head, [4]
After a thrifty father, a prodigal son, [200]
After breaking my head you bring plaister, [213]
After Christmas comes Lent, [163]
After death the doctor, [4]
After dinner stand a while, or walk nearly half a mile, [163]
After ebb comes flood, and friends with good, [334]
After great droughts come great rains, [335]
After high floods come low ebbs, [335]
After honour and state follow envy and hate, [334]
After meat comes mustard, [168], [334]
After me the deluge, [4]
After mischance every one is wise, [4]
After one loss come many, [4]
After one pope another is made, [93]
After one that earns comes one that wastes, [365]
After one vice a greater follows, [259]
After pleasant scratching comes unpleasant smarting, [365]
After rain comes sunshine, [4], [134], [163], [334], [335]
After shaving there’s nothing to shear, [4], [93], [275]
After stuffing pears within, drink old wine till they swim, [258]
After the act wishing is in vain, [4]
After the daughter is married, then come sons-in-law in plenty, [47]
After the house is finished, he deserts it, [213]
After the sour comes the sweet, [335]
After the vintage, baskets, [213]
Age is a sorry travelling companion, [346]
Age makes many a man whiter, but not better, [346]
Alas! father, another daughter is born to you, [223]
Alas for the son whose father went to heaven, [278]
All are brave when the enemy flies, [129]
All are not asleep who have their eyes shut, [147]
All are not cooks who carry long knives, [147], [325], [352]
All are not free who mock their chains, [147]
All are not hunters that blow the horn, [40], [147], [352]
All are not friends who smile on you, [325]
All are not princes who ride with the emperor, [345]
All are not saints who go to church, [115]
All are not soldiers who go to the wars, [237], [286]
All are not thieves whom the dogs bark at, [163]
All beginnings are hard, said the thief, and began by stealing an anvil, [296]
All bite the bitten dog, [263]
All but saves many a man, [393]
All cats are not to be set down for witches, [23]
All clouds do not rain, [297]
All cocks must have a comb, [297]
All covet, all lose, [86], [299]
All do not beg for one saint, [237]
All do not bite that show their teeth, [345]
All flesh is not venison, [59]
All freight lightens, said the skipper, when he threw his wife overboard, [133]
All hairy skins must not be singed, [389]
All heads are not sense-boxes, [59]
All in the way of joke the wolf goes to the ass, [206]
All is luck or ill luck in this world, [26]
All is not butter that comes from the cow, [112]
All is not gold that glitters, [59], [118], [146], [286], [322], [324]
All is not lost that is delayed, [11]
All is not lost that is in danger, [237]
All is well: for if the bride has not fair hair, she has a fair skin, [297]
All’s well that ends well, [120], [145], [322], [391]
All keys hang not at one woman’s girdle, [347]—see [All the keys, &c.]
All leaf and no fruit, [256]
All my goods are of silver and gold, even my copper kettles, says the boaster, [329]
All offices are greasy (i.e. open to receive what the Dutch call smear-money, a term derived from the fee paid for greasing wheels), [296]
All roads lead to Rome (There are more ways to the wood than one), [129]
All saints do not work miracles, [129]
All ships leak: some midships, some in the bows, some in the hold, [116]
All state, and nothing on the plate, [59]
All tastes are tastes (There’s no disputing about tastes), [129]
All that’s fair must fade, [74]
All the brains are not in one head, [129]
All the fingers are not alike, [129]
[All the keys] don’t hang at one girdle, [59], [129], [141], [347]
All the sheep are not for the wolf, [115]
All things of this world are nothing, unless they have reference to the next, [259]
All threateners don’t fight, [312]
All too good is every man’s fool (He that makes himself a sheep will be eaten by the wolf), [299]
All truths are not fit to be uttered, [59]
All water runs to the sea, [116]
All who snore are not asleep, [357]
All wish to live long, but not to be called old, [347]
All women are good Lutherans, they would rather preach than hear mass, [347]
All wooers are rich, and all captives poor, [133]
All wool is hair, more or less, [292]
Almost kills no man, [393]
Almost never killed a fly, [135]
Alms do not empty the purse, and a mass does not exhaust the day’s duty, [347]
Alone in counsel, alone in sorrow, [365]
Always in love, never married, [59]
Always say no, and you will never be married, [16]
Always something new, seldom something good, [153]
Always taking out, and never putting in, soon reaches the bottom, [194]
Always talk big and you will never be forgotten, [16]
Always to be sparing is always to be in want, [347]
Among men of honour a word is a bond, [99]
Among thorns grow roses, [72]
An ambassador beareth no blame, [70]
An amen clerk, [255]
An angry man heeds no counsel, [279]
An ape, a priest, and a louse, are three devils in one house, [312]
An ape’s an ape, though he wear a gold ring, [312]
An apothecary need not be long a cuckold, [60]
An art requires a whole man, [61]
An ass does not hit himself twice against the same stone, [313]
An ass does not stumble twice over the same stone, [60]
An ass let him be who brays at an ass, [203]
An ass’s tail will not make a sieve, [88]
An ass’s trot does not last long, [128]
An ass with her colt goes not straight to the mill, [202]
An easy shepherd makes the wolf void wood, [3]
An eel escapes from a good fisherman, [1]
An egg is an egg, said the boor, and took the goose’s egg, [142], [313]
An empty purse, and a finished house, make a man wise, but too late, [269]
An empty sack won’t stand upright, [124], [144]
An enemy does not sleep, [7]
An ennobled peasant does not know his own father, [313]
An estate inherited is the less valued, [277]
An evil deed has a witness in the bosom, [394]
An evil eye can see no good, [395]
An honest man does not make himself a dog for the sake of a bone, [370]
An honest man is not the worse because a dog barks at him, [348]
An honest man’s word is as good as the king’s, [279]
An honest man’s word is his bond, [313]
An hour of play discovers more than a year of conversation, [281]
An idle brain is the devil’s workshop, [162]
An idle man is the devil’s bolster, [131], [314]
An ill-tempered dog has a scarred nose, [380]
An ill-tempered woman is the devil’s door-nail, [394]
An inch in a sword, or a palm in a lance, is a great advantage, [211]
An inch too short is as bad as an ell, [313]
An indulgent mother makes a sluttish daughter, [313]
An innocent heart suspects no guile, [273]
An oak is not felled at one blow, [213], [261]
An old ape never made a pretty grimace, [41]
An old coachman loves the crack of the whip, [138], [315]
An old dog does not bark for nothing, [63], [76]
An old dog does not grow used to the collar, [77]
An old flag is an honour to its captain, [74]
An old fool is worse than a young simpleton, [370]
An old fox doesn’t go twice into the trap, [142], [315]
An old horse for a young soldier, [68]
An old man’s sayings are seldom untrue, [370]
An old mule with a golden bridle (we say, An old ewe dressed lamb-fashion), [315]
An old oven is easier to heat than a new one, [63]
An old ox makes a straight furrow, [63], [75], [206], [270]
An old quarrel is easily renewed, [89]
An old rat easily finds a hole, [315]
An old rat won’t go into the trap, [315]
An old wolf is not scared by loud cries, [370]
An old wolf is used to be shouted at, [315]
An open box tempts an honest man, [284]
An open door tempts a saint, [242]
Another man’s burden is always light, [384]
Another man’s horse and your own spurs outrun the wind, [148]
Another man’s horse and your own whip can do a great deal, [365]
Another man’s trade costs money, [288]
Another year will bring another Christmas, [367]
Another’s bread costs dear, [239], [291]
Another’s care hangs by a hair, [210]
Another’s misfortune does not cure my pain, [282]
Another’s misfortune is only a dream, [37]
An ounce of discretion is better than a pound of knowledge, [131]
An ounce of favour goes further (or is worth more) than a pound of justice, [61]
An ounce of luck is worth a pound of wisdom, [39]
An ounce of mother-wit is worth a pound of school-wit, [143]
An ounce of patience is worth a pound of brains, [315]
An ounce of state to a pound of gold, [238]
An ox and an ass don’t yoke well to the same plough, [315]
An unasked excuse infers transgression, [107]
An unpleasant guest is as welcome as salt to a sore eye, [394]
Anger hears no counsel, [191]
Anger increases love, [125]
Anger is a short madness, [320]
Anger without power is folly (Anger can’t stand, without a strong hand), [191]
Anoint a villain and he will prick you, prick a villain and he will anoint you, [41]
Any excuse is good if it hold good, [117]
Anything for a quiet life, [69]
Any water will put out fire, [59], [116]
Apes remain apes, though you clothe them in velvet, [133]
Appearances are deceitful, [167]
Appetite comes with eating, [30], [110]
Are there not spots on the sun? 35
Argus at home, a mole abroad, [104]
Arms and money require good hands, [202]
Arms carry peace, [107]
Arms, women, and books should be looked at daily, [342]
Arrange your cloak as the wind blows, [38]
Art and knowledge bring bread and honour, [383]
Art holds fast when all else is lost, [157]
Art is art, even though unsuccessful, [383]
As a man dresses so is he esteemed, [396]
As a man eats, so he works (Quick at meat, quick at work), [187]
As a thing is used, so it brightens, [187]
As are the times, so are the manners, [243]
As fast as laws are devised, their evasion is contrived, [169]
As for friars, live with them, eat with them, and walk with them; then sell them as they do themselves, [223]
As fortune is sought, so it is found (Good luck, with good looking after! or, As you make your bed, so you must lie on it), [188]
As is the king, so are his people, [243]
As is the lover, so is the beloved, [122]
As is the master so are his men (Like master, like man), [398]
As is the master, so is his dog, [243]
As long as I was a daughter-in-law I never had a good mother-in-law, and as long as I was a mother-in-law I never had a good daughter-in-law, [221]
As old as the itch, [261]
As poor as a church mouse, [121]
As princes fiddle, subjects must dance, [175]
As soon as man is born he begins to die, [154]
As soon dies the calf as the cow, [6]
As the abbot sings, the sacristan responds, [209]
As the field, so the crops; as the father, so the sons, [187]
As the labour, so the pay (No pains, no gains), [187]
As the man is, so is his speech, [398]
As the man is worth, his land is worth, [58]
As the master, so the work, [187]
As the mistress, so the maid (Hackney mistress, Hackney maid), [187]
As the old birds sing, the young ones twitter, [187], [398]
As the tree, so the fruit, [187]
As the tree, so the fruit; as the mistress; so the maid, [187]
As the virtue in the tree, such is the fruit, [352]
As the wind so the sail (Set your sail to the wind), [56]
As they pipe to me, I will dance, [273]
As useless as monkey’s fat, [212]
As water runs towards the shore, so does money towards the rich man’s hand, [347]
As won, so spent (Lightly come, lightly go), [187]
As you began the dance you may pay the piper, [319]
As you make your bed so you must lie on it, [13], [187], [250], [398]
As you sow, you shall reap, [187], [345]
As you would have a daughter so choose a wife, [122]
Ask advice of your equals, help of your superiors, [398]
Ask my chum if I am a thief, [93]
Ask my comrade, who is as great a liar as myself, [15]
Ask not after a good man’s pedigree, [196]
Ask too much to get enough, [239]
Ask which was born first, the hen or the egg, [93]
Asking costs little, [102]
Assertion is no proof, [135]
Asses carry the oats and horses eat them, [304]
Asses must not be tied up with horses, [23]
Asses sing badly because they pitch their voices too high, [147]
Associate with the good and you will be one of them, [66], [197]
At a bridge, a plank, or a river, the servant foremost, the master behind, [63]
At a dangerous passage yield precedence, [76]
At a great river be the last to pass, [68]
At a good bargain pause and ponder, [65]
At a little fountain one drinks at one’s ease, [4]
At an ambuscade of villains a man does better with his feet than his hands, [194]
At an auction keep your mouth shut, [221]
At an open chest the righteous sins, [68]
At borrowing cousin german, at repaying son of a whore, [6]
At court there are many hands, but few hearts, [191]
At court they sell a good deal of smoke without fire, [401]
At evening the sluggard is busy, [133]
At last the foxes all meet at the furrier’s, [129]
At night all cats are grey, [191], [212], [274]
At Rome do as Rome does, [5]
At Shrovetide every one has need of his frying-pan, [1]
At table bashfulness is out of place, [73]
At the end of the game we see who wins, [69]
At the end the Gloria is chanted, [196]
At the king’s court every one for himself, [17]
At the wars do as they do at the wars, [3]
At the wedding-feast the least eater is the bride, [221]
Avarice bursts the bag, [31]
Avoid a friend who covers you with his wings and destroys you with his beak, [254]
Away from the battle all are soldiers (Of war all can tattle, away from the battle), [176]
Away with thee, sickness, to where they make a good pillow for thee, [197]
“Away with you, be a pedlar, a knave,” says the hangman to his man, [149]
B.
Bachelor, a peacock; betrothed, a lion; married, an ass, [258]
Bad bird, bad egg, [136]
“Bad company,” said the thief, as he went to the gallows between the hangman and a monk, [331]
Bad egg, bad chick, [331]
Bad eyes never see any good, [136]
Bad grass does not make good hay, [92]
Bad is never good until worse happens, [394]
Bad is the sack that will not bear patching, [77]
Bad is the wool that cannot be died, [77]
Bad money always comes back, [167]
Bad news always comes too soon, [171]
Bad news has wings, [35]
Bad news is always true, [228]
Bad news is the first to come, [108]
Bad ware is never cheap, [42]
Bad ware must be cried up, [136]
Bad watch often feeds the wolf, [29]
Bargains are costly, [190], [229]
[Barking dogs] don’t bite, [13], [135], [301]
Bashfulness is of no use to the needy, [306]
Baskets after the vintage, [275]
Be a custom good or bad, a peasant will have it continue in force, [210]
Be a horse ever so well shod, he may slip, [25]
Be merry, Shrovetide, for to-morrow thou wilt be ashes, [196]
Be my enemy and go to my mill, [256]
Be not a baker if your head is butter, [237]
Be not an esquire where you were a page, [214]
Be not ashamed of your craft, [167]
Be silent, or say something better than silence, [168]
Be the horse good or bad always wear your spurs, [66]
Be the thing you would be called (Be as you would seem to be), [169]
Be truly what thou wouldst be thought to be, [57]
Bear and bull catch no fox, [135]
Bear patiently that which thou sufferest by thine own fault, [341]
Beat the churl and he will be your friend, [74]
Beauty and folly are often companions, [7], [75]
Beauty carries its dower in its face, [352]
Beauty is a good letter of introduction, [141]
Beauty is but dross if honesty be lost, [337]
Beauty without virtue is like a rose without scent, [367]
Bees do not become hornets, [33]
Before a man learns to hang he is half dead, [368]
Before the time great courage; when at the point, great fear, [200]
Before you make a friend, eat a peck of salt with him, [296]
Before you marry, beware, for it is a knot difficult to untie, [200]
Before you marry consider what you do, [292]
Before you marry, have a house to live in, fields to till, and vines to cut, [200]
Before you marry reflect, for it is a knot you cannot untie, [266]
Before you mount, look to the girth, [317]
Beggars must not be choosers, [201]
Beginning and ending shake hands, [134]
Begun is half done, [135]
Behind every mountain lies a vale, [296]
Believe a boaster as you would a liar, [89]
Believe that, and drink some water (to wash it down), [14]
Belles are not for the beaux, [34]
Bells call to church but do not enter, [34]
Bend the willow while it is young, [120], [390]
Better a bird in the hand than ten in the air, [301]
Better a blind horse than an empty halter, [300]
Better a distant good than a near evil, [281]
Better a good dinner than a fine coat, [38]
Better a friendly denial than an unwilling compliance, [135]
Better a friend’s bite than an enemy’s caress, [350]
Better a lean agreement than a fat lawsuit, [97], [135]—see [A bad or a lean, &c.]
Better a leg broken than the neck, [300]
Better a little in peace and with right, than much with anxiety and strife, [351]
Better a living dog than a dead lion, [135]
Better a near neighbour than a distant cousin, [110]
Better a patch than a hole, [135]
Better a poor horse than an empty stall. Better half a loaf than none at all. Better a little furniture than an empty house, [350]
Better a red face than a black heart, [283]
Better a ruined than a lost land, [39], [300]
Better a salt herring on your own table, than a fresh pike on another’s, [349]
Better a slip of the foot than the tongue, [39]
Better a sparrow in the hand than two flying, [283]
Better afield with the birds than hanging on lords, [301]
Better alone than in bad company, [96], [135], [232], [282], [300]
Better an ass that carries me than a horse that throws me, [281]
Better an open enemy than a false friend, [349]
Better an unjust peace than a just war (Better a lean peace than a fat victory), [171]
Better anticipate than be anticipated, [283]
Better ask than go astray, [96]
Better ask twice than lose your way once, [358]
Better aught than nought, [110], [147]
Better badly mounted than proud on foot, [167]
Better be a bird of the wood than a bird in the cage, [96]
Better be a coward than foolhardy, [38]
Better be a free bird than a captive king, [349]
Better be carried by an ass than thrown by a horse, [300]
Better be convinced by words than by blows, [358]
Better be envied than pitied, [27], [38], [96], [300]
Better be killed by robbers than by the kick of an ass, [266]
Better be mad with all the world than wise alone, [26]
Better be one-eyed than quite blind, [283]
Better be silent than talk ill, [281]
Better be the head of a cat than the tail of a lion, [96]
Better be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion, [38]
Better be the head of a lizard than the tail of a dragon, [96]
Better be the head of a rat than the tail of a lion (Better rule in hell, than serve in heaven), [231]
Better be wrong with the many than right with the few, [283]
Better beg than steal, [322]
Better belly burst than good victuals spoil, [300]
Better bend than break, [97], [159], [232], [283]
Better blow hard than burn yourself, [349]
Better coarse cloth than naked thighs, [350]
Better come late to church than never, [349]
Better cross an angry man than a fasting man, [358]
Better deny at once than promise long, [350]
Better deserve honour and not have it, than have it and not deserve it, [282]
Better envy than pity, [159]
Better fall from the window than the roof, [96]
Better fed than taught, [38]
Better free in a foreign land than a serf at home, [135]
Better gain in mud than lose in gold, [121], [281]
Better give nothing than stolen alms, [136]
Better give than have to give, [96]
Better give the wool than the sheep, [96]
Better go about than be drowned, [231], [281]
Better go to bed supperless than run in debt, [136]
Better half an egg than empty shells, [135], [301]
Better have a bad ass than be your own ass, [232], [282]
Better have a dog for your friend than your enemy (Better a dog fawn on you than bite you), [301]
Better have an egg to-day than a hen to-morrow, [96]
Better have a friend on the road than gold or silver in your purse, [38]
Better have friends in the market-place than money in your coffer, [281]
Better have one bee than a host of flies, [96]
Better have something yourself than beg of your sister, [350]
Better have to give than have to beg, [283]
Better in an old carriage than in a new ship, [350]
Better is a leap over the ditch than the entreaties of good men, [282]
Better is an enemy to good, [102], [136]
Better is better, [135]
Better is my neighbour’s hen than mine, [283]
Better is rule than rent, [231]
Better is the branch that bends, than the branch that breaks, [350]
Better is the smoke of my own house than the fire of another’s, [231]
Better keep peace than make peace, [301]
Better keep than have to beg, [281]
Better late than never, [39], [97], [110], [232], [282], [301], [351]
Better lose than lose more, [282]
Better lose the anchor than the whole ship, [301]
Better lose the saddle than the horse, [97]
Better lose the wool than the sheep, [39]
Better lose your labour than your time in idleness, [335]
Better make a short circuit than wet your hose, [343]
Better mine than ours, [283]
Better no law, than law not enforced, [350]
Better on the heath with an old cart than at sea in a new ship, [301]
Better once in heaven than ten times at the gate, [301]
Better once than never, [97]
Better one-eyed than stone blind, [135], [232]
Better one eye-witness than ten hearsay witnesses, [300]
Better one living word than a hundred dead ones, [135]
Better one “Take this,” than two “I will give you,” [232], [281]
Better poor on land than rich at sea, [300]
Better poor with honour than rich with shame, [300]
Better reap two days too soon than one too late, [332]
Better repair the gutter than the whole house, [283]
Better return half way than lose yourself, [301]
Better ride a good horse for a year, than an ass all your life, [301]
Better slip with the foot than with the tongue, [97]
Better something on the arm than all in the stomach, [351]
Better something than nothing at all, [136]
Better spare at the brim than at the bottom, [349]
Better squinting than blind, [301]
Better straw, than nothing, [283]
Better stretch your hand than your neck (Better beg than steal), [300]
Better stumble once than be always tottering, [27]
Better suffer a known evil than change for uncertain good, [231]
Better suffer for truth, than prosper by falsehood, [349]
Better the child cry, than the mother sigh, [349]
Better the child cry than the old man, [349]
Better the world should know you as a sinner than God know you as a hypocrite, [349]
Better, There he goes, than There he hangs, [135]
Better there should be too much than too little, [231]
Better they should say, “There he ran away,” than “There he died,” [231]
Better to be a free bird than a captive king, [349]
Better twice measured than once wrong, [350]
Better twice remembered than once forgotten, [324]
Better walk before a hen than behind an ox, [39]
Better walk on wooden legs than be carried on a wooden bier, [351]
Better walk unshackled in a green meadow than be bound to a thornbush, [349]
Better weak beer than an empty cask, [350]
Better where birds sing than where irons ring, [301]
Better whole than patched with gold, [350]
Between a woman’s “Yes” and “No” there is no room for the point of a needle, [192]
Between evil tongues and evil ears, there is nothing to choose, [394]
Between neighbours’ gardens a hedge is not amiss, [192]
Between promising and giving a man should marry his daughter, [17]
Between saying and doing many a pair of shoes is worn out, [99]
Between saying and doing there is a long road, [211], [390]
Between smith and smith no money passes, [211], [274]
Between the hammer and the anvil, [192], [339]
Between the hand and the mouth the soup is often spilt (’Twixt the cup and the lip there’s many a slip), [15], [90], [173], [211], [274]
Between two cowards, he has the advantage who first detects the other, [128]
Between two friends, a notary and two witnesses, [222]
Between two sharpers, the sharpest, [211]
Between two stools the breech comes to the ground, [17], [339]
Between wording and working is a long road, [173]
Between wrangling and disputing truth is lost, [190]
Beware, froth is not beer, [397]
Beware of a bad woman, and put no trust in a good one, [211], [273]
Beware of a door that has many keys, [285]
Beware of a man that does not talk, and of a dog that does not bark, [279]
Beware of a pledge that eats, [291]
Beware of a poor alchemist, [100]
Beware of a reconciled friend as of the devil, [210]
Beware of a reconciled enemy (Take heed of an enemy reconciled), [22]
Beware of a white Spaniard and a black Englishman, [336]
Beware of “Had I but known,” [100]
Beware of him who makes you presents, [90]
Beware of laughing hosts and weeping priests, [174]
Beware of one who has nothing to lose, [100]
Beware of the dog himself, his shadow does not bite, [402]
Beware of the dog that does not bark, [272]
Beware of the man of two faces, [342]
Beware of the vinegar of sweet wine, [100]
Biding makes thriving, [301]
Big churches, little saints, [151]
Big fish devour the little ones, [321]
Big fish spring out of the kettle, [320]
Big flies break the spider’s web, [104]
Big head, little wit, [19], [140]
Big mouthfuls often choke, [100]
Big words seldom go with good deeds, [399]
Bird never flew so high but it had to come to the ground for food, [302]
Birds of a feather flock together, [173], [341]
Birds of prey do not flock together, [276]
Birds of prey do not sing, [166]
Bite me not, my name is little grizzle; had I a little tail I should be a little lion, [301]
Bite not the dog that bites, [388]
Bite the biter, [283]
Bitter pills are gilded, [136]
Black cows give white milk, [168]
Black hens lay white eggs, [313]
Blacksmith’s children are not afraid of sparks, [398]
Blame is the lazy man’s wages, [354]
Bleed him, purge him, and if he dies, bury him, [256], [299]
Blessed is the misfortune that comes alone, [75]
Blessings on him that said, Face about, [206]
Blood boils without fire, [228]
Blood is thicker than water, [136]
Blossoms are not fruits, [301]
Blow, smith, and you’ll get money, [258]
Blows are not given upon conditions, [101]
Boldly ventured is half won, [148]
Borderers are either thieves or murderers, [99]
Borrowers must not be choosers, [23]
Borrowing brings care (He that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing), [302]
Borrowing does well only once, [136]
Both legs in the stocks or only one, ’tis all the same, [161]
Brackish water is sweet in a drought, [264]
Bread in one hand, a stone in the other, [154]
Bread is better than the song of birds, [349]
Bring up a raven and he will peck out your eyes, [16], [145]
Broad thongs may be cut from other men’s leather, [91]
Broken friendship may be soldered but can never be made sound, [265]
Build golden bridges for the flying foe, [137]
But for all that the honest man has not got his purse, [10]
Butter spoils no meat, and moderation injures no cause, [398]
Buy the bed of a great debtor, [88]
Buy when it is market time, [160]
Buy your greyhound, don’t rear him, [278]
Buy your neighbour’s ox, and woo your neighbour’s daughter, [156]
Buyers want a hundred eyes, sellers only one, [156]
Buying is cheaper than asking, [156]
By beating love decays, [6]
By candlelight a goat looks like a lady, [2]
By dint of going wrong all will come right, [2]
By falling we learn to go safely, [334]
By gnawing skin a dog learns to eat leather, [346]
By going gains the mill, and not by standing still, [266]
By labour fire is got out of a stone, [334]
By lamplight every country wench seems handsome, [70]
By night all cats are grey, [30], [92], [135], [301]
By slow degrees the bird builds his nest, [331]
By telling our woes we often assuage them, [5]
By the living we bury the dead, [334]
By the street of “By-and-by” one arrives at the house of “Never,” [241][241]
By the thread we unwind the skein, [241]
By their marks the bales are known, [72]
By working in the smithy one becomes a smith, [17]
C.
Cabbage for cabbage, [13]
Call me not fortunate till you see me buried, [236]
Call me not olive till you see me gathered, [113], [236]
Call not the devil, he will come fast enough unbidden, [382]
Cap in hand never did any harm, [75]
Care, and not fine stables, makes a good horse, [374]
Care brings on grey hairs, and age without years, [169]
Caress your dog, and he’ll spoil your clothes, [338]
Carry bread in your hood to Don Garcia’s wedding, [195]
Caution is the mother of tender beer-glasses, [341]
Cent-wisdom and dollar-folly (Penny wise and pound foolish), [302]
Chairs sink and stools rise, [263]
Change yourself, and fortune will change with you, [284]
Charity begins at home, [306]
Charity gives (or bestows) itself rich, covetousness hoards itself poor, [138]
Charity well regulated begins at home, [226]
Chastise a good child, that it may not grow bad, and a bad one, that it may not grow worse, [389]
Chastise one that is worthless, and he will presently hate you, [208]
Chastise the good and he will mend, chastise the bad and he will grow worse, [74], [272]
Cheat me in the price and not in the goods, [221], [277]
Cheating is more honourable than stealing, [136]
Cheating is the chapman’s cart and plough, [136]
Cheerful company shortens the miles, [149]
Cheerfulness and good-will make labour light, [385]
Cheese and bread make the cheeks red, [156]
Cheese from the ewe, milk from the goat, butter from the cow, [245]
Cheese is gold in the morning, silver at noon, and lead at night, [156]
Cherries are bitter to the glutted blackbird, [3]
Children and drunken men speak the truth, [397]
Children and fools are prophets, [16]
Children and fools speak the truth, [157], [230]
Children are certain sorrow, but uncertain joy, [351]
Children are the riches of the poor, [351]
Children are what they are made, [34]
Children married, cares increased, [278]
Children tell in the highway what they hear by the fireside, [275]
Choose a Brabant sheep, a Guelder ox, a Flemish capon, and a Friezeland cow, [335]
Choose neither a woman nor linen by candlelight, [227]
Chop, and you will have splinters, [379]
Christians have no neighbours, [136]
Christmas comes but once a year, [111]
Christmas is talked of so long that it comes at last, [41]
Claw me, and I’ll claw thee, [157], [167], [187], [331]
Clay and lime conceal much evil, [204]
Clothes make the man, [305]
Coffee has two virtues, it is wet and warm, [330]
Cold hand, a warm heart, [156]
Colts by falling, and lads by losing, grow prudent, [242]
Come fish, come frog, all goes into the basket (All’s fish that comes to the net), [255]
Common fame is seldom to blame, [149]
Common fame seldom lies (An English proverb says, Common fame is a common liar), [319]
Common goods, no goods, [319]
Communities begin by building their kitchen, [13]
Company in distress makes trouble less, [51]
Comparison is not proof, [14]
Comparisons are odious, [14], [59], [104]
Conceal not your secret from your friend, or you deserve to lose him, [263]
Confidence begets confidence, [173]
Conscience is as good as a thousand witnesses, [105]
Constant dropping wears the stone, [169]
Contrivance is better than force, [38]
Copper begets copper, and not (the labour of) men’s bones (We say, Money gets money), [208]
Correction bringeth fruit, [339]
Correction is good when administered in time, [348]
Corsair against corsair, nothing to win but empty casks, [128], [210]
Could a man foresee events he would never be poor, [52]
Could everything be done twice, everything would be done better, [157]
Counsel after action is like rain after harvest, [395]
Counsel before action, [337]
Counsel is nothing against love, [89]
Counted sheep are eaten by the wolf, [9]
Counterfeit coin passes current at night, [283]
Coupled sheep drown one another, [319]
Courtesy that is all on one side cannot last long, [14]
Cover up the pot, there’s an eel in it, [306]
Covetousness bursts the bag, [226]
Covetousness is never satisfied till its mouth is filled with earth, [319]
Coward against coward, the assailant conquers, [212]
Cowards have no luck, [190]
Cowards’ weapons neither cut nor pierce, [107]
Crazy wheels run longest, [166]
Creaking carts last the longest, [331]
Credit is better than ready money, [150]
Credit is dead, bad pay killed it, [89]
Crooked iron may be straightened with a hammer, [383]
Crooked wood burns quite as well as straight, [157]
Crows do not peck out crows’ eyes, [273]
Cunning has little honour, [384]
Cunning men’s cloaks sometimes fall, [72]
Cunning surpasses strength, [159]
Curses are like processions: they return to whence they came, [108]
Curses on accounts with relations, [254]
Custom becomes law, [210]
Custom is second nature, [105], [150], [226], [305], [319]
Cut off the dog’s tail, he remains a dog, [127]
Cut your coat according to your cloth, [337]
D.
Damage suffered makes you wise (or knowing), but seldom rich, [346]
Darkness and night are mothers of thought, [322]
Daughter-in-law hates mother-in-law, [169]
Daughters are easy to rear, but hard to marry, [170]
Daughters are brittle ware, [311]
Daughters may be seen but not heard, [311]
Daylight will come, though the cock do not crow, [358]
Dead dogs don’t bite, [170], [312]
Dear is cheap, and cheap is dear, [288]
Dear physic always does good, if not to the patient, at least to the apothecary, [170]
Dearness gluts, [13]
Dearth foreseen never came, [77]
Death does not blow a trumpet, [363]
Death is in the pot, [322]
Death keeps no almanack, [304]
Death spares neither Pope nor beggar, [294]
Deceit and treachery make no man rich, [346]
Deceive not thy physician, confessor, or lawyer, [197]
Deeds are love, and not sweet words (or fine phrases), [238], [287]
Deep draughts, and long morning slumbers, soon make a man poor, [399]
Deep swimmers and high climbers seldom die in their beds, [310]
Deferred is not annulled (Forbearance is no acquittance), [172]
Delays are dangerous, [109]
Desire beautifies what is ugly, [217]
Desperate ills require desperate remedies, [7]
Despise not a small wound, a poor kinsman, or an humble enemy, [381]
Despise your enemy and you will soon be beaten, [275]
Devils must be driven out with devils, [170]
Diamond cut diamond, [18]
Different times different manners, [70]
Diligent work makes a skilful workman, [380]
Dirty water does not wash clean, [67]
Discover not your silent money (i.e. your hoarded money) to anybody, [260]
Disputing and borrowing cause grief and sorrowing, [166]
Distrust is poison to friendship, [390]
Do as others do, and few will mock you, [368]
Do good, and care not to whom, [98], [277]
Do good to a knave, and pray God he may not do the same to thee, [370]
Do ill, and expect the like, [277]
Do not abstain from sowing for fear of the pigeons, [23]
Do not buy a carrier’s ass, or marry an innkeeper’s daughter, [230]
Do not divide the spoil till the victory is won, [140]
Do not fret for news, it will grow old and you will know it, [241]
Do not give a dog bread every time he wags his tail, [112]
Do not hang all on one nail, [152]
Do not judge of the ship from the land, [113]
Do not judge the dog by his hairs, [389]
Do not lend your money to a great man, [40]
Do not lose honour through fear, [242]
Do not make two devils of one, [23]
Do not put in more warp than you can weave, [403]
Do not rear a bird of a bad breed, [274]
Do not rejoice at my grief, for when mine is old yours will be new, [237]
Do not ship all in one bottom, [158]
Do not spread your corn to dry at an enemy’s door (Asturian), [230]
Do not steal a loaf from him that kneads and bakes, [197]
Do not strip before bedtime, [24]
Do not stuff your servant with bread, and he won’t ask for cheese, [203]
Do not talk Arabic in the house of a Moor, [221]
Do not tell your secrets behind a wall or a hedge, [259]
Do not wade where you see no bottom, [402]
Don’t be a baker if your head is made of butter, [285] (See [He that] and [He who])
Don’t believe in the saint unless he works miracles, [112]
Don’t believe what you see, husband, but only what I tell you, [230]
Don’t bite till you know whether it is bread or a stone, [113]
Don’t budge, if you sit at ease, [166]
Don’t buy a cat in a bag (Don’t buy a pig in a poke), [160], [331]
Don’t carry your head too high, the door is low, [159]
Don’t cross the water unless you see the bottom, [84]
Don’t cry fried fish before they are caught, [113]
Don’t cry herrings till they are in the net, [337]
Don’t cry holloa! till you’re out of the bush, [337]
Don’t cry hurra! till you’re over the bridge (or ditch, or hedge), [167], [168], [337]
Don’t divide the spoil before the victory is won, [160]
Don’t find fault with what you don’t understand, [40]
Don’t fly till your wings are feathered, [148]
Don’t go a-fishing to a famous stream, [68]
Don’t kill the man at the count’s desire, [222]
Don’t learn too much, Jack, else you must do a great deal, [151]
Don’t leave the high road for a short cut, [284]
Don’t make an oven of your cap or a garden of your belly, [40]
Don’t make yourself poor to one who won’t make you rich, [286]
Don’t mention the cross to the devil, [114]
Don’t play with the bear if you don’t want to be bit, [113]
Don’t pull hard enough to break the rope, [286]
Don’t put your finger into too tight a ring, [40], [115]
Don’t reckon your eggs before they are laid, [98]
Don’t reckon without your host, [160]
Don’t rely on the label of the bag, [24]
Don’t scuffle with the potter, for he makes money by the damage, [237]
Don’t sell the bearskin before the bear is dead, [333]
Don’t sell the bearskin before you have caught (or killed) the bear, [115], [140], [341]
Don’t sell the skin till you have caught the fox, [397]
Don’t send away your cat for being a thief, [196]
Don’t show your teeth if you can’t bite, [51]
Don’t snap your fingers at the dogs before you are out of the village, [24]
Don’t stop the way of a bull or of a current of air, [198]
Don’t talk Latin before the Franciscans, [23]
Don’t teach fishes to swim, [23]
Don’t throw away your dirty water till you have got clean, [160]
Don’t throw away your old shoes till you have got new ones, [318]
Don’t throw the handle after the bill, [333]
Don’t yoke the plough before the horses, [333]
Do what I say well, and not what I do ill, [224]
Do what the friar says, and not what he does, [224]
Do what thou doest (Age quod agis), [170]
Do what you ought, come what may, [18], [98]
Do you carry the trough, husband, and I will carry the sieve, which is as heavy as the devil, [228]
Do you speak English? (Meaning, Have you got any money? We used to say in England, Have you got any Spanish?), [338]
Do you want better bread than wheaten? 63
Do you want to buy cheap? Buy of a needy fool, [253]
Do you want to see a wolf with young (i.e. an insatiable plunderer)? Marry your daughter, [254]
Doctor Luther’s shoes do not fit every parish priest, [141]
Does your neighbour bore you? Lend him a sequin, [127]
Dogs bark at those they don’t know, [101]
Dogs have teeth in all countries, [328]
Dogs that bark much don’t bite, [153]
Doing nothing teaches doing ill, [164]
Dominies come for your wine, and officers for your daughters, [312]
Dread the anger of the dove, [14]
Dreams are froth (or lies), [57], [171]
Dress slowly when you are in a hurry, [19]
Dressed like a windmill, [19]
Drink nothing without seeing it, sign nothing without reading it, [284]
Drink upon salad costs the doctor a ducat; drink upon eggs costs him two, [144]
Drink wine and let water go to the mill, [75]
Drink wine upon figs, [258]
Drive not away what never came near you, [370]
Drop by drop fills the tub, [19]
Drop by drop wears away the stone, [19], [68]
Drop the jest when it is most amusing, [107]
Dry wood makes a quick fire, [401]
Ducats are clipped, pence are not, [141]
Dull scissors make crooked-mouthed tailors, [365]
Dumb dogs and still water are dangerous, [170]
Dung is no saint, but where it falls it works miracles, [217]
E.
Eagles catch no fleas, [299]
Eagles do not breed doves, [133], [299]
Early marriage, long love, [148]
Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise, [148]
Early to rise and late to bed, lifts again the debtor’s head, [148]
Earnestness and sport go well together, [347]
East or west, home is best, [165], [336]
Easy to say is hard to do, [2]
Eat bread at pleasure, drink wine by measure, [44]
Eat bread that’s light, and cheese by weight, [302]
Eat of your own, and call yourself mine (i. e. Be my servant and find yourself), [272]
Eat with him, and beware of him, [272]
Eaten bread is soon forgotten, [103]
Eating sets the head to rights, [195]
Eating teaches drinking, [102]
Economy is a great revenue, [345]
Eggs and oaths are easily broken, [364]
Eggs are put to hatch on chance, [3]
Either fight not with priests or beat them to death, [160]
Either rich or hanged, [238]
Either the ass will die, or he that goads it, [238]
Empty casks (or vessels) make the most noise, [36], [158], [331], [401]
Empty rooms make giddy housewives, [63]
Empty waggons make most noise, [401]
Enjoy your little whilst the fool is seeking for more, [223]
Enough is as good as a feast, [319]
Enough is better than a sackful, [149]
Enough is better than too much, [38], [319]
Enough is enough, and too much spoils, [73]
Enough is great riches, [393]
Entreat him in jackass fashion; if he won’t carry the sack, give him a whack, [188]
Entreat the churl and the bargain is broken off, [121]
Entreaties to get him to sing, and entreaties to leave off, [254]
Entreaty and right do the deed, [254]
Envy crieth of spite where honour rideth, [335]
Envy does not enter an empty house, [348]
Envy envies itself, [163]
Envy goes beyond avarice, [17]
Envy is its own torturer, [348]
Envy was never a good spokesman, [348]
Erring is not cheating (A mistake is no fraud), [154]
Error is no payment, [97]
Escaping from the smoke he falls into the fire, [306]
[Even a fly] has its anger (or spleen), [71], [106]
Even a frog would bite if it had teeth, [71]
[Even a hair] casts its shadow, [134], [206], [270] (See [Every hair])
[Even a horse], though he has four feet, stumbles, [72], [76], [134], [315]
Even among the apostles there was a Judas, [72]
Even clever hens sometimes lay their eggs among nettles, [383]
Even counted sheep are eaten by the wolf, [9], [71], [140]
Even crumbs are bread, [398]
Even foxes are caught, [71]
[Even hares] pull a lion by the beard when he is dead, [336]
Even he gets on who is drawn by oxen, [373]
Even old foxes are caught in the snare, [72]
Even that fish may be caught that strives the hardest against it, [388]
Even the best hack stumbles once, [134] (See [Even a horse])
Even the dog gets bread by wagging his tail, [72]
Even the fool says a wise word sometimes, [71]
Even the just has need of help, [71]
Even the lion must defend himself against the flies, [134]
Even the sea, great as it is, grows calm, [71]
Even woods have ears, [71]
Ever one hair, only one, and the man is bald at last, [154]
Every ant has its ire, [270] (See [Even a fly])
Every beginning is hard, said the thief, when he began by stealing an anvil, [133], [296]
Every bird needs its own feathers, [366]
Every bird sings as it is beaked, [317]
Every bird thinks its own nest beautiful, [68]
Everybody is wise after the thing has happened, [59]
Everybody knows best where his own shoe pinches (Also Scotch), [156] (See [Every one])
Everybody knows good counsel except him that has need of it, [133]
Everybody must live, [22]
Everybody must wear out one pair of fool’s shoes, if he wear no more, [156]
Everybody says it, nobody does it, [156], [375]
Everybody thinks his own cuckoo sings better than another’s nightingale, [155]
Everybody’s business is nobody’s business, [175]
Everybody’s companion is nobody’s friend, [156]
Everybody’s friend and nobody’s friend is all one, [199], [265]
Everybody’s friend is everybody’s fool, [156], [297], [375]
Everybody’s friend, nobody’s friend, [71]
Every cask smells of the wine it contains, [207], [270]
Every clown can find fault, though it would puzzle him to do better, [170]
Every cock crows on his own dunghill, [207]
Every cock is valiant on his own dunghill, [284], [314]
Every country has its custom, [221]
Every day a thread makes a skein in the year, [297]
Every day has its night, [116], [366]
Every day is not a holiday, [113], [116], [324]
Every ditch is full of after-wit, [91]
Every dog is not a lion at home, [116]
Every dog is valiant in his own kennel, [13]
Every flood hath its ebb, [297]
Every fly has its shadow, [271]
Every foal is not like its sire, [368]
Every fool is pleased with his bauble, [193]
Every fool is wise when he holds his tongue, [116]
Every fool thinks he is clever enough, [366]
Every fool wants to give advice, [116]
Every fox likes a henroost, [68]
Every fox looks after his own skin, [375]
Every glowworm is not fire (Every light is not the sun), [116], [163]
[Every hair] casts its shadow, [134], [206], [270] (See [Even a hair])
Every hare may pluck the dead lion’s mane, [137] (See [Even hares])
Every hill has its valley, [116]
Every hooked beak is maintained by prey, [59]
Every house has its cross, [317]
Every labourer is worthy of his hire, [155]
Every land its own custom, every wheel its own spindle, [271]
Every law is broken to become a king, [241]
Every life has its joy, every joy its law, [376]
Every little fish expects to become a whale, [356]
Every little helps, [296]
Every little helps, said the sow, when she snapped at a gnat, [347]
Every little helps to lighten the freight, said the captain, as he threw his wife overboard, [296]
Every man carries an enemy in his own bosom, [365]
Every man for himself, and God for us all, [155] (See [Every one])
Every man has a fool in his sleeve, [12], [88]
Every man has a good wife and a bad trade, [117]
Every man has his liking, [375]
Every man has his lot, and a wide world before him, [368]
Every man has his value, [12]
Every man his own is not too much, [317]
Every man is dearest to himself, [155]
Every man is master in his own house, [314]
Every man is the architect of his own fortune, [155], [366]
Every man is the best interpreter of his own words, [155]
Every man is the son of his own works, [207]
Every man likes his own praise best, [375]
Every man must carry his own sack to the mill, [118], [375]
Every man rides his own hobby, [147]
Every man thinks his own copper gold, [155], [366]
Every man thinks his own owl a falcon, [317]
Every man to his taste, [12]
Every man to his trade, [271]
Every medal has its reverse, [13], [116]
Every mother’s child is handsome, [156]
Every one bears his cross, [12]
Every one can navigate in fine weather, [117]
Every one counts for as much as he has, [155]
[Every one draws] the water to his own mill, [12], [117]
Every one feels his own burden heavy, [1]
Every one feels the cold according as he is clad, [207]
Every one finds fault with his own trade, [117]
Every one finds sin sweet and repentance bitter, [375]
[Every one] for himself and God for us all, [12], [117], [155], [207], [271], [317]
Every one gives himself credit for more brains than he has, and less money, [117]
Every one goes with his own sack to the mill, [118], [375]
Every one has his master, [145]
Every one his own is but fair, [12]
Every one in his own house, and God in all men’s, [207]
Every one is a king in his own house, [270]
Every one is a preacher under the gallows, [314]
Every one is a thief in his own craft, [317]
Every one is emperor on his own ground, [143]
Every one is wise after the event (or when the mischief is done), [163], [213]
Every one is wise for his own profit, [271]
Every one knows best where the shoe pinches him, [12], [117], [156], [207], [271]
Every one likes justice in another’s house, none in his own, [117]
Every one likes to wipe his shoes on poverty, [134]
Every one must pay his debt to nature, [155]
Every one must row with the oars he has, [317]
Every one praises his own saint, [117]
Every one preaches for his own saint, [12]
Every one rakes the fire under his own pot, [366]
Every one reaps as he sows, [270]
Every one says: My right is good, [12]
Every one sees his smart coat, no one sees his shrunken belly, [347]
Every one should sweep before his own door, [12]
Every one sings as he has the gift, and marries as he has the luck, [270]
Every one sneezes as God pleases, [207]
Every one speaks as he is, [271]
Every one speaks of the feast (or fair) as he finds it, [207], [271]
Every one stretches his legs according to the length of his coverlet (Cut your coat according to your cloth), [207], [271]
Every one takes his flogging in his own way, [12]
Every one takes his pleasure where he finds it, [12]
Every one thinks he has more than his own share of brains, [91]
Every one thinks himself without sin because he has not that of others, [117]
Every one thinks his owl a falcon, [155]
Every one thinks his own cross the heaviest, [68]
Every one thinks that all the bells echo his own thoughts, [155]
Every one to his equal, [271]
Every one to his own calling, and the Ox to the plough, [117]
Every one tries to cross the fence where it is lowest, [366]
Every one wishes to bring water to his own mill, and leave his neighbour’s dry, [207] (See [Every one draws])
Every pedlar praises his own needles, [206], [270]
Every pig has its Martinmas, [271]
Every potter praises his pot, and the more if it is cracked, [116], [207]
Every potter vaunts his own pot, [13]
Every priestling conceals a popeling, [154]
Every promise is a debt, [117]
Every road leads to Rome, [59], [259]
Every rose has its thorn, [117]
Every saint has his festival, [68]
Every shop has its trick (There are tricks in all trades), [116]
Every shot does not bring down a bird, [317]
Every ten years one man has need of another, [116]
Everything comes in time to him who can wait, [59]
Everything does not fall that totters, [59]
Everything goes by favour and cousinship, [59]
Everything goes to him who does not want it, [59]
Everything has an end—except a sausage, which has two, [347]
Everything has an end excepting God, [297]
Everything has its time, [270]
Everything has two handles (or two sides), [297]
Everything in its season, and turnips in Advent, [207]
Everything is good for something, [116]
Everything is good in its season, [90]
Everything is of every year, [116]
Everything may be borne except good fortune, [116]
Everything may be bought except day and night, [41]
Everything may be repaired except the neckbone, [129]
Everything must have a beginning, [6], [116], [292]
Everything new is beautiful, [92]
Everything passes, everything breaks, everything wearies, [59]
Everything would be well were there not a “but,” [133]
Every to-morrow brings its bread, [13]
Every truth is not to be told, [117]
Every tub must stand on its own bottom, [367]
Every vine must have its stake, [117]
Every why has its wherefore, [297]
Every wind does not shake down the nut, [117]
Every wind is against a leaky ship, [366]
Every woman would rather be handsome than good, [156]
Evil be to him who evil thinks, [82]
Evil is soon done, but slowly mended, [395]
Evil must be driven out by evil, [390]
Evil wastes itself, [395]
Evil words corrupt good manners, [302]
Exchange is no robbery, [170]
Expect not at another’s hand what you can do by your own, [197]
Experience is the best teacher, [145]
Extravagant offers are a kind of denial, [116]
Extremes meet, [34]
Eye-service is the courtier’s art, [394]
F.
Faint heart is always in danger, [273]
Faint heart never won fair lady, [27], [136], [173], [348]
Faint praise is akin to abuse, [372]
Fair and softly goes far, [45], [283]
Fair flowers do not remain long by the wayside, [168]
Fair, good, rich, and wise, is a woman four stories high, [8]
Fair is he that comes, but fairer he that brings, [54]
Fair money can cover much that’s foul, [337]
Fair promises bind fools, [74]
Fair things are soon snatched away, [8]
Fair words and rotten apples, [74]
Fair words, but look to your purse, [74]
Fair words don’t butter the cabbage, [168]
Fair words don’t fill the pocket, [168]
Fair words please the fool, and sometimes the wise, [367]
Fair words won’t feed a cat, [74]
Fair words won’t fill the sack, [337], [398]
Fall sick, and you will see who is your friend and who not, [215]
Falsehood is the Devil’s daughter, and speaks her father’s tongue, [385]
Falsehood never tires of going round about, [385]
Falsehood travels and grows, [385]
Falseness often lurks beneath fair hair, [367]
Fame and repute follow a man to the door, [396]
Fancy requires much, necessity but little, [174]
Far fetched and dear bought is meat for ladies, [340]
Far from the eyes, far from the heart, [109]
Farewell baskets, the vintage is ended, [2]
Fast as the hare runs, the greyhound outruns her, since he catches her, [241]
Fat broth cannot be made of nothing, [42]
Fat head, lean brains, [77]
Fat hens lay few eggs, [148]
Fat pastures make fat venison, [8]
Father and mother are kind, but God is kinder, [367]
Favour and gifts disturb justice, [372]
Fear guards the vineyard, [107], [232]
Fear is a great inventor, [30]
Feather by feather the goose is plucked, [72]
Feet accustomed to go cannot be still, [291]
Feet that are used to move cannot remain quiet, [240]
Feign death and the bull will leave you, [278]
Few have luck, all have death, [367]
Few women turn grey because their husbands die, [367]
Fie upon a cloak in fair weather, [18]
“Fie upon thee, how black thou art!” said the kettle to the sauce pan, [369]
Fine and fine make but a slender doublet, [18]
Fine birds are commonly plucked, [19]
Fine feathers make fine birds, [28], [307]
Fine linen often conceals a foul skin, [402]
Fine words don’t fill the belly, [277], [336]
Fine words without deeds go not far, [367]
Fire and love do not say, “Go to your work,” [217]
Fire and straw soon make a flame, [380]
Fire and water are good servants but bad masters, [148], [380]
Fire drives the wasp out of its nest, [102]
Fire is not quenched with fire, [102]
Fire in the heart sends smoke into the head, [148]
First a turnip, then a sheep; next a cow, and then the gallows, [318]
First come, first served, [36]
First look at home, then censure me, [169]
First weigh, then venture, [145]
Fish and guests smell at three days old, [365]
Fish begin to stink at the head, [138]
Fit the foot to the shoe, not the shoe to the foot, [264]
Five fingers hold more than two forks, [148]
Flatterers are cats that lick before and scratch behind, [168]
Flattery is sweet food for those who can swallow it, [398]
Flies are easier caught with honey than with vinegar, [43]
Flies don’t light on a boiling pot, [3], [69]
Flies flock to the lean horse, [66]
Flowers are the pledges of fruit, [351]
Flying from the bull he fell into the river, [225]
Folks say there is a lack of four sorts of people on earth: of priests, else one would not have six or seven benefices; of gentlemen, else every boor would not want to be a squire; of whores, else married women and nuns would not carry on the trade; of Jews, else Christians would not practise usury (Trench quotes this as the longest Proverb known), [160]
Follow the customs, or fly the country, [389]
Follow the river and you will reach the sea, [57]
Follow the road and you will reach an inn, [271]
Folly hath eagle’s wings, but the eyes of an owl, [304]
Folly is the most incurable of maladies, [218]
Fond of lawsuits, little wealth; fond of doctors, little health; fond of friars, little honour, [198]
Fools and the perverse fill the lawyer’s purse, [233]
Fools are free all the world over, [312]
Fools ask what’s o’clock, but wise men know their time, [305]
Fools build houses, wise men buy them, [163]
Fools go in throngs, [3]
Fools grow without watering, [104]
Fools invent fashions and wise men follow them, [34]
Fools make feasts, and wise men eat them, [104]
Fools must not be set on eggs, [163]
Fools sometimes give wise men counsel, [279]
Foot firm till death, [268]
For a bad tongue, scissors, [265]
For a good companion good company, [193]
For a good dinner and a gentle wife you can afford to wait, [365]
For a stubborn ass a hard goad, [2]
For a stubborn ass a stubborn driver, [5]
For a voracious beast pebbles in his feed, [263]
For a web begun God sends thread, [6], [73]
For a wife and a horse go to your neighbour, [106]
For all one’s early rising, it dawns none the sooner, [241]
For an honest man half his wits are enough; the whole is too little for a knave, [68]
For better for worse they have married me, [205]
For evil tongues, scissors, [195]
For extreme ills extreme remedies, [69]
For great evils strong remedies, [341]
For lack of men (or good men) they made my father a justice, [241], [292]
For love of the ox the wolf licks the yoke (Catalan), [240]
For love the wolf eats the sheep, [174]
For one pleasure a thousand pains, [46]
For overbuying there’s no help but selling again, [6]
For poor people small coin, [264]
For sake of the knight the lady kisses the squire, [46]
For the buyer a hundred eyes are too few, for the seller one is enough, [66]
For the flying enemy a golden bridge, [70]
For the last comer, the bones, [6]
For the upright there are no laws, [148]
For want of a nail the shoe is lost, [242]
For whom does the blind man’s wife adorn herself? 227
For whom sword and courage are not enough, corslet and lance will not be enough, [201]
Forbear a quarrel with a friend to move: anger breeds hatred, concord sweetens love, [334]
Forbearance is no acquittance, [134]
Forbidden fruit is sweet (or the sweetest), [101], [172]
Forced love does not last, [318]
Fore-talk spares after-talk, [174]
Forewarned, forearmed, [49]
Forgive and forget, [172]
Forgive thyself nothing and others much, [173]
Forgiven is not forgotten, [172]
Fortune aids the bold, [197]
Fortune and glass soon break, alas! 319
[Fortune, and go to sleep], [99]
Fortune and misfortune are two buckets in a well, [150]
Fortune and women are partial to fools, [150]
Fortune can take from us only what she has given us, [29]
Fortune comes to him who seeks her, [132]
Fortune does not stand waiting at any one’s door, [322]
Fortune gives many too much, but no one enough, [137]
Fortune helps fools, [106]
Fortune is a woman; if you neglect her to-day, expect not to regain her to-morrow, [29]
Fortune is like women: loves youth and is fickle, [137]
Fortune is round; it makes one a king, another a dunghill, [322]
Fortune lost, nothing lost; courage lost, much lost; honour lost, more lost; soul lost, all lost, [320]
Fortune often knocks at the door, but the fool does not invite her in, [385]
Foster a raven and it will peck out your eyes, [210]
Foul linen should be washed at home, [22]
Four eyes see more than two, [131], [173], [232], [282]
Four things put a man beside himself—women, tobacco, cards, and wine, [245]
Foxes come at last to the furrier’s, [17]
Fox’s broth, cold and scalding, [207]
Free man, free goods (So: Free ships, free goods—American), [148]
Fresh pork and new wine kill a man before his time, [242]
Friar Modest never was prior (A modest friar never was prior), [99]
Friends and mules fail us at hard passes (Galician), [199], [265]
Friends are known in adversity, [287]
Friends are known in time of need (Friends in need are friends indeed), [65], [329]
Friendship broken may be soldered, but never made whole, [199]
Friendship should be unpicked, not rent, [106]
Friendships are cheap when they can be bought by doffing the hat, [108]
From a bad paymaster take straw (i.e. any trifle), [90]
From a closed door the devil turns away, [275]
From a praying young man, and a fasting old one, God preserve my cloak, [212]
From a silent man, and a dog that does not bark, deliver us, [211]
From a silent person remove your dwelling, [212]
From a spark the house is burnt, [340]
From bishop to turn miller, [56]
From children expect childish acts, [362]
From confessors, doctors, and lawyers, do not conceal the truth of your case, [2]
From great rivers come great fish, [274]
From little things men go on to great, [340]
From long journeys, long lies, [212]
From my gossip’s bread a large piece for my godson, [212]
From saying to doing is a long way, [90]
From short pleasure long repentance, [14]
From small beginnings come great things, [340]
From smooth (or still) water God preserve me, from rough (or running) I will preserve myself, [90], [211]
From snow, whether baked or boiled, you will get nothing but water, [90], [211]
From that dust comes this mud, [210]
From the boat we get to the ship, [340]
From the father comes honour, from the mother comfort, [340]
From the same flower the bee extracts honey and the wasp gall, [90]
From the soldier who has no cloak, keep your own in your chest, [276]
From those I trust God guard me, from those I mistrust I will guard myself, [90]
From to-morrow till to-morrow time goes a long journey, [14]
From trivial things great contests oft arise, [340]
Froth is not beer, [337]
Full bottles and glasses make swearers and asses, [341]
Full vessels give the least sound, [174]
Funeral sermon, lying sermon, [158]
G.
Gain has a pleasant odour, come whence it will, [269]
Geese are plucked as long as they have any feathers, [333]
Gentleness does more than violence, [45]
Get a good name, and go to sleep, [67], [208], [272]
Get out of that place and let me take it, [43]
Gifts are according to the giver, [140]
Gifts are often losses, [127]
Gifts break (or dissolve) rocks, [210], [273]
Gifts make friendship lasting, [390]
Give a clown your finger, and he’ll grasp your fist, [70], [299]
Give a clown your foot, and he’ll take your hand, [198]
Give a grateful man more than he asks, [266]
Give a hint to the man of sense, and consider the thing done (A word to the wise is enough), [264]
Give a rogue an inch, and he will take an ell, [371]
Give a traitor good words and you make him loyal, [213]
Give an ass oats and he runs after thistles, [318]
Give at first asking what you safely can; ’tis certain gain to help an honest man, [322]
Give him a foot and he’ll take four, [57]
Give him an inch and he’ll take an ell, [318]
Give him your finger and he will seize your hand, [70], [299]
Give me a seat, and I will make myself room to lie down, [210]
Give me the rhubarb and you may take the senna, [45]
Give me money, not advice, [273]
Give me the ass that carries me in preference to the horse that throws me, [240]
Give orders, and do it yourself, and you will be rid of anxiety, [282]
Give orders, and do no more, and nothing will be done, [230], [282]
Give out that you have many friends, and believe that you have but few, [22]
Give the priest drink, for the clerk is thirsty, [90]
Give the wise man a hint and leave him to act, [66]
Give time time, [90]
Give to a pig when it grunts, and to a child when it cries, and you will have a fine pig, and a bad child, [371]
Give to him that has, [90]
Give unto the king what is the king’s, and unto God what is God’s, [149]
Give your wife the short knife, and keep the long one yourself, [384]
Giving alms never lessens the purse, [217]
Giving is fishing, [93]
Glowworms are not lanterns, [108]
Gluttony kills more than the sword, [29], [111]
Go in God’s name, for he takes a loaf of mine, [261]
Go not every evening to your brother’s house, [194]
Go not with every ailment to the doctor, with every plaint to the lawyer, or with every thirst to the can, [230], [286]
Go not with every hunger to the cupboard, nor with every thirst to the pitcher, [286]
Go softly and look afar, [344]
Go softly over bad bits of road, [67]
Go to bed late, rise early, you will see your own harm and that of others, [274]
Go to bed without supper, and you will rise without debt, [194], [274]
Go to the sea if you would fish well, [131]
Go to your aunt’s house, but not every day, [194]
Go to your rich friend’s house when invited; to your poor friend’s without invitation, [264]
God alone understands fools, [15]
God comes at last, when we think he is farthest off, [372]
[God cures], and the doctor takes the fee (or gets the money; or God healeth, and the physician hath the thanks), [92], [150], [214], [275], [323]
God deliver me from a man of one book, [214], [319]
God deliver us from a gentleman by day and a friar by night, [214]
God does not pay weekly, but pays at the end, [319]
God does not smite with both hands, [236]
God give you luck, my son, for little wit must serve your turn, [261], [295]
God gives a curst cow short horns, [65]
God gives almonds to some who have no teeth, [210]
God gives birds their food, but they must fly for it, [319]
God gives clothes according to the cold, [273] (See [God sends cold])
God gives every bird its food, but does not throw it into the nest, [372]
God gives little folks small gifts, [372]
God gives the will, necessity gives the law, [372]
God gives wings to the ant that she may perish the sooner, [210]
God grant, dear wife, that this son be ours, [253]
God grant me to argue (or dispute) with those who understand me, [214], [275]
God grant you fortune, my son, for knowledge avails you little, [214]
God has given nuts to some who have no teeth, [273]
God heals and the doctor has the thanks, [92] (See [God cures])
God help the sheep when the wolf is judge, [371]
God helps the early riser, [201]
God helps the strongest, [150], [319]
God helps him who helps himself (or them that help themselves), [53], [85], [152], [191], [252], [274]
God helps three sorts of people: fools, children, and drunkards, [15]
God is everywhere, except where he has his delegate (ironical), [150]
God keep me from my friends, from my enemies I will keep myself, [99]
God keep you from “It is too late,” [233]
God knows who is a good pilgrim, [15]
God made us, and we admire ourselves, [224]
God never sends mouths but he sends meat, [371]
God permits, but not for ever, [274]
God puts a good root in the little pig’s way, [6]
God save me from one who does not drink, [92]
God save me from the man of one book, [92]
God save me from the man of one occupation, [92]
God save me from those I trust in (or in whom I confide), [15]
God save you from a bad neighbour, and from a beginner on the fiddle, [92]
God save you from a man who has but one business, [16]
God saves the moon from the wolves, [15]
God sells knowledge for labour, honour for risk, [320]
[God sends cold] according to the clothes, [15], [92], [372]
God sends meat and the devil sends cooks, [92]
God sends nothing but what can be borne, [92]
God sent him meat, but the devil cooked it, [320]
God take you, pound (of flax), drunk out and not yet spun, [194]
God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb, [1]
God will provide, but a good bundle of straw will not be amiss, [214]
God’s friend, the priest’s foe, [150]
God’s mill goes slowly, but it grinds well, [150]
God’s work is soon done, [17]
Gold does not buy everything, [109]
Gold is gold, though it be in a rogue’s purse, [372]
Gold is proved in the fire, friendship in need, [380]
Gold lies deep in the mountain, dirt on the highway, [150]
Golden bishop, wooden crosier; wooden bishop, golden crosier, [17]
Gone is gone; no Jew will lend upon it, [152]
Good and bad make up a city, [270]
Good bargains are ruinous, [34]
Good bargains empty the purse, [108], [151]
Good blood will never lie, [9]
Good comes to better, and better to bad, [8]
Good company makes short miles, [320]
Good corn is not reaped from a bad field, [397]
Good counsel comes overnight, [151]
Good counsel is no better than bad counsel, if it be not taken in time, [395]
Good counsel never comes too late, [151]
Good counsel will not rot, if it be got in dry, [371]
Good day to you all! said the fox, when he got into the goose-pen, [320]
Good drink drives out bad thoughts, [320]
Good faith is a seldom guest, when you have him, hold him fast, [171]
Good faith stole the cow, [170]
Good fruit never comes from a bad tree, [287]
Good, good, good, but God keep my ass out of his rye, [206]
Good hunters track narrowly, [320]
Good is good, but better beats it, [101]
Good is the delay which makes sure, [269]
Good is the fowl which another rears, [205]
Good land should not be quitted for a bad landlord, [42]
Good leading makes good following, [343]
Good luck makes its way by elbowing, [201]
Good management is better than good income, [281]
Good manners and plenty of money will make my son a gentleman, [270]
Good morrow spectacles, farewell lasses, [8]
Good never comes too often, [371]
Good news is rumoured, bad news flies, [216], [287]
Good or bad we must all live, [115]
Good people live far asunder, [148]
Good repute is better than a golden belt, [9]
Good repute is like the cypress: once cut, it never puts forth leaf again, [105]
Good right needs good help, [320]
Good swimmers are drowned at last, [9], [100]
Good table, bad will, [269]
Good things require time, [320]
Good thongs may be cut out of other people’s hides, [134]
Good tree, good fruit, [320]
Good ware was never dear, [105]
Good watching drives away ill-luck, [8]
Good wine is milk for the aged, [151]
Good wine makes good blood, [76]
Good wine makes the horse go, [4]
Good wine needs no crier, [65], [151], [221], [261], [287], [320]
Good wine needs no sign, [1]
Good wine praises itself, [320]
Good wine ruins the purse, and bad the stomach, [151]
Good wine sells itself, [151], [216]
Good words and bad deeds deceive both wise and simple, [206], [269]
Got with the fife, spent with the drum, [161]
Govern a horse with a bit, and a shrew with a stick, [399]
Grain by grain the hen fills her crop, [223], [278]
Grass grows not upon the highway, [336]
Grease a churl’s boots and he’ll say you are burning them, [19]
Grease the wheels, [130]
Great boast, little roast, [321]
Great boaster, little doer, [19]
Great cry and little wool, [340]
Great cry and little wool, as the man said who shaved the sow, [73]
Great cry and little wool, said the fool, when he sheared his hogs, [173], [340]
Great disputing repels truth, [19]
Great fish are caught in great waters, [150]
Great fishes break the net, [321]
Great fools must have great bells, [320]
Great griefs are mute, [101]
Great lords have long hands, but they do not reach to heaven, [399]
Great lords will have much, and poor folk can give but little, [399]
Great men may jest with saints, [150]
Great men’s requests are commands, [151], [374]
Great men’s servants don’t think little of themselves, [151]
Great promisers, bad paymasters, [151], [320]
Great scholars are not the shrewdest men, [34]
Great smoke, little roast, [100]
Great talkers are commonly liars, [151]
Great talkers are not great doers, [34], [321]
Great thieves always have their sleeves full of gags, [34]
Great thieves hang little ones, [34], [150]
Great trees give more shade than fruit, [150]
Great wealth, great care, [321]
Great wits meet, [33]
Greater fools than they of Zago, who dunged the steeple to make it grow, [120]
Greatness alone is not enough, or the cow would outrun the hare, [150]
Green Christmas, a white Easter, [151]
Grey hairs are death’s blossoms, [371]
Grief for a dead wife lasts to the door, [93], [276]
Guessing is missing, [319]
H.
“Had I known” is a poor man, [151]
Had it not been for an if, the old woman would have bitten a wolf, [374]
Hair by hair, and the head gets bald, [364]
Half a brain is enough for him who says little, [66]
Half a house is half a hell, [151]
Half a word to the wise is enough, [314]
Half figs, half raisins, [39]
Handsome apples are sometimes sour, [168], [337]
Handsome is not what is handsome, but what pleases, [112]
Handsome is that handsome does, [168]
Handsome women generally fall to the lot of ugly men, [69]
Handsomely asked, handsomely refused, [1]
Hang the young thief, and the old one will not steal, [373]
Hannibal is at the gate, [321]
Happy he who can take warning from the mishaps of others, [397]
Happy is she who is in love with an old dotard, [74]
Happy is the man who has a handsome wife close to an abbey, [37]
Happy the child whose father goes to the devil, [20]
Happy the house in which there is no shaven crown, [205]
Hard against hard never was good, [151]
Hard is a new law imposed on old licence, [95]
Hard upon hard never made a good wall, [95], [276]
Hares are caught with hounds, fools with praise, and women with gold, [162]
Hares are not caught with drums, [42], [333]
Harm watch harm catch, [49], [78]
Haste makes waste, [321]
Hasten at leisure, [20], [142]
Hastiness is the beginning of wrath, and its end repentance, [321]
Hasty questions require slow answers, [336]
Hasty speed don’t oft succeed, [321]
Hat in hand goes through the land, [153]
Hatred renewed is worse than at first, [116]
Have a bill to pay at Easter, and your Lent will be short, [213]
Have luck and sleep, [126] (See [Fortune and go to sleep])
Having is having, come whence it may, [151]
He asks advice in vain who will not follow it, [46]
He avoided the fly and swallowed the spider, [278]
He beat the bushes and another caught the birds, [20]
He begins to grow bad who believes himself good, [88]
He burns the candle at both ends, [325]
He buys honey dear who has to lick it off thorns, [327]
He buys very dear who begs, [268]
He buys well who is not called a donkey, [205]
He came time enough who was hung by candlelight, [373]
He can do but little who cannot threaten another, [203]
He cannot find water in the sea, [235]
He cannot lead a good life who serves without wages, [75]
He cannot lay eggs, but he can cackle, [327]
He carries fire and water, [26]
He counts his chickens before they are hatched, [327]
He cries out before he is hurt, [96]
He dances well to whom fortune pipes, [73], [177]
He did not invent gunpowder, [236]
He does a good day’s work who rids himself of a fool, [9]
He does not a little who burns his house: he frightens the rats and warms himself, [235]
He does not guard himself well who is not always on his guard, [24]
He does not live in this world that can skin a grindstone, [354]
He doubts nothing who knows nothing, [284]
He drives a good waggonful into his farm who gets a good wife, [372]
He earns a farthing and has a penn’orth of thirst, [327]
He expects that larks will fall ready roasted into his mouth, [20]
He expects to find water at the first stroke of the spade, [195]
He falls into the pit who leads another into it, [207]
He falls on his back and breaks his nose, [26]
He fears the sack who has been in it, [355]
He fishes on who catches one, [59]
He forgot nothing except to say farewell, [23]
He flays enough who holds the foot, [5]
He gains enough who loses sorrow, [5]
He gains much who loses a vain hope, [73]
He gapes like a clown at a fair, [326]
He gathers up ashes and scatters flour, [197]
He gives twice who gives in a trice, [53], [79], [179], [247]
He goes about it like a cat round hot milk, [145]
He goes as willingly as a thief to the gallows, [145]
He goes safely to trial whose father is a judge, [251]
He goes safely who has nothing, [57]
He got out of the mud and fell into the river, [131]
He had need rise betimes who who would please everybody, [54], [355]
He hangs the May-branch at every door. (Alluding to the Italian custom of young men hanging out May-branches overnight before the door of their mistress), [73]
He has a good pledge of the cat who has her skin, [9]
He has a head, and so has a pin, [276]
He has a ton of knowledge, but the bottom is out, [326]
He has a wolf-conscience, [326]
He has beans in his ears. (Who so deaf as he that will not hear?) 145
He has command of the sack who is seated on it, [373]
He has done like the Perugian who, when his head was broken, ran home for his helmet, [95]
He has eaten his corn in the blade, [20]
He has enough to do who holds the handle of the frying-pan, [8]
He has enough who is content, [5]
He has given the hen for the egg, [145]
He has great need of a fool who makes himself one, [19]
He has him under his thumb, [326]
He has lost the nest-egg, [326]
He has much to do who would please everybody, [233]
He has not done who who is beginning, [40]
He has nothing, for whom nothing is enough, [55], [286]
He has put all his eggs into one basket, [20]
He has seen the wolf, [326]
He has the Bible on his lips, but not in his heart, [326]
He hauls at a long rope who expects another’s death, [70]
He howls with the wolves, and bleats with the sheep, [326]
He is a bad shot who cannot find an excuse, [143]
He is a bad smith who cannot bear smoke, [143]
He is a bad workman who cannot talk of work, [146]
He is a fool that praises himself, and a madman that speaks ill of himself, [353]
He is a fool who boasts of four things: that he has good wine, a good horse, a handsome wife, and plenty of money, [118]
He is a fool who does not know from what quarter the wind blows, [118]
He is a fool who loses the flight for the leap, [118]
He is a fool who makes his physician his heir, [11]
He is a fool who makes a mallet of his fist, [11]
He is a fool who thinks that another does not think, [125], [233], [286]
He is a great fool who forgets himself, [21]
He is a great simpleton who starves himself to feed another, [224]
He is a horse with four white feet (i. e. he is unlucky), [12]
He is a man like a book, [303]
He is a man who acts like a man, [353]
He is a poor smith who is afraid of sparks, [359]
He is a sorry barber who has but one comb, [128]
He is a thief indeed who robs a thief, [8]
He is a very bad manager of honey who leaves nothing to lick off his fingers, [9]
He is an essence of scoundrels, [326]
He is an aristocrat in folio, [323]
He is an old saint, and may leave it in the hands of God, [274]
He is as easily caught as a hare with drums, [326] (See Hares are not caught, &c.)
He is as good a Catholic as Duke Alva’s dog, who ate flesh in Lent, [327]
He is as good a divine as Judas was an apostle, [323]
He is as poor as Job, [326]
He is as sharp as a leaden dagger, [326]
He is as welcome as the first day in Lent (alluding to fast-day), [327]
He is blind enough who cannot see through a sieve, [224]
He is called clever who cheats and plunders his friend, [21]
He is easy to lure, who is ready to follow, [353]
He is nowhere who is everywhere, [112]
He is in safety who rings the tocsin, [202], [222]
He is in search of a ram with five feet, [77]
He is like a cat, he always falls on his feet, [21]
He is like a singed cat, better than he looks, [26]
He is like Jean de Nivelle’s dog, that runs away when he is called, [11]
He is like the anchor that is always in the sea, yet does not learn to swim, [95]
He is like the gardener’s dog, who don’t eat cabbages and will let no one else eat them, [21]
He is lucky who forgets what cannot be mended, [150]
He is master of another man’s life who is indifferent to his own, [97]
He is most likely to spill who holds the vessel in his hand, [354]
He is most cheated who cheats himself, [356]
He is my friend who grinds at my mill, [222], [277]
He is nearest to God who has the fewest wants, [353]
He is nearest a thing who has it in his hands, [353]
He is no friend that eats his own by himself, and mine with me, [285]
He is no merchant who always gains, [323]
He is no small knave who knows a great one, [361]
He is noble who performs noble deeds, [326]
He is not a bad driver who knows how to turn, [373]
He is not a good mason who refuses any stone, [112]
He is not a man who cannot say no, [112]
He is not a thorough wise man who cannot play the fool on occasion, [90]
He is not fit to be a baker whose head is made of butter, [353]
He is not free who drags his chain after him, [24], [112]
He is not happy who knows it not, [98]
He is not so much of a devil as he is black, [24]
He is not yet born who can please everybody, [355]
He is of the race of Johnny Van Cleeve, who would always much rather have than give, [326]
He is out of danger who rings the alarm-bell, [202], [222]
He is past preaching to who does not care to do well, [21]
He is rich enough who is contented, [166]
He is rich enough who owes nothing, [17], [97]
He is rich enough who does not want, [73]
He is so wise, that he goes upon the ice three days before it freezes, [327]
He is the devil’s valet, he does more than he is ordered, [11]
He is the wisest man who does not think himself so, [33]
He is the world’s master who despises it, its slave who prizes it, [97]
He is too idle to fetch his breath, [326]
He is too stupid to be trusted alone by the fire, [326]
He is very blind who cannot see the sun, [75]
He is wise who learns at another’s cost, [125]
He is worthy of sweets who has tasted bitters, [353]
He is young enough who has health, and he rich enough who has no debts, [353]
He is your friend who gets you out of a scrape, [201], [267]
He keeps his word, as the sun keeps butter, [325]
He knocks boldly at the door who brings good news, [19], [72], [373]
He knows best where the shoe pinches who wears it, [356], [373]
He knows enough who knows how to live and keep his own counsel, [5]
He knows it as well as his Pater-noster, [255]
He knows the water best who has waded through it, [374]
He knows well where the thorn pricks him, [95]
He knows where the devil carries his tail, [96], [124]
He laughs at scars who never felt a wound, [139]
He laughs well (or best) who laughs longest, [55], [124] (See He who laughs)
He lays his eggs beside his nest, [327]
He lies like a tooth-drawer, [23]
He lives in the land of promise, [327]
He looks for his ass and sits on its back, [20]
He lords it (or swaggers) like an eel in a tub, [325]
He loses his market who has nothing to sell, [201]
He loses least in a quarrel who keeps his tongue in check, [356]
He loves well who never forgets, [75], [205], [268]
He may lie boldly who comes from afar, [1], [95]
He may swim boldly who is held up by the chin, [9]
He means well, but has a bad way of showing it, [326]
He measures others by his own standard, [95], [325]
He must be a clever host that would take the devil into his hostelry, [355]
He must be ill-favoured who scares the devil, [355]
He must be pure who would blame another, [373]
He must cry loud who would scare the devil, [373]
He must gape wide who would gape against an oven, [327]
He must have clean fingers who would blow another’s nose, [355]
He must have crept out of hell while the devil was asleep, [326]
He must have iron fingers who would flay the devil, [373]
He must have keen eyes that would know a maid at sight, [145]
He must have plenty of butter who would stop everybody’s mouth, [373]
He must indeed be a good master who never errs, [325]
He must keep a sharp look-out who would speak the truth, [373]
He must rise betimes who would please everybody, [327]
He must shoot well who always hits the mark, [323]
He must stand high that would see the end of his own destiny, [355]
He must stoop that has a low door, [94]
He need have plenty of meal who would stop every man’s mouth (Scotch: He behoves to have meal enou that sal stop ilka man’s mou’), [98], [322], [355]
He needs say nothing about the score who pays nothing, [20]
He needs a long spoon that would eat out of the same dish with the devil, [355]
He never was a friend who ceased to be so for a slight cause, [287]
He never was a friend who has ceased to be one, [48]
He ought not to complain of the sea who returns to it a second time, [73]
He pays for the glasses who breaks them, [48]
He plays best who wins, [49],182
He preaches well who lives well, [78], [205]
He pulls at a long rope who desires another’s death, [3]
He puts his sickle into another man’s harvest, [23]
He ruins himself in promises, and clears himself by giving nothing, [26]
He runs as fast as if he had eggs in his shoes, [327]
He runs far who never turns, [89]
He runs heavily who is forced to run, [354]
He’s a friend at sneezing-time,—the most that can be got from him is a “God bless you,” [334]
He said devil, but meant you, [327]
He scolds most that can hurt the least, [374]
He sells the bird on the branch, [96]
He sets the wolf to guard the sheep, [95]
He should not complain of being cheated who buys cloth by the sample, [287]
He sins as much who holds the bag as he who puts into it, [7]
He sits well who can rise without help, [355]
He sleeps securely who has nothing to lose, [17]
He slumbers enough who does nothing, [5]
He sticks his nose in everything (He has his finger in every pie), [145]
He struts as valiantly as an English cock, [327]
He studies the Bible of fifty-two leaves (a pack of cards), [326]
He sups ill who eats up all at dinner, [37]
He swims on his own bulrush, [328]
He takes out a nail and puts in a pin, [77]
He that abideth low cannot fall hard, [310]
He that at twenty is not, at thirty knows not, and at forty has not, will never be, nor ever know, nor ever have, [79]
He that bears the cross, blesses himself first, [354]
He that buildeth upon the highway hath many advisers, [179], [308] (See He who builds)
He that buys the office of magistrate must of necessity sell justice, [79]
He that can be patient finds his foe at his feet, [309]
He that chases another does not sit still himself, [308]
He that climbs high falls heavily, [182]
He that comes unbidden goes unthanked, [310]
He that corrects not youth controls not age, [50]
He that courts injury will obtain it, [373]
He that creepeth falleth not, [310]
He that cuts above himself will get splinters in his eye, [376]
He that despises the little is not worthy of the great, [310]
He that does ill never wants for excuses, [266]
He that does not lie, does not come of good blood, [251]
He that does not save pennies will never have pounds, [352]
He that eats his fowl alone may saddle his horse alone, [252], [292]
He that examines every bush will hardly get into the wood, [185]
He that exceeds his commission must answer for it at his own cost, [80]
He that finds fault wants to buy, [186], [248] (See He who)
He that finds something before it is lost, will die before he is sick, [309]
He that has a choice has trouble, [309]
He that has an hour’s start will not be hanged, [253]
He that has but one pig easily fattens it, [82]
He that has good legs has often bad boots, [182]
He that has lost his credit is dead to the world, [180]
He that has no head needs no hat, [183]
He that has no ill luck grows weary of good luck, [250]
He that has no money in his purse should have fair words on his lips, [376]
He that has not money in his purse should have honey in his mouth, [50]
He that has swallowed the devil may swallow his horns, [82]
He that has the devil on his neck must find him work, [308]
He that has the luck leads the bride to church, [309]
[He that hath a head of wax] must not approach the fire, [48]
He that hath a wife is sure of strife, [49]
He that hath an ill name is half hanged, [309]
He that hears much, hears many lies, [311]
He that hides can find, [48]
He that hides is no better than he that steals, [373]
He that holds is no better than he that scourges, [373]
He that holds the handle of the frying-pan runs the risk of burning himself, [10]
He that hunts others must run himself, [179]
He that hunts two hares at once will catch neither, [49], [343]
He that inquires much, learns much, [378]
He that is afraid of the devil does not grow rich, [82]
He that is ashamed to eat is ashamed to live, [48]
He that is at sea has not the wind in his hands, [310] (See He who is at sea)
He that is bitten by a dog must apply some of its hair, [311]
He that is born to be hanged will never be drowned, [80], [182], [309]
He that is drowning shouts though he be not heard, [78]
He that is embarked with the devil must sail with him, [80], [310]
He that is good for something is the ass of the public, [101]
He that is in fault is in suspicion, [80]
He that is more civil than usual, either wants to cozen you or has need of you, [253]
He that is not gallant at twenty, strong at thirty, rich at forty, or experienced at fifty, will never be gallant, strong, rich or prudent, [246]
He that is out at sea, must either sail or sink, [377]
He that is thrown would still wrestle, [28]
He that is too much in haste, may stumble on a good road, [53]
He that is unkind to his own will not be kind to others (Galician) 245
He that jokes, confesses, [78]
He that keeps out of harm’s way will gather goodly riches, [355]
He that laughs on Friday may cry on Sunday, [58]
He that lies down with dogs will get up with fleas, [52], [79], [247], [376]
He that lives with cripples learns to limp, [308]
He that loves his child chastises him, [311]
He that makes himself dirt is trod on by the swine, [86]
He that makes one basket can make a hundred, [249]
He that marries for love has good nights, but sorry days, [179]
He that minds his business at home, will not be accused of taking part in the fray, [248]
He that never fails never grows rich, [83]
He that paints a flower does not give it perfume, [85]
He that pelts every barking dog must pick up a great many stones, [183]
He that performs his own errand saves the messenger’s hire, [392]
He that picks up all sorts of wood soon gets an armful, [179]
He that plays at racket must watch the ball, [309]
He that reckons without his host must reckon again, [49], [80], [111]
He that says A, must also say B, [179]
He that says what he should not, will hear what he would not, [374]
He that seeks, finds, and sometimes what he would rather not, [78]
He that seeks to have many friends never has any, [87]
He that shows his money shows his judgment, [82]
He that sings himself is the best pleased, [354]
He that sits among reeds cuts pipes when he pleases, [182]
He that spares something to-day will have something to-morrow, [309]
He that spends more than he is worth spins a rope for his own neck, [51]
He that stands may fall, [80]
He that stays in the valley will not get over the hill, [52]
He that stirs honey will have some of it stick to him, [249]
He that stumbles and falls not, mends his pace, [53], [248]
He that ties well, unties well (Safe bind, safe find), [246]
He that tickles himself, may laugh when he will, [185], [309], [379]
He that trusts a faithless friend, has a good witness against him, [252]
He that ventures not, fails not, [51]
He that wants should not be bashful, [78]
He that wants the kernel must crack the nut, [22], [180], [308]
He that wants to beat a dog can easily find a stick, [87] (See Who wants)
He that wants to hang a dog, is sure to find a rope, [378]
He that wants to hang a dog, says that it bites the sheep, [352]
He that well considers the world, must own he has never seen a better, [308]
He that will does more than he that can, [281]
He that will have eggs, must bear with cackling, [309]
He that will have fire must bear with smoke, [311]
He that will not be saved needs no preacher, [184]
He that will not when he can, cannot when he will, [83], [251] (See Who will not)
He that will not when he may, when he will shall have nay, [50]
He that will not strive in this world should not have come into it, [84]
He that won’t listen, must feel, [184]
He that would be healthy, must eat temperately, and sup early, [252]
He that would be healthy must wear his winter clothes in summer, [252]
He that would be ill served should keep plenty of servants, [87]
He that would be old long must begin betimes, [292]
He that would cheat a Jew, must be a Jew, [188]
He that would have a beautiful wife should choose her on a Saturday, [252]
He that would have a thing done quickly and well must do it himself, [87]
He that would heal a wound must not handle it, [88]
He that would jest must take a jest, else to let it alone were best, [309]
He that would keep his eye sound must tie up his hand, [292]
He that would keep his house clean must not let priest or pigeon enter it, [54]
He that would stop everybody’s mouth needs plenty of flour, [183]
He that you seat upon your shoulder will often try to get upon your head, [400]
He thinks to catch shell-fish in the trees, [327]
He threatens many who affronts one, [265]
He to whom God gives no sons, the devil gives nephews, [251]
He waits long that waits for another man’s death, [327]
He wants to fly before he has wings, [327]
He was born on a Sunday, he likes work ready done, [21]
He was born upon St. Galtpert’s night, three days before luck, [326]
He was bom with a caul, [21]
He wastes his tears who weeps before the judge, [119]
He wears the mourning of his washerwoman, [26]
He who abuses others must not be particular about the answer he gets, [355]
He who always tells me a lie never cheats me, [252]
He who always thinks it is too soon, is sure to come too late, [177]
He who asks the fewest favours is the best received, [250]
He who at thirty has no brains, will never purchase an estate, [246]
He who at twenty understands nothing, at thirty knows nothing, and at forty has nothing, will lead a wretched old age, [246]
He who avoids the temptation avoids the sin, [252]
He who begins and does not finish loses his labour, [49]
He who begins badly, ends badly, [250]
He who begins ill finishes worse, [82]
He who begins many things finishes few, [82]
He who begins much finishes little, [186]
He who bestirs himself sucks up, he who lies still dries up, [54]
He who blows in the fire will get sparks in his eyes, [182]
He who blows upon dust fills his eyes with it, [86]
He who brings bad tidings comes soon enough, [185]
He who brings is welcome, [179]
He who builds a house in the market-place, builds either too high or too low, [81]
He who builds a house, or marries, is left with a lank purse, [201]
He who builds according to every man’s advice will have a crooked house, [379]
He who builds by the roadside has many masters (or surveyors), [179], [308]
He who builds on another’s ground loses his stone and mortar, [80]
He who builds on the public way must let the people have their say, [179]
He who burns his posteriors must sit on blisters, [311]
He who buys a horse buys care, [247]
He who buys a house gets many a plank and nail for nothing, [181]
He who buys and sells does not feel what he spends, [247]
He who buys betimes buys cheaply, [79]
He who buys by the pennyworth keeps his own house and other men’s too, [87]
He who buys the broom can also buy the handle, [79]
He who buys what he don’t want, will soon sell what he does want, [79], [183]
He who can give has many a good neighbour, [49]
He who can lick can bite, [51]
He who can sit upon a stone and feed himself should not move, [377]
He who can wait obtains what he wishes, [78]
He who cannot help may hinder, [184]
He who cannot paint must grind the colours, [184]
He who cannot pay with his purse must pay with his hide, [184]
He who cannot revenge himself is weak, he who will not is contemptible, [84]
He who cannot speak well of his trade does not understand it, [51]
He who can’t get bacon must be content with cabbage, [376]
He who carries nothing loses nothing, [52]
He who carries one burden will soon carry a hundred, [52]
He who catches one fish is a fisherman, [251]
He who chastises one threatens a hundred, [86]
He who cheats a cheat and robs a thief, earns a dispensation for 100 years, [181]
He who chooses takes the worst (Pick and choose and take the worst), [49]
He who climbs too high is near a fall, [65]
He who comes first grinds first, [251]
He who comes first to the mill is first served, [378]
He who conceits himself wise, has an ass near at hand, [183]
He who dances well goes from wedding to wedding, [246]
He who decries (or finds fault, or disparages) wants to buy, [49], [78], [186], [248]
He who delays, gathers, [220]
He who demands does not command, [79]
He who denies all confesses all, [86], [253]
He who despises small things seldom grows rich, [398]
He who dies not in his twenty-third year, drowns not in his twenty-fourth, and is not slain in his twenty-fifth, may boast of good days, [343]
He who digs a pit for others falls into it himself, [179]
He who divides gets the worst share, [248]
He who does as he likes has no headache, [80]
He who does good to you either dies or goes away, [247]
He who does no more than another is no better than another, [251]
He who does not bait his hook catches nothing (or fishes in vain), [50], [184]
He who does not gain, loses, [50]
He who does not go (or look) forward, stays behind, [184], [245]
He who does not honour his wife, dishonours himself, [246]
He who does not improve to-day will grow worse to-morrow, [185]
He who does not look before him, must take misfortune for his earnings, [375]
He who does not mix with the crowd knows nothing, [251]
He who does not open his eyes must open his purse, [180]
He who does not pick up a pin cares nothing for his wife, [250]
He who does not repair his gutter has a whole house to repair, [250]
He who does not show himself, is overlooked, [251]
He who does not speak, God does not hear, [251]
He who does not tire, achieves, [196]
He who does not tire, tires adversity, [51]
He who does not (or will not) when he can, cannot when he will, [50], [83], [251]
He who does not whip the child does not mend the youth, [250]
He who does nothing, does ill, [50]
He who does the wrong forgets it, but not he who receives it, [82]
He who does what he likes, does not what he ought, [249]
He who doth his own business defileth not his fingers, [81]
He who doubts nothing knows nothing, [220]
He who dresses in others’ clothes will be undressed on the highway, [248]
He who eats of the king’s goose will void a feather forty years after, [50]
He who eats pears with his master should not choose the best, [82]
He who eats the king’s cow lean, pays for it fat, [50], [249]
He who eats the meat let him pick the bone, [247]
He who eats and puts by, has sufficient for two meals, [247]
He who envies, suffers, [184]
He who esteems none but himself is as happy as a king, [84]
He who excuses himself accuses himself, [53], [86], [310]
He who fain would marry, in choice should not tarry, [182]
He who fears to suffer, suffers from fear, [49]
He who feeds a wolf, strengthens his enemy, [376]
He who feeds the hen ought to have the egg, [355]
He who finds fault wants to buy, [186], [248] (See He who decries, &c.)
He who finds what has not been lost, will chance to die before he is ill, [181]
He who flees, proves himself guilty, [376]
He who follows the crowd has many companions, [180]
He who forces love where none is found, remains a fool the whole year round, [183]
He who gets out of debt enriches himself, [52]
He who gives to the public, gives to no one, [249]
He who gives bread to others’ dogs is often barked at by his own, [79]
He who gives, must take (meaning a joke), [179]
He who gives quickly, gives doubly, [179] (See He gives twice)
He who gives to the poor, lends to the Lord, [180], [343]
He who goes abroad by day has no need of a lantern, [51]
He who goes everywhere gains everywhere, [51]
He who goes far from home to marry, goes either to deceive or be deceived, [249]
He who goes to bed with dogs, will wake up with fleas, [183], [310]
He who goes to collect wool may come back shorn, [54]
He who goes to the mill gets befloured, [86]
He who goes with wolves learns to howl, [247]
He who grasps at all, holds nothing fast (or loses all), [179], [253]
He who grasps too much holds little (or nothing) fast, [53], [86], [250]
He who grasps too much lets much fall, [186]
He who greases his cart-wheels helps his oxen, [252]
He who guesses well prophesies well, [78]
He who handles pitch, besmears himself, [184]
He who hangs out a branch wants to sell his wine, [252]
He who has a bad name is half hanged, [81]
He who has a bad tongue should have good loins, [82]
He who has a bad wife can expect no happiness, [201]
He who has a companion has a master, [48]
He who has a glass roof should not (or must not) throw stones at his neighbour’s (or others’), [82], [181], [253], [299], [352]
He who has a good horse in his stable may go on foot, [81]
He who has a good neighbour has a good morning, [81], [182], [379]
He who has a good nest, finds good friends, [293]
He who has a good wife can bear any evil, [201]
He who has a handsome wife, a castle on the frontier, or a vineyard on the roadside, is never without war, [197]
[He who has a head of wax] must not walk in the sun, [81]
He who has a head won’t want for a hat, [66]
He who has a mate has a master, [81]
He who has a son grown up should not call another a thief, [253]
He who has a straw tail is always in fear of its catching fire, [81]
He who has a tongue, may go to Rome, [82], [250]
He who has a trade may travel through the world, [253]
He who has a white horse and a fair wife is seldom without trouble, [376]
He who has bad neighbours is fain to praise himself, [355]
He who has been bitten by a snake is afraid of an eel, [355]
He who has been first a novice and then an abbot, knows what the boys do behind the altar, [220]
He who has been stung by a scorpion is afraid of its shadow, [248]
He who has been stung by a serpent is afraid of a lizard, [79]
He who has both money and bread may choose with whom his daughter to wed, [248]
He who has but one coat cannot lend it, [251]
He who has crossed the ford knows how deep it is, [82]
He who has daughters is always a shepherd, [47]
He who has daughters to marry, let him give them silk to spin, [253]
He who has drunk will drink, [48]
He who has enemies, let him not sleep, [253]
He who has four and spends five, has no need of a purse, [253], [299]
He who has his purse full preaches to the poor man, [48]
He who has land has war, [82]
He who has left a rogue behind him has made a good day’s journey, [180]
He who has loaves has dogs, [81]
He who has lost his oxen is always hearing bells, [247]
He who has lost his reputation is a dead man among the living, [249]
He who has many irons in the fire will let some of them burn, [376]
He who has money has capers, [48]
He who has money to throw away, let him employ workmen, and not stand by, [81]
He who has no falcon must hunt with owls, [377]
He who has no head wants no hat, [224]
He who has no house of his own is everywhere at home, [220]
He who has no voice in the valley will have none in the council, [250]
He who has no wife, is for thrashing her daily; but he that has one, takes care of her, [220]
He who has not health has nothing, [50]
He who has not tasted bitter knows not what sweet is, [184]
He who has nothing fears nothing, [50]
He who has once burnt his mouth always blows his soup, [185]
He who has once invited the devil into his house will never be rid of him, [180]
He who has one foot in a brothel has the other in an hospital, [180]
He who has plenty of butter may put some in his cabbage, [378]
He who has scalded himself once blows the next time, [86]
He who has servants has unavoidable enemies, [249]
He who has sheep has fleeces, [220]
He who has teeth has no bread, and he who has bread has no teeth, [81]
He who has the luck brings home the bride, [186]
He who has the Pope for his cousin may soon be a Cardinal, [180]
He who has three enemies must agree with two, [180]
He who has to deal with a blockhead has need of much brains, [247]
He who has to do with foxes must look after his hen-roost, [183]
He who has two masters to serve must lie to one of them, [245]
He who has victory has right, [180]
He who hath an ill name is half hanged (Give a dog an ill name, and you may as well hang him), [80]
He who hath ears to hear, let him hear, [184]
He who heeds not the lost shoe-nail will soon lose the horse, [180]
He who helps everybody helps nobody, [252]
He who herds with wolves learns to howl, [87], [183], [377] (See He who kennels)
He who holds his tongue does not commit himself, [50]
He who holds the handle of the frying-pan turns it as he pleases, [53]
He who holds the ladder is as bad as the thief, [180]
He who holds the thread holds the ball, [53]
He who hunts after bargains will scratch his head (Catalan), [245]
He who hunts two hares at once catches neither, [49], [186], [343]
He who hunts two hares from one bush is not likely to catch either, [352]
He who hunts two hares does not catch the one, and lets the other escape, [80]
He who hunts with cats will catch mice, [377]
He who inherits a farthing is expected to disburse a dollar, [181]
He who is afraid of doing too much always does too little, [181]
He who is afraid of leaves must not go into the wood, [82], [311]
He who is always drinking and stuffing will in time become a ragamuffin, [179]
He who is an ass and thinks himself a stag, finds his mistake when he comes to leap the ditch, [78]
He who is ashamed of asking is ashamed of learning, [375]
He who is at sea does not direct the winds, [49], [310]
He who is born to misfortune stumbles as he goes, and though he fall on his back will fracture his nose, [186]
He who is embarked with the devil must make the passage with him, [80], [310]
He who is everybody’s friend is either very poor or very rich, [248]
He who is everywhere is nowhere, [373]
He who is far from home is near to harm, [376]
He who is feared by many fears many, [177]
He who is feared gets more than his own, [201]
He who is fed by another’s hand seldom gets enough, [356]
He who is guilty believes that all men speak ill of him, [80]
He who is his own teacher has a fool for his pupil, [185]
He who is in hell knows not what heaven is, [80]
He who is in the mud likes to pull another into it, [219]
He who is judge between two friends loses one of them, [49], [186]
He who is meant to be a basket-carrier is born with the handle in his hand, [81]
He who is not for me is against me, [184]
He who is of no use to himself is of no use to any one, [185], [353]
He who is of the craft can discourse about it, [80]
He who is quick at borrowing is slow in paying, [182]
He who is scared by words has no heart for deeds, [379]
He who is silent gains store, [247]
He who is surety for another pays for him, [311]
He who is the cause of his own misfortune may bewail it himself, [80]
He who is unable is always willing, [84]
He who is under cover when it rains is a great fool if he stirs, [80]
He who is well prepared has half won the battle, [279]
He who is without debt is without credit, [83]
He who keeps his own secret avoids much mischief, [249]
He who kennels with wolves must howl, [49] (See He who herds)
He who knows a knave makes no bid for him, [379]
He who knows but little tells it quickly (or soon), [85], [251], [292]
He who knows how to beg may leave his money at home, [356]
He who knows nothing knows enough, if he knows when to be silent, [73]
He who knows nothing never doubts, [83]
He who knows the road can ride full trot, [85]
He who laid a snare for me has fallen into it, [249]
He who laughs last laughs best, [55], [124], [186], [354]
He who laughs overmuch may have an aching heart, [67]
He who lends to the poor, gets his interest from God, [180]
He who lets the goat be laid on his shoulders is soon after forced to carry the cow, [86]
He who lies down in (or mixes himself with) the wash will be eaten by swine, [344], [379]
He who lies in the grave is well lodged, [182]
He who lies on the ground must expect to be trodden on, [179]
He who likes drinking is always talking of wine, [67]
He who listens at doors hears more than he desires, [49]
He who lives among wolves learns to howl, [87] (See He who herds)
He who lives by the church should serve the church, [181]
He who lives in hopes, breakfasts ill and sups worse, [246]
He who lives long knows what pain is, [54]
He who lives on hope dies of hunger, [186]
He who lives without restraint, will die without honour, [376]
He who looks demurely trust not with your money, [251]
He who looks not before finds himself behind, [51]
He who looks on has two-thirds of the game, [86]
He who looks on knows more of the game than he who plays, [180]
He who loses his temper is in the wrong, [52]
He who loses is always in fault, [85]
He who loses, sins, [51]
He who loves Bertrand loves his dog (Love me, love my dog), [246]
He who loves Peter won’t harm his dog, [246]
He who loves sorrow, will always find something to mourn over, [379]
He who loves well is slow to forget, [246]
He who loves well, obeys well, [246]
He who made fun of the old man, laughed at first and cried afterwards, [247]
He who makes a law should keep it, [220]
He who makes a mouse of himself, will be eaten by the cats (This is a pun; sich mausig machen means to swagger or assume undue importance), [185]
He who makes himself a dove is eaten by the hawk, [79]
He who makes himself a servant is expected to remain a servant, [85]
He who makes himself honey will be eaten by the bees (or the flies), [185], [311]
He who makes himself nothing, is nothing, [184]
He who makes light of his enemy dies by his hand, [246]
He who makes more of you than he is wont, either means to cheat you or wants you, [299]
He who makes one basket can make a hundred, [272]
He who marries a widow with three children, marries four thieves, [352]
He who marries does well, but who remains single does better, [182]
He who marries for love has good nights and bad days, [52]
He who marries ill, is long in becoming widowed, [250]
He who measures oil greases his hands, [248]
He who mixes himself with the draff will be eaten by the swine, [344], [379]
He who never budges from Paris will never be Pope, [53]
He who passes a winter’s day passes one of his mortal enemies, [51]
He who pays his debts, betters his condition, [185]
He who pays is fairly entitled to speak his mind, [51]
He who pays well is master of another man’s purse, [76], [101], [305]
He who pays well is well served, [51]
He who pays well may borrow again, [182]
He who peeps through a hole will discover his dole (Harm watch, harm catch), [245]
He who pitches too high won’t get through his song, [182]
He who plants fruit-trees must not count upon the fruit, [342]
He who plays with a sword plays with the devil (Galician), [245]
He who pledges or promises runs in debt, [249]
He who ploughs with young oxen makes crooked furrows, [183]
He who pours water hastily into a bottle spills more than goes in, [248]
He who praises himself befouls himself, [86]
He who praises himself must have bad neighbours, [185]
He who praises in præsentia, and abuses in absentia, have with him pestilentia, [181]
He who prates much, lies much, [186]
He who prizes little things, is worthy of great ones, [179]
He who promises incurs a debt, [251]
He who puts by for the night, puts by for the cat, [354]
He who quits his place loses it, [52]
He who receives the offerings let him ring the bells, [250]
He who recovers but the tail of his cow does not lose all, [51]
He who reforms, God assists, [252]
He who remains in the mill grinds, not he who goes to and fro, [220]
He who rides behind another does not saddle when he will, [253]
He who rides on the giant’s shoulders sees further than he who carries him, [10]
He who rides the horse is his master, [354]
He who rides the mule shoes her, [50]
He who rises early will gather wisdom, [376]
He who risks nothing can gain nothing (Nothing venture, nothing have), [84]
He who saves, finds, [247]
He who saves in little things, can be liberal in great ones, [182]
He who says nothing never lies, [83]
He who says what he likes, must hear what he does not like, [185], [248], [356]
He who seeks, finds, [247]
He who sees leather cut asks for a thong, [49]
He who serves is not free, [252]
He who serves many masters must neglect some, [246]
He who serves two masters must lie to one of them, [80]
He who serves the people has a bad master, [180]
He who serves the public has a sorry (or fickle) master, [85], [308]
He who shoots often, hits at last, [184]
He who sings drives away sorrow, [78]
He who slanders his neighbour makes a rod for himself, [344]
He who sleeps alone keeps long cold, two soon warm each other, [185]
He who sleeps catches no fish, [79]
He who sleeps much, learns little, [250]
He who sleeps well does not feel the fleas, [78]
He who sows brambles must not go barefoot, [252]
He who sows brambles (or thistles) reaps thorns (As you sow, so you shall reap), [53], [245]
He who sows hatred shall gather rue, [377]
He who sows iniquity shall reap shame, [379]
He who sows little, reaps little, [378]
He who sows money, will reap poverty, [375]
He who sows peas on the highway does not get all the pods into his barn, [377]
He who sows well, reaps well, [247]
He who spares vice wrongs virtue, [49], [180]
He who speaks ill of himself is praised by no one, [379]
He who spits above himself will have it fall on his face, [246] (See Who spits)
He who stands godfather to a wolf should have a dog under his cloak, [179]
He who stands high is seen from afar, [377]
He who stands near the woodcutter is likely to be hit by a splinter, [377]
He who steals once is never trusty, [253]
He who stops at every stone never gets to his journey’s end, [52]
He who stops half way is only half in error, [179]
He who strikes another on the neck, does not strike far from the head, [377]
He who strives to do, does more than he who has the power, [231]
He who succeeds is reputed wise, [66]
He who suspects is seldom at fault, [82]
He who swears is a liar, [81]
He who takes a wife takes a master, [52]
He who takes the child by the hand, takes the mother by the heart, [377]
He who takes no care of little things, will not have the care of great ones, [187]
He who takes the wrong road must make his journey again, [246]
He who talks much is sometimes right, [250]
He who tastes every man’s broth often burns his mouth, [378]
He who tells his own secret will hardly keep another’s, [79], [248]
He who threatens is afraid, [50]
He who threatens to strike, and does not, is afraid, [246]
He who throws away money with his hands will seek it with his feet, [78]
He who throws himself under the bench will be left to lie there, [356]
He who tickles himself, laughs when he likes, [185], [309], [379]
He who torments others does not sleep well, [53]
He who touches pitch defiles himself, [86], [379]
He who travels with hope, has poverty for his coachman, [183]
He who treads on eggs, must tread lightly, [181]
He who trifles with his enemy dies by his hand, [219]
He who trusts a woman and leads an ass will never be free from plague, [49]
He who turns aside avoids danger, [52]
He who waits for a dead man’s shoes is in danger of going barefoot, [48], [352]
He who waits for another man’s trencher often dines in imagination (or with Duke Humphrey), [52]
He who waits for another’s platter has a cold meal (Catalan), [254]
He who wants a good deal must not ask for a little, [87]
He who wants a mule without fault must walk on foot, [252]
He who wants his dog killed has only to say he’s mad, [87], [246]
He who wants to be rich in a year comes to the gallows in half a year, [54], [87], [248]
He who wants to catch fish must not mind a wetting, [251]
He who wants to travel far takes care of his beast, [54]
He who was born to be hanged will not be drowned, unless the water go over the gallows, [373]
He who was born to pennies, will never be master of dollars, [376]
He who whispers, lies, [375]
He who will have eggs must bear with the cackling, [181]
He who will not obey father, will have to obey stepfather, [355]
He who will not serve one master must needs serve many, [84]
He who will not take cheap advice, will have to buy dear repentance, [377]
He who wipes the child’s nose, means to kiss the mother’s cheek, [180]
He who won’t be advised, can’t be helped, [177]
He who works on the highway will have many advisers, [248] (See He that builds)
He who would be everywhere will be nowhere, [353]
He who would be long an old man must begin betimes, [87]
He who would buy a sausage of a dog must give him bacon in exchange, [378]
He who would catch a rogue must watch behind the door, [343]
He who would catch fish must not mind wetting himself, [292]
He who would cheat a peasant, must take one with him, [181], [308]
He who would cheat the fox must rise early, [249]
He who would climb the ladder must begin at the bottom, [180]
He who would close another man’s mouth, should first tie up his own, [377]
He who would drive another over three dikes must climb over two himself, [356]
He who would eat the kernel, must crack the shell (or nut), [377], [378]
He who would enjoy the feast should fast on the eve, [87]
He who would enjoy the fire must bear the smoke, [378]
He who would gather honey must brave the sting of bees, [308]
He who would gather roses, must not fear thorns, [343]
He who would go further than his horse, must alight and go on foot, [186]
He who would hang himself is sure to find a rope, [375]
He who would have clear water should go to the fountain head, [87]
He who would have good cabbage must pay its price, [377]
He who would leap high must take a long run, [379]
He who would live at Rome must not quarrel with the Pope, [54]
He who would make a fool of himself will find many to help him, [377]
He who would make a golden door (or gate) must add a nail to it daily, [54], [308]
He who would not go to hell, must not go to court, [376]
He who would prosper in peace, must suffer in silence, [183]
He who would relish his food must not see it cooked, [87]
He who would rest must work, [88]
He who would rule, must hear and be deaf, see and be blind, [185]
He who would save should begin with the mouth, [378]
He who would seek revenge must be on his own guard, [379]
He who would serve everybody gets thanks from nobody, [376]
He who would steal honey, must not be afraid of bees, [378]
He who would stop every man’s mouth must have a great deal of meal, [98] (See He need have)
He who would succeed at court, must lie sometimes low, sometimes high, [186]
He who would take, must give, [252]
He who would the daughter win, with the mother must begin, [180]
He who would thrive must follow the church, the sea, or the king’s service, [251]
He who would travel through the land, must go with open purse in hand, [311]
He whose house is tiled with glass should not throw stones at his neighbour’s, [220] (See He who lives)
He whose mistress squints, says she ogles, [187]
He will never get into the wood who starts at every bush, [373] (See He that examines)
He will not lose his oats for want of braying, [24]
He would be a good one to send for death, [95]
He would be wise who knew all things beforehand, [327]
He would bite a cent in two, [328]
He would break his neck against a straw, [126]
He would drown in a spoonful of water, [125]
He would not give the devil a knife to cut his throat, [112]
He would rather have a bumper in hand than a Bible, [326]
He would sell even his share of the sun, [96]
He would slaughter a bug to drink its blood, [96]
He wriggles like an eel, [327]
Health and cheerfulness make beauty; finery and cosmetics cost money and lie, [255]
Health without money is a half-malady, [125]
Hear first, and speak afterwards, [222]
Hear one man before you answer; hear several before you decide, [375]
Hear, see, and say nothing if you would live in peace, [44], [116], [290]
Hear the other side, and believe little, [116]
Hearsay is half lies, [153], [329]
Heavy purses and light hearts can sustain much, [345]
Hedgehogs are not to be killed with the fist, [287]
Hedges have no eyes, but they have ears, [109]
Hell is paved with (or full of) good intentions, [91], [218], [274]
Help is good everywhere, except in the porridge-bowl, [374]
Help yourself and God will help you, [321], [374]
Hens like to lay where they see an egg, [305]
Herod and Pilate are good friends, [152]
Herring in the land, the doctor at a stand, [321]
Hide not the truth from your confessor, your doctor, or your lawyer, [69]
Hide not your light under a bushel, [160]
High birth is a poor dish on the table, [106]
High houses are mostly empty in the upper story, [152]
High trees give more shadow than fruit, [328]
Him who errs, forgive once, but never twice, [197]
Hired horses make short miles, [319]
His bread fell into the honey, [208]
His hens lay eggs with two yolks, [168]
His horse’s head is too big, it cannot get out of the stable, [57]
His money takes the place of wisdom, [345]
Hobby horses are dearer than Arabians, [170]
Hold your dog in readiness before you start the hare, [305]
Home, dear home, small as thou art, to me thou art a palace, [77]
Honest Nobody is to blame for all, [139]
Honest poverty is thinly sown, [20]
Honesty lasts longest (Honesty is the best policy), [142]
Honey is not for asses (or the ass’s mouth), [32], [237], [285]
Honey is sweet, but the bee stings, [32], [305]
Honeyed speech often conceals poison and gall, [400]
Honour a good man that he may honour you, and a bad man that he may not dishonour you, [279]
Honour and profit will not keep in one sack, [279]
Honour blossoms on the grave, [20]
Honour once lost never returns, [341]
Honour the old, teach the young, [354]
Honour the tree that gives you shelter, [389]
Honours change manners, [35], [99], [304]
Hope and expectation are a fool’s income, [372]
Hope is an egg of which one man gets the yolk, another the white, and a third the shell, [372]
Hope is the dream of the waking, [372]
Horse, don’t die yet, grass is coming, [40]
Horses run after benefices, and asses get them, [34]
Hour by hour time departs, [68]
How can the cat help it if the maid be a fool?, [77]
How did you rear so many children? By being fondest of the little ones, [272]
How easily a hair gets into the butter!, [187]
How many daily read the Word, and yet from vice are not deterred (How many daily read the Bible, and yet pursue their course of evil), [188]
How shall the enemy of the bride speak well of the wedding?, [219]
How we apples swim! said the horse-t—d, [344]
However bright the sun may shine, leave not your cloak at home, [242]
However foul it be, never say, Of this water I will not drink, [242]
However high a bird may soar, it seeks its food on earth, [369]
Hunger and cold surrender a man to his enemy, [224], [278]
Hunger changes beans into almonds, [106]
Hunger drives the wolf out of the wood, [28], [106], [138], [329]
Hunger eats through stone walls, [329]
Hunger is the best cook, [153]
Hunger is the best sauce, [1], [106], [329], [380]
Hunger looks in at the industrious man’s door but dares not enter, [28]
Hungry flies bite sore, [153], [332]
Husband, don’t see; wife, be blind, [231]
Husband, you are a cuckold: wife, who told you so?, [209]
Hush, brideswoman, I knew all that before, [198]
Hussars pray for war, and the doctor for fever, [153]
I.
I a lazy lout, you a lazy lout, marry me, Antonia, [262]
“I am a judge of cresses,” said the peasant, as he was eating hemlock, [382]
I am like you and you like me, the devil united us, [262]
I am neither at the ford nor the bridge, [230]
I am not here to catch flies, [329]
I am on good terms with the friend who eats his bread with me, [269]
I being satisfied, the world is satisfied, [89]
I broke my leg, perhaps for my good, [245]
I can see as far into a mill-stone as another man, [153]
I do not tell thee what thou art, thou wilt tell it thyself, [235]
I don’t count them to you, wife, but a hog makes twelve puddings, [233]
I don’t want it, I don’t want it, but put it into my hood, [236]
I hate fetters though they be of gold, [267]
I have a good jacket in France, [206]
I have a mouth which I feed, it must speak what I please, [329]
“I have had” is a poor man, [151]
“I have” is a better bird than “If I had,” [151]
I have nothing for dinner, sit down to table, [286]
I kiss thee, hide, because thou art to be a wine-bag, [268]
I know by my own pot how the others boil, [28]
I know well what I say when I ask for bread, [205]
I know what I know, but will say nothing about it, [262]
I left what I knew for what I heard praised, and repented, [241]
“I’ll go myself,” and “I’ll see to it,” are two good servants on a farm, [369]
I’ll marry, and eat the prime of the pot, and sit down first, [208]
I’ll sleep on it, [329]
I may go over my reckoning, but not over my time, [329]
I meant to cross (or bless) myself and put out one of my eyes, [239], [278]
I mistress and you miss, who is to sweep the house?, [262]
I neither give nor take, like a Jew on the Sabbath, [230]
I never saw a silent rich man, [28]
I never was satisfied with “I will, I will.” One “take this” is better than two “I will give you,” [211]
I renounce the friend who eats what is mine with me, and what is his own by himself, [267]
I renounce the golden basin in which I have to spit blood, [267]
I saw a man, who saw another man, who saw the sea, [295]
I saw you at Lucca, I knew you at Pisa, [70]
I say it to you, daughter; hear it, daughter-in-law, [91], [203]
I see by my daughter’s face when the devil lays hold of my son-in-law, [287]
I see by my mother-in-law’s eyes when the devil takes hold of her (Galician), [237]
I stubborn and you stubborn, who is to carry the load?, [262]
I thought I had no husband, and I eat up the stew, [240]
I thought to cross (or bless) myself, and put out my eye, [239], [278]
I too can lead the geese to water when it rains, [72]
I want more for my teeth than for my relations, [281]
I want no drones in my beehive (So Shakspeare, “Drones hive not with me.”—Shylock), [153]
I will do what I can, and a little less, to be able to continue at it, [98]
“I will not bite any dog,” says the shepherd’s dog, “for I must save my teeth for the wolf,” [153]
I will win the horse or lose the saddle, [153]
I would rather have a dog my friend than enemy, [153]
I would rather see smoke from my own chimney than the fire on another’s hearth, [374]
Idleness is hunger’s mother, and of theft it is full brother, [331]
Idleness is the devil’s bolster, [384]
Idleness is the root of all evil, [162]
If a beard were all, the goat would be the winner, [402]
If a man has folly in his sleeve, it will be sure to peep out, [376]
If a man would know what he is, let him anger his neighbours, [186]
If a man would learn to pray let him go often to sea, [54]
If a poor man gives to you, he expects more in return, [294]
If envy were a fever, all the world would be ill, [402]
If every one were wise, a fool would be the prize, [174]
If folly were a pain, there would be groaning in every house, [257]
If fools ate no bread, corn would be cheap, [178], [345]
If God bids thee draw, he will find thee a rope; if he bids thee ride, he will find thee a horse, [349]
If God gives not bushelfuls, he gives spoonfuls, [371]
If he waits long enough, the world will be his own, [299]
If I am a fool, put your finger in my mouth, [258]
If I am seen, I am joking; if I am not seen, I steal, [169]
If I am to be drowned, it shall be in clean water, [169]
If I have lost the ring I still have the fingers, [125], [258]
“If I rest, I rust,” says the key, [166]
If I sleep, I sleep for myself; if I work, I know not for whom, [126]
If I went to sea I should find it dry, [125]
If it is to be luck, the bull may as well calve as the cow, [391]
If it only depends on swearing, the cow is ours, [56]
If it rained maccaroni, what a fine time for gluttons!, [126]
If lies are to find belief, they must be patched with truth, [397]
If lies were Latin, there would be many learned men, [403]
If one, two, three say you are an ass, put on a tail, [258]
If one won’t another will, [330]
If pride were an art, how many doctors we should have, [125]
If some men know who some men were, then some would pay the more honour there, [178]
If the beard were all, the goat might preach, [357]
If the bitch were not in such haste, she would not litter blind puppies, [142]
If the child cries, let the mother hush it, and if it will not be hushed, let it cry, [257]
If the eyes don’t see, the heart won’t break, [238]
If the hen did not cackle, no one would know what she had been about, [357]
If the hen had not cackled we should not know she had laid an egg, [126]
If the landlady is fair, the wind is fair, [154]
If the mountain will not go to Mahomet, Mahomet must go to the mountain, [257]
If the pitcher knocks against a stone, woe to the pitcher; and if the stone knocks against the pitcher, woe to the pitcher, [257]
If the prince wants an apple, his servants take the tree, [177]
If the rings are lost, here are the fingers still, [125], [258]
If the servant grows rich and the master poor, they are both good for nothing, [177]
If the sky falls, hold up your hands, [256]
If the sky falls there will be pots broken, [256]
If the sky were to fall we should catch plenty of larks, [56]
If the sun shines on me I care not for the moon, [125]
If the weather is fine, put on your cloak; if it rains, do as you please, [56]
If the wife sins, the husband is not innocent, [125]
If the wolf had stayed in the wood there would have been no hue and cry after him, [136]
If the wolf would cease his running, the people would cease their shouting, [159]
If the young man knew, if the old man could, there is nothing but would be done, [125]
If there be a hell, Rome is built over it, [178]
If there were no receiver there would be no thief, [236]
If this ball does not stick to the wall, it will at least leave a mark, [257]
If thou touchest pitch thou shalt be defiled, [321] (See He who touches)
If thoughts were legal witnesses, many an honest man would be proved a rogue, [402]
If we pay for the music we will join in the dance, [56], [136]
If wishes were true, shepherds would be kings (If wishes would bide, beggars would ride), [57]
If wood-hewing were an order, there would be fewer monks, [174]
If you are a mouse don’t follow frogs, [126]
If you are an anvil, be patient; if you are a hammer, strike hard, [136]
If you cannot get the bird, get one of its feathers, [367]
If you cannot heal the wound, do not tear it open, [363]
If you cannot say it, point to it with your finger, [57]
If you can’t bite, don’t show your teeth, [126]
If you can’t get it in bushels, take it in spoonfuls, [152]
If you eat it up at supper, you cannot have it at breakfast, [257]
If you have a friend who is a doctor, make your bow and send him to the house of your enemy, [258]
If you have a friend who is a physician, send him to the house of your enemy, [294]
If you have a loitering servant, set his dinner before him and send him on an errand, [197]
If you have a sore eye wipe it with your elbow (Elbow-grease is a great preventive of disease), [32]
If you have learnt to wait, you may be Queen of Sweden, [374]
If you have no arrows in your quiver, go not with archers, [152]
“If you have no money, turn placeman!” as the court fool said to his prince, [152]
If you let them put the calf on your shoulders, it will not be long before they clap on the cow, [126]
If you listen at a hole, you will hear ill of yourself as well as others, [222]
If you love me, John, your acts will tell me so, [256]
If you pay what you owe, what you’re worth you’ll know, [238]
If you pull one pig by the tail all the rest squeak, [339]
If you want clear water, draw it from the spring, [294]
If you want fire, look for it in the ashes, [181]
If you want to be dead, wash your head and go to bed, [257]
If you want to be revenged, hold your tongue, [256]
If you want to beat a dog, say he eat your iron, [239]
If you want to know secrets, seek for them in trouble or in pleasure, [257]
If you want to know what a ducat (or dollar) is worth, try to borrow one, [257], [294]
If you want to thrash your wife, ask her for a drink of water in the sun, [257] (i.e. to find fault with its impurity)
If you will stir up the mire, you must bear the smell, [379]
If you wish to be well served, serve yourself, [257], [294]
If you would be a good judge, hear what every one says, [294]
If you would be healthy, be wise betimes, [294]
If you would catch a fox you must hunt with geese, [392]
If you would earn (or deserve) fame, let not the sun shine on you (or find you) in bed, [257]
If you would grow poor without perceiving it, employ workmen and go to sleep, [294]
If you would have the dog follow you, give him bread, [253], [299]
If you would have the lamp burn, you must pour oil into it, [169]
If you would have your work ill done, pay beforehand, [87]
If you would make a thief honest, trust him, [253]
If you’ve money, take a seat; if you’ve none, take to your feet, [152]
If your head is made of butter, don’t be a baker, [57] (See He who has a head)
If youth knew! if age could!, [56] (See If the young man, &c.)
Ill befal the belly that forgets eaten bread, [282]
Ill begun, ill done, [331]
Ill fares the young bird in the urchin’s hand, [282]
Ill got, ill spent, [171]
Ill-gotten goods never prosper, [172]
Ill in kine and worse in beeves, [109]
Ill luck comes by pounds and goes away by ounces, [102]
Ill luck enters by fathoms and departs by inches, [218]
Ill luck is good for something, [5]
Ill luck upon ill luck, and a stone for a pillow, [230]
Ill-matched horses draw badly, [336]
Ill news comes apace (or travels fast), [77], [115]
Ill tidings come soon enough, [331]
Ill weeds are not hurt by frost, [262], [277]
Ill weeds grow apace, [38], [106], [331], [336]
Ill weeds grow the fastest and last the longest, [394]
In a calm sea every man is a pilot, [177]
In a golden sheath a leaden knife, [104]
In a smith’s house the knife is wooden, [221]
In a wood don’t walk behind another, [242]
In at one ear and out at the other, [91], [120], [277]
In borrowing an angel, in repaying a devil, [6]
In default of bread, meal cakes are good, [265]
In eating ’tis good to begin, one morsel helps the other in, [318]
In frosty weather a nail is worth a horse, [222]
In hawks, hounds, arms, and love, for one pleasure a thousand pains, [16]
In hunting and in love you begin when you like, and leave off when you can, [221]
In less than a thousand years we shall all be bald, [200]
In marriage cheat who can, [17]
In men every mortal sin is venial, in women every venial sin is mortal, [68]
In my own house I am a king, [232]
In old houses many mice, in old furs many lice, [154]
In prosperity caution, in adversity patience, [329]
In prosperity no altars smoke, [111]
In prosperity think of adversity, [330]
In small woods may be caught large hares, [329]
In still water are the largest fish, [381]
In still water the worms are worst, [381]
In the division of inheritance friendship standeth still, [329]
In the end it will be known who ate the bacon, [2]
In the evening one may praise the day, [134]
In the fiddler’s (or bagpiper’s) house every one is a dancer, [17], [221]
In the fray the weak are strong, [111]
In the garden more grows than the gardener sows, [233]
In the land of promise a man may die of hunger, [329]
In the land of the blind blessed is he that hath one eye, [104]
In the land of the blind the one-eyed is a king, [329]
In the long run the greyhound kills the hare, [195], [288]
In the looking-glass we see the form, in wine the heart, [153]
In the report of riches and goodness always bate one half, [211]
In the rich woman’s house she always commands; he never, [221]
In the tail lies the venom, [3]
In the war of love who flies conquers, [111]
In time a mouse will gnaw through a cable, [334]
In time of war the devil makes more room in hell, [150]
In too much disputing truth is lost, [44]
In war, hunting, and love, for one pleasure a hundred pains, [279]
In war it is best to tie your horse to a strange manger, [380]
In war time there is pay for every horse, [104]
Incense intoxicates, and every one wishes for it, [33]
Industry is the parent of fortune, [148]
Ingratitude is the world’s reward, [171]
Ingratitude sickens benevolence, [171]
Injurious is the gift that takes away freedom, [90]
Intemperance is the doctor’s wet-nurse, [172]
Invite your son-in-law to a fowl, and he will take away the lemon, [209]
Iron may be rubbed so long that it gets heated, [42]
Iron not used soon rusts, [278]
It befits the king to be liberal, for he is sure of never falling into poverty, [266]
It dawns none the sooner for all one’s early rising, [286]
It does not become the sparrow to mix in the dance of the cranes, [363]
It does not depend upon the dog when the horse shall die, [363]
It fares ill with the house when the distaff commands the sword, [209], [282]
It flows like a fountain from a broomstick, [325]
It goes ill in the house where the hen sings and the cock is silent, [260]
It grieveth one dog that the other goeth into the kitchen, [323]
It hangs upon a silken thread, [322]
It has been blowing hard—the dirt has been blown into high places, [362]
It is a bad game where nobody wins, [98]
It is a bad hand that refuses to guard the head, [359]
It is a bad hen that eats at your house and lays at another’s, [235]
It is a bad hen that lays her eggs away from the farm, [359]
It is a bad hen that lays in neighbours’ houses, [171]
It is a bad horse that does not earn his fodder, [143]
It is a bad sheep that is too lazy to carry its own fleece, [361]
It is a bad thing to be a knave, but worse to be known for one, [96]
It is a bad well into which one must put water, [136], [323], [359]
It is a bold mouse that makes her nest in the cat’s ear, [359]
It is a good file that cuts iron without making a noise, [75]
It is a good horse that never stumbles, [25]
It is a great art to laugh at your own misfortunes, [361]
It is a grief to one beggar that another stands at the door, [323]
It is a hard morsel that chokes, [323]
It is a lazy bird that will not build its own nest, [359]
It is a long lane that has no turning, [323]
It is a loss of soap to wash the ass’s head, [228]
It is a poor fox that has but one hole, [145]
It is a poor horse that is not worth its oats, [359]
It is a poor mouse that has but one hole, [323], [347]
It is a poor roast that gives no dripping, [359]
It is a sorry house in which the cock is silent and the hen crows, [60], [128] (See It fares ill and It goes ill)
It is a wise child that knows its own father, [146], [217], [359]
It is all one whether you are bit by a dog or a bitch, [7]
It is all one whether you die of sickness or love, [128]
It is always good to have two strings to your bow, [97]
It is always well to keep hold of your horse’s bridle, [21]
It is an ill bird that fouls its own nest, [146], [201], [267]
It is an ill turn that does no good to any one, [359]
It is approved alchemy to have an income and spend nothing, [198], [265]
It is as bad to spit out the fire and be shamed, as it is to swallow it and be burnt, [362]
It is as well to be naked as to have no covering, [361]
It is bad baking without flour and water, [165]
It is bad for puppies to play with bear-cubs, [380]
It is bad iron in which there is no steel, [361]
It is bad marketing with empty pockets, [334]
It is bad preaching to deaf ears, [170]
It is bad to be between two fires, [361]
It is bad to have a servant, but worse to have a master, [282]
It is bad to lean against a falling wall, [394]
It is best to play with equals, [384]
It is better the child should cry than the father, [146]
It is better to be the first of one’s race than the last (meanest), [27]
It is better to be the hammer than the anvil, [27]
It is better to bend than break, [27]
It is better to blow than burn your mouth, [322]
It is better to buy dearly than to hunger direly, [350]
It is better to deal with a whole fool than half a fool, [146]
It is better to have a husband without love than jealous, [110]
It is better to have to do with God than with his saints, [26]
It is better to hear the nightingale sing than the mouse gnaw, [97]
It is better to irritate a dog than an old woman, [97]
It is better to leap over the ditch than trust to the pleadings of good men, [232]
It is better to leave than to lack, [96]
It is better to leave the child’s nose dirty than wring it off, [22]
It is better to lose than lose more (The first loss is the best), [232]
It is better to make conditions in the bush than in prison, [349]
It is better to scrape the cheese than to peel it, [363]
It is better to strive with a stubborn ass than to carry the wood on one’s back, [231]
It is better to turn back than go astray, [171]
It is bitter fare to eat one’s own words, [360]
It is courage that vanquishes in war, and not good weapons, [199]
It is cowardly to fly from a living enemy, or to abuse a dead one, [384]
It is dangerous to eat cherries with the great, they throw the stones at your head, [359]
It is dear-bought butter that is licked off a woolcomb, [358]
It is dear honey that must be licked off thorns, [170]
It is difficult to get many heads under one hat, [361]
It is difficult to hide what everybody knows, [361]
It is difficult to spit honey out of a mouth full of gall, [361]
It is difficult to tie an unborn horse to the manger, [372]
It is difficult to trap an old fox, [394]
It is easier to blame than do better, [170]
It is easier to build two hearths than always to keep a fire on one, [146]
It is easier to fill a rogue’s belly than his eyes, [386]
It is easier to get away from the bank than the bottom, [21]
It is easier to guard against a bushel of fleas than a woman, [146]
It is easier to make a lady of a peasant-girl than a peasant-girl of a lady, [332]
It is easier to stem the brook than the river, [349]
It is easy robbing when the dog is quieted, [121]
It is easy to be generous out of another man’s purse, [323], [360]
It is easy to bid the devil be your guest, but difficult to get rid of him, [361]
It is easy to cut thongs from other men’s leather, [324] (See Good thongs)
It is easy to find a stick to beat a dog, [98], [332]
It is easy to find the rod when another finds the bottom, [361]
It is easy to give advice when all goes well, [122]
It is easy to help him who is willing to be helped, [185]
It is easy to manage when fortune favours, [360]
It is easy to poke another man’s fire, [360]
It is easy to preach fasting with a full belly, [95]
It is easy to sit at the helm in fine weather, [371]
It is easy to stride a tree when it is down, [361]
It is easy to swim, when another holds up your head, [360]
It is easy to threaten a bull from a window, [95]
“It is easy to work with a good comb,” said the devil, when he combed his mother’s hair with a pitchfork, [360]
It is fair and just to cheat the cheater, [225]
It is folly to drown on dry land, [358]
It is folly to fear what one cannot avoid, [351]
It is folly to gape against an oven, [11], [361]
It is folly to sing twice to a deaf man, [358]
It is folly to take a thorn out of another’s foot and put it into your own, [358]
It is good fishing in troubled waters, [43], [202], [329]
It is good living under the shadow of the belfry, [126]
It is good rowing with set sail, [336]
It is good sailing with wind and tide, [341]
It is good speaking that improves good silence, [323]
It is good spinning from another’s yarn, [324]
It is good to be a priest at Easter, child in Lent, peasant at Christmas, and foal in harvest-time, [360]
It is good to beat a proud man when he is alone, [21]
It is good to buy when another wants to sell, [95]
It is good to go afoot when one is tired of riding, [324]
It is good to have friends everywhere, [21], [95]
It is good to hold the clothes of one who is swimming, [95]
It is good to lend to God and to the soil—they pay good interest, [360]
It is good to sleep in a whole skin, [134], [323], [360]
It is good to warm oneself by another’s fire, [324]
It is hard to blow with a full mouth, [334]
It is hard to catch birds with an empty hand, [162]
It is hard to catch hares with unwilling hounds, [334]
It is hard to find a pin in the dark, [324]
It is hard to glean after a niggardly husbandman, [394]
It is hard to labour with an empty belly, [362]
It is hard to lure hawks with empty hands, [361]
It is hard to make a fire on a cold hearth, [361]
It is hard to pay for bread that has been eaten, [395]
It is hard to please every one, [317]
It is hard to sail without wind, and to grind without water, [394]
It is hard to steal where the host himself is a thief, [146], [324] (See It is not easy)
It is hard to swim against the stream, [338]
It is hard to teach an old dog tricks, [361]
It is hard to teach old dogs to bark, [137], [336]
It is hard to track the path the ship follows in the ocean, [356]
It is harder work getting to hell than to heaven, [154]
It is ill catching hares with drums, [324]
It is ill sailing against wind and tide, [338]
It is in putting it into the oven that the loaf is made crooked, [196]
It is in vain for a man to rise early who has the repute of lying in bed all the morning, [20]
It is in vain to cast nets in a river where there are no fish, [221]
It is in vain to lay a net in sight of the birds, [104]
It is in vain to lead the ox to the water if he is not thirsty, [41]
It is just that the priest should live by the altar, [21]
It is loving too much to die of love, [12]
It is more necessary to guard the mouth than the chest, [146]
It is no child’s play when an old woman dances, [146], [358]
It is no honour for an eagle to vanquish a dove, [112]
It is no time to play chess when the house is on fire, [112]
It is no use hiding from a friend what is known to an enemy, [362]
It is not all gold that glitters, [358]
It is not all who turn their backs that flee, [352]
It is not always good to be wise, [176]
It is not easy to guard the hen that lays her eggs abroad, [361]
It is not easy to know your butter in another man’s cabbage, [360]
It is not easy to pluck hairs from a bald pate, [361]
It is not easy to show the way to a blind man, [68]
It is not easy to steal in thieves’ houses, [96] (See It is hard to steal)
It is not easy to sting a bear with a straw, [360]
It is not easy to walk upon the devil’s ice, [360]
It is not enough to aim, you must hit, [91]
It is not enough to have cabbage, one must have something to grease it, [10]
It is not enough to know how to steal, one must know also how to conceal, [111]
It is not enough to run; one must start in time, [11]
It is not every flower that smells sweet, [113]
It is not every hog that the crow will ride, [359]
It is not every man that can carry a falcon on his hand, [360]
It is not every one who takes the right sow by the ear, [360]
“It is not for my own sake,” said the fox, “that I say there is a good goose-green in the wood,” [382]
It is not for nothing that the devil lays himself down in the ditch, [360]
It is not for the good of the cow when she is driven in a carriage, [358]
It is not for the swan to teach eaglets to sing, [358]
It is not good to be the poet of a village, [146]
It is not in the pilot’s power to prevent the wind from blowing, [235]
It is not necessary to fish up every bucket that falls into the well, [112]
It is not the big oxen that do the best day’s work, [34]
It is not the cowl that makes the friar, [305]
It is not the fine, but the coarse and ill-spun that breaks, [237]
It is not the greatest beauties that inspire the most profound passion, [10]
It is not the hen which cackles most that lays most eggs, [322]
It is not the load but the overload that kills, [236]
It is not the long day, but the heart that does the work, [102]
It is not the surplice that makes parson or clerk, [382]
It is not till the cow has lost her tail that she discovers its value, [178]
It is nothing at all, only a woman drowning, [10]
It is nothing, they are only thrashing (or killing) my husband, [235], [285]
It is of no use making shoes for geese, [358]
It is only at the tree loaded with fruit that people throw stones, [42]
It is only good bargains that ruin, [26]
It is only the bashful that lose, [26]
It is only the blind who ask why they are loved who are fair, [363]
It is only the first bottle that is dear, [25]
It is pleasant driving where there is no danger of upsetting, [363]
It is pleasant enough going afoot when you lead your horse by the bridle, [21]
It is pleasant to cut thongs of another man’s leather, [340] (See Good thongs)
It’s pleasant to look on the rain, when one stands dry, [323]
It is poor comfort for one who has broken his leg, that another has broken his neck, [362]
It is prophet-drink (i.e. water), [324]
It is safe to lend barley to him who has oats, [353]
It is safest sailing within reach of the shore, [301]
It is the bait that lures, not the fisherman or the rod, [206], [230]
It is the master-wheel that makes the mill go round, [11]
It is the nature of the greyhound to carry a long tail, [274]
It is the old cow’s notion that she never was a calf, [21]
It is the petty expenses that empty the purse, [108]
It is the raised stick that makes the dog obey, [375]
It is the tone that makes the music, [11]
It is time enough to take off your hat when you see the man, [362]
It is too late for the bird to scream when it is caught, [60]
It is too late to come with water when the house is burnt down, [128]
It is too late to cover the well when the child is drowned, [359]
It is too late to cry “Hold hard!” when the arrow has left the bow, [324]
It is too late to lock the stable door when the steed is stolen, [21], [324]
It is too late to throw water on the cinders when the house is burnt down, [359]
It is too much to expect of a cat that she should sit by the milk and not lap it, [146]
It is truth that makes a man angry, [91]
It is useless to gape against an oven, [11], [361]
It is vain to fish if the hook is not baited, [104]
It is vain to fish without a hook, or learn to read without a book, [368]
It is very savoury to eat scot free, [223]
It is well to fly low on account of the branches, [8]
It is well to have clean bread in one’s wallet, [371]
It is well to know how to be silent till it is time to speak, [270]
It is well to leave off playing when the game is at its best, [22]
It little avails the unfortunate to be brave, [196]
It must be a hard winter when one wolf devours another, [363]
It needs a cunning hand to shave a fool’s head, [325]
It needs a high wall to keep out fear, [357]
It needs a light spirit to bear a heavy fate, [357]
It needs but slight provocation to make the wolf devour the lamb, [359]
It never thunders but it rains, [115]
It sticks to his fingers, like the charity-money to the matron, [321]
It takes a good many mice to kill a cat, [357]
It takes four living men to carry one dead man out of a house, [66]
It takes many words to fill a sack, [356]
It will all come out in the soap-suds, [259]
“It will come back,” said the man, when he gave his sow pork, [362]
It will not do to keep holidays before they come, [23]
It won’t do to trifle with fire, [23]
It would be a very big book that contained all the maybes uttered in a day, [42]
Italian devotion and German fasting have no meaning, [403]
It’s a bad mouthful that chokes, [98]
It’s a very proud horse that will not carry his oats, [127]
It’s bad combing where there is no hair, [324]
It’s good dancing on another man’s floor, [324]
It’s good feasting in another’s hall, [324]
It’s good steering with wind and tide, [312]
It’s hard to catch hawks with empty hands (With emptie hands men may no haukes lure—Chaucer), [334]
It’s ill jesting with edged tools, [324]
J.
Jack gets on by his stupidity, [151]
Jack is as good as his master, [295]
Jacob’s voice, Esau’s hands, [154]
Jealousy is a pain which eagerly seeks what causes pain, [142]
Jest not in earnest (Motto of the Margrave of Brandenburg), [167]
Jest so that it may not turn to earnest, [195]
Jest with your equals, [389]
Jesting costs money, [225]
John has been to school to learn to be a fool, [28]
Joy and sorrow are next-door neighbours (Joy and sorrow are to-day and to-morrow), [148]
Joy is like the ague; one good day between two bad ones, [371]
Judges should have two ears, both alike, [166]
Justice, but not in my own house, [225]
Justice has a waxen nose, [137]
Justice oft leans to the side where the purse pulls, [400]
K.
Keep good company and you shall be of the number, [264]
Keep not two tongues in one mouth, [389]
Keep to the little ones, and the big ones will not bite you, [374]
Keep well with your neighbours, whether right or wrong, [151]
Keep your mouth, and keep your friend, [370]
Keep your nose out of another’s mess, [375]
Keep yourself from opportunities and God will keep you from sins, [100]
Kill and thou wilt be killed, and he will be killed who kills thee, [232]
Kill no more than you can salt, or you will have tainted meat, [398]
Kin or no kin, woe to him who has nothing, [118]
Kind words and few are a woman’s ornament, [403]
Kind words don’t wear out the tongue, [401]
Kind words heal friendship’s wounds, [371]
Kindness breaks no bones, [151]
Kindred without friends, friends without power, power without will, will without effect, effect without profit, profit without virtue, are not worth a rush, [44]
Kings’ entreaties are commands, [299]
Kings have long hands, [36]
Kisses are the messengers of love, [383]
Know, cabbages, that there is spinach in the stew, [255]
Knowing hens lay even in nettles, [157]
L.
Labour has a bitter root, but a sweet taste, [347]
Labour warms, sloth harms, [299]
“Ladies have ladies’ whims,” said crazy Ann, when she draggled her cloak in the gutter, [369]
Lambs don’t run into the mouth of the sleeping wolf, [384]
Large thongs of another man’s leather (See Good thongs), [211]
Large trees give more shade than fruit, [99], [120]
Lasses and glasses are always in danger, [99]
Late fruit keeps well, [169]
Late repentance is seldom worth much, [397]
Laughter makes good blood, [103]
Law helps the waking, luck may come to the sleeping, [385]
Laws go the way kings direct, [196]
Laws go where dollars please, [280]
Laws have wax noses, [35]
Laws were made for rogues, [108]
Lawyers and painters can soon change white to black, [385]
Lawyers are bad Christians, [156]
Lawyers’ houses are built of fools’ heads, [35]
Lawyers’ robes are lined with the obstinacy of suitors, [109]
Lay your hand on your bosom and you will not speak ill of another, [283]
Lean meat from a fat pig, [272]
Learn thou of learned men, th’ unlearned of thee; for thus must knowledge propagated be, [332]
Learned fools are the greatest of all fools, [140], [149]
Leave no nail unclenched, [113]
Leave the jest at its best, [195]
Leave the minster where it is, [29]
Lend to your friend, and ask payment of your enemy, [383]
Lent, which seems so long, is short at other men’s tables, [107]
Less advice and more hands, [177]
Let a child have its will and it will not cry, [383]
Let a dog get at a dish of honey, and he will jump in with both legs, [384]
Let a saint be ever so humble, he will have his wax taper, [381]
Let every bird sing its own note, [366]
Let every fox take care of his own tail, [117]
Let every man carry his own sack to the mill, [170], [366] (See Every man must carry)
Let every man look to the bread upon which he must depend, [271]
Let every man mind his own business, and leave others to theirs, [271]
Let every man mind his own business, and the cows will be well tended, [12]
Let every one be content with what God has given him, [271]
Let every one keep off the flies with his own tail, [117]
Let every one look to himself, and no one will be lost, [317]
Let every one sweep before his own door, [155]
Let every sheep hang by its own leg (Every man should support himself, and not hang upon another), [207], [270]
Let God’s waters run over God’s acres, [319]
Let him eat the tough morsel who eat the tender, [272]
Let him not be a lover who has no courage, [70]
Let him not complain of being cheated who buys cloth by the pattern, [237]
Let him play the instrument who knows how, [249]
Let him stay at the oar who has learnt to row, [383]
Let him that has a mouth not say to another, Blow, [233]
Let him that itches scratch himself, [53], [177]
Let him who does not know you buy you, [251]
Let him who feels he has a dirty nose wipe it, [53]
Let him who is cold blow the fire, [48]
Let him who is well off hold his tongue, [177]
Let him who is well off stay where he is, [86]
Let him who would reach another a brand, beware that he do not burn his own hand, [378]
Let it be a husband, though it be but a log, [256]
Let lie what is too heavy to lift, [303]
Let me get over the lake, and I have no fear of the brook, [330]
Let me go warm, and folks may laugh, [199], [266]
Let no one say, “Of this water I will not drink,” [235]
Let no one take a pawn that eats, [242]
Let no shovel-beaked bird ever enter your yard, [204]
Let not him who has a mouth ask another to blow, [299]
Let not the tongue utter what the head must pay for, [235], [284]
Let not thy right hand know what thy left hand doeth, [158]
Let not your shirt know all your thoughts (or your secret), [48], [117], [129]
Let people talk and dogs bark, [158]
Let the blood be ever so thin, it is always thicker than water, [351]
Let the dead rest, [158]
Let the devil get into the church, and he will mount the altar, [158]
Let the dog bark so he don’t bite me, [226], [280]
Let the giver be silent and the receiver speak, [271]
Let the guest go before the storm bursts, [158]
Let the guts be full, for it is they that carry the legs, [228], [268]
Let the injurer not forget, [84]
Let the miracle be wrought, though it be by the devil, [223]
Let the sun shine on me, for I care not for the moon, [220]
Let them talk of me, and beg of me, [212]
Let them whip me in the market-place, provided it be not known at home, [204]
Let there be food in the pigeon-house, and the pigeons will come to it, [204], [235]
Let there be writing before you pay, and receipt before you write, [222]
Let those pater-nosters be for your own soul (Ironical against swearing), [242]
Let us first catch the bear and then sell its skin, [120]
Let us have florins and we shall find cousins, [65]
Let what is lost go for God’s sake, [229]
Liars should have good memories, [101], [159]
Liberal hands make many friends, [396]
Lies and gossip have a wretched offspring, [385]
Lies and Latin go round the world, [385]
Lies have short legs, [75], [159]
Lies melt like snow, [159]
Life at court is often a short cut to hell, [374]
Life is half spent before one knows what life is, [31]
Light burdens borne far become heavy, [6], [158]
Light gains make a heavy purse, [332]
Light is bad for sore eyes, [3]
Light is light, though the blind man see it not, [158]
Lightly come, lightly go, [332]
Like a collier’s sack, bad without and worse within, [209]
Like blood, like means, and like age, make the happiest marriage, [150]
Like box-makers, more noise than work, [55]
Like father, like son, [292]
Like king, like law; like law, like people, [292]
Like King Petaud’s court, where every one is master, [11]
Like lips, like lettuce, [73], [187]
Like master, like man, [58], [127], [187], [345]
Like plays best with like, [384]
Like pot, like cover, [345]
Like saint, like incense (or offering), [56], [73]
Like to like, Jack to Gill, a penny a pair, [319]
Like well like bucket, [73]
Like will to like, [53], [126]
Like will to like—a scabbed horse and a sandy dike, [397]
“Like will to like,” as the devil said to the coal-burner, [150]
Like will to like, be they poor or rich, [317]
Link by link the coat of mail is made, [37]
Lion-skins were never had cheap, [26]
Lip courtesy avails (or pleases) much and costs little, [118], [209]
Listeners hear no good of themselves, [248]
Little and often makes a heap in time, [177]
Little beard, little modesty, [200], [240]
Little bird, little nest, [194]
Little brooks make great rivers, [35]
Little by little one goes far, [240]
Little by little the bird builds its nest, [45]
Little children and headaches, great children and heartaches, [98]
Little children, little sorrows; big children, great sorrows, [398]
Little chips kindle the fire, and big logs sustain it, [291]
Little enemies and little wounds are not to be despised, [157]
Little fish are sweet (All is fish that comes to the net), [330]
Little folks are fond of talking about what great folks do, [141]
Little is done where many command, [296]
Little pitchers have long ears, [45]
Little pots soon run (or boil) over, [157], [330]
Little presents maintain friendship, [35]
Little saints also perform miracles, [398]
Little sorrows are loud, great ones silent, [398]
Little strokes fell great oaks, [330]
Little thieves are hanged by the neck, great ones by the purse, [105], [330]
Little thieves have iron chains, and great thieves gold ones, [330]
Little wood, much fruit, [343]
Live according to your means, [389]
Live and learn, [132]
Live and let live, [132], [158], [333]
Loaves put awry into the oven come out awry, [3]
Locks and keys are not made for honest fingers, [167]
Long absence changes friends, [37]
Long borrowed is not given, [158]
Long choosing and cheapening ends in buying nothing, or bad wares, [183]
Long fasting is no bread sparing, [158], [331]
Long is not for ever, [158]
Long life to the conqueror, [262]
Long talk makes short days, [37]
Long-talked-of (or looked-for) comes at last, [159]
Long tongue, short hand, [37], [109]
Longer than a day without bread, [120]
Look before you leap, [100], [145]
Look for the hog at the oak, [72]
Look not a gift horse in the mouth, [2], [66], [149], [194], [313], [389]
Look with suspicion on the flight of an enemy, [106]
Lords and fools speak freely, [374]
Lose no rights and commit no extortions, [230]
Love, a cough, smoke, and money, cannot long be hid (or are hard to hide), [4], [4], [71], [159]
Love and faith are seen in works, [216], [287]
Love and lordship like no fellowship, [4], [71], [265]
Love and poverty are hard to conceal, [347]
Love begins at home, [158]
Love Bertrand love his dog, [48]
Love demands faith, and faith firmness, [71]
Love does much, money everything, [4], [158], [199]
Love does wonders, but money makes marriage, [30]
Love expels jealousy, [30]
Love, fire, a cough, the itch, and gout, are hard to conceal, [158]
Love, grief, and money cannot be kept secret, [199]
Love grows with obstacles (A wall between increases love), [158]
Love has no law, [265]
Love is an excuse for its own faults, [91]
Love is blind, but sees afar, [71]
Love is master of all arts, [93]
Love is the true price at which love is bought, [71]
Love knows hidden paths, [158]
Love knows no law, [287]
Love knows not labour, [71]
Love levels all inequalities, [116]
Love makes labour light, [332]
Love makes time pass away, and time makes love pass away, [30]
Love me little and love me long, [2], [70], [365]
Love me, love my dog, [78] (See Love Bertrand)
Love one that does not love you, answer one that does not call you, and you will run a fruitless race, [198]
Love others well, but love thyself the most; give good for good, but not to thine own cost, [300]
Love rules his kingdom without a sword, [71]
Love rules without law, [71]
Love subdues everything except the felon heart, [4]
Love teaches asses to dance, [30]
Love, thieves, and fear, make ghosts, [158]
Love without return is like a question without an answer, [158]
Love your friend with his faults, [70]
Love your neighbour, but don’t pull down the fence, [158]
Lovers’ purses are tied with cobwebs, [105]
Lovers’ quarrels are love redoubled, [267]
Lovers think others are blind (or have no eyes), [119], [240]
Love’s anger is fuel to love, [159]
Love’s merchandise is jealousy and broken faith, [71]
Love’s plant must be watered with tears and tendered with care, [383]
Loving and singing are not to be forced, [159]
Luck comes to those who look after it, [261]
Luck has but a slender anchorage, [385]
Luck has much for many, but enough for no one, [385]
Luck is better than a hundred marks, [350]
Luck (or Fortune) taps at the door and inquires whether prudence is within, [385] (See Fortune)
Luck will carry a man across a brook if he is not too lazy to leap, [385]
Lying and gossiping go hand in hand, [219]
Lying is the first step to the gallows, [159]
Lying pays no tax, [289]
M.
Mad dogs get their coats torn, [369]
Mad love—I for you, and you for another, [199], [265]
Maidens say no, and mean yes (Maids say nay, and take), [159]
Make a silver bridge for a flying enemy, [196], [266]
Make good flour and you need no trumpet (So: Good wine needs no bush), [224], [277]
Make hay while the sun shines, [160], [174]
Make me a prophet, and I will make you rich, [98]
Make the night night, and the day day, and you will live pleasantly, [277]
Make use of the sun while it shines, [388]
Make way for a madman and a bull, [197]
Make your son your heir and not your steward, [277]
Make yourself a sheep and the wolves will eat you, [52], [86], [186]
Make yourself an ass and every one will lay his sack on you, [186]
Make yourself honey and the flies will eat you, [98], [277], [294]
Man is fire, woman is tow, and the devil comes and blows (or with a bellows), [37], [217], [288]
Man loves but once, [139]
Man proposes and God disposes, [37], [139], [217], [226], [230], [279], [306], [390]
Man without woman is head without body; woman without man is body without head, [161]
Manual jokes are clowns’ jokes, [28], [206], [225]
Many a cow stands in the meadow and looks wistfully at the common, [387]
Many a good cow has a bad calf, [161]
Many a man is a good friend but a bad neighbour, [387]
Many a man labours for the day he will never live to see, [387]
Many a one is good because he can do no mischief, [37]
Many a one leaves the roast who afterwards longs for the smoke ofit, [127]
Many a one suffers for what he can’t help, [58]
Many a one threatens while he quakes for fear, [127], [161]
Many a one would like to lay his own shame on another man’s back, [387]
Many a sheep goes out woolly and comes home shorn, [387]
Many a thing whispered into one ear is heard over the whole town, [387]
Many a true word is spoken in jest, [123]
Many are brave when the enemy flies, [110]
Many can help one, [173]
Many cooks spoil the broth, [173]
Many desire the tree who pretend to refuse the fruit, [110]
Many dogs are the death of the hare, [387]
Many friends, and few helpers in need, [173]
Many go out for wool and come home shorn, [161]
Many grains of sand will sink a ship, [387]
Many hands make quick work, [173], [340]
Many have good intentions, but something comes across them, [161]
Many have too much, but none have enough, [386]
Many heads, many minds, [341]
Many heirs make small portions, [173]
Many hounds are the death of the hare, [173], [341]
Many kiss the child for the nurse’s sake, [387] (See He who kisses)
Many kiss the hand they would fain see chopped off, [233], [284]
Many little rivulets make a great river, [386]
Many littles make a mickle, [341]
Many love to praise right and do wrong, [387]
Many open a door to shut a window, [341]
Many return from the war who cannot give an account of the battle, [124]
Many scruple to spit in church, and afterwards defile the altar, [110]
Many see more with one eye than others with two, [161]
Many seek good nights and lose good days, [332]
Many shun the brook and fall into the river, [161]
Many shun the sword and come to the gallows, [161]
Many stop their noses at ambergris, [71]
Many take by the bushel and give with the spoon, [161]
Many trades, begging the best, [173]
Many words don’t fill the sack (Scoticé: Meikle crack fills nae sack), [340]
Many words go to a sackful (Many words will not fill a bushel), [302]
Marriage is heaven and hell, [140]
Marriages are not as they are made, but as they turn out, [104]
Marriages are written in heaven, [35]
Married to-day, marred to-morrow, [6]
Marry and grow tame, [208], [272]
Marry in haste and repent at leisure, [52], [86], [152], [321]
Marry, marry, and what about the housekeeping, [272]
Marry, marry, sounds well but tastes ill, [272]
Marry me without delay, mother, for my face is growing wrinkled, [280]
Marry your son when you please, your daughter when you can, [38], [77], [208], [272], [370]
Marrying in the blood is never good, [152]
Marrying is easy, but housekeeping is hard, [152]
Martha sings well when she has had her fill, [268], [271]
Mary Busybody never wants a bad day, and Mary Drone has God to give and bring to her, [198]
Master’s hints are commands, [101]
Mastiff never liked greyhound (A churl never liked a gentleman), [41]
May God not so prosper our friends that they forget us, [235]
Measure thrice before you cut once, [110], [332]
Meddle not with what you don’t understand, [286]
Meddle with dirt and some of it will stick to you, [386] (See He who touches pitch)
Men after the modern fashion, and asses after the ancient, [100]
Men are as old as they feel, and women as they look, [100]
Men are rare, [35]
Men can bear all things except good days, [297]
Men go not laughing to heaven, [333]
Men make wealth, and women preserve it, [100]
Men must sail while the wind serveth, [333]
Men’s ignorance makes the pot boil for priests, [37]
Merchant to-day, beggar to-morrow, [152]
Merchants’ goods are ebb and flood, [331]
Michael is quits; he lost a ducat and gained a rabbit, [213]
Michael, Michael, you have no bees, and yet you sell honey!, [232], [283]
Might and courage require wit in their suite, [386]
Might is not right, [19], [319]
Milk the cow, but don’t pull off the udder, [333]
Millers and bakers do not steal, people bring to them, [162]
Millers, tailors, and weavers are not hanged, or the trade would soon be extinct, [162]
Mischief comes soon enough, [402]
Misers’ money goes twice to market, [214], [288]
Misfortune comes on horseback and goes away on foot, [32]
Misfortune seldom comes alone to the house, [397]
Misfortune upon misfortune is not wholesome, [37]
Misfortune, wood, and hair, grow throughout the year, [172]
Misfortunes never come single, [62], [108], [315]
Misreckoning is no payment, [161]
Money advances meacocks, [15]
Money and friendship break the arms of justice, [123]
Money borrowed is soon sorrowed, [5]
Money burns many, [5]
Money gets money, [214]
Money in the purse dispels melancholy, [149]
Money is a good servant but a bad master, [31]
Money is an epitome of human power, [101]
Money is lost only for want of money, [31]
Money is money’s brother, [101]
Money is more eloquent than a dozen members of parliament, [395]
Money is not gained by losing time, [291]
Money is power, [319]
Money is round, and rolls, [5],101
Money is the measure of all things, [275]
Money is the sinew of war, [322]
Money lent, an enemy made, [275]
Money makes dogs dance, [46]
Money makes the man, [149]
Money rules the world, [319]
Money saved is money got (or as good as money gained), [354]
Money soothes more than the words of a cavalier (or a gentleman’s words), [231], [281]
Money taken, freedom forsaken, [149]
Money turns bad into good, [217]
Money wins the battle, not the long arm, [275]
Monks, mice, rats, and vermin, seldom sunder without harming, [162]
More are drowned in the bowl than in the sea, [153]
More belongs to dancing than a pair of dancing-shoes, [302]
More belongs to riding than a pair of boots, [191]
More flies are caught with a spoonful of syrup (or drop of honey) than with a cask of vinegar, [333], [386]
More grows in a garden than the gardener sows there, [286]
More is done with words than with hands, [162]
More luck than wit, [332]
More people are slain by suppers than by the sword, [368]
More unlucky than a dog in church, [121]
Moses (i.e. a Jew) does not play because he has not the means, [236]
Mother, I must have a husband, or I shall set fire to the house, [162]
Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, storm and hail, [127]
Mother, marry me, marry me, or the gull will fly away with me, [230]
Mother, what is marrying? Spinning, bearing children, and crying, daughter, [230]
Mother’s love is ever in its spring, [58]
Mother’s truth keeps constant youth, [162]
Mouth and heart are wide apart, [162]
Mouth of honey, heart of gall, [269]
Month shut and eyes open, [75]
Much broth is sometimes made with little meat, [387]
Much caution does no harm, [266]
Much chatter, little wit, [284]
Much kindred, much trouble, [5]
Much laughter, little wit, [289]
Much memory and little judgment, [7]
Much money, many friends (Where money, there friends), [173]
Much never cost little, [237], [287]
Much noise and little wool, said the devil, when he was shearing the sow, [364] (See Great cry and little wool)
Much smoke and little roast, [110]
Much straw and little corn, [284]
Much talk little work, [341]
Much talking, much erring, [199]
Much water passes by the mill that the miller perceives not, [73]
Much water runs by while the miller sleeps, [357]
Much wisdom is lost in poor men’s mouths, [154]
Much wisdom is smothered in a poor man’s head, [329]
Much wit is lost in a poor man’s purse, [147]
Much worship, much cost, [35]
Muddy water won’t do for a mirror, [67]
Mules make a great fuss about their ancestors having been horses, [161]
Must is a hard nut, [162]
My chest locked, my soul safe, [283]
My daughter-in-law tucked up her sleeves and upset the kettle into the fire, [202]
My friend’s enemy is often my best friend, [161]
My gossips don’t like me because I tell them truths, [230], [282]
My life and soul at your service, but not the pack-saddle, [228], [274]
My money your money, let us go to the tavern, [283]
My neighbour’s goat gives more milk than mine, [225], [263]
My neighbour’s hen lays more eggs than mine, [226]
My No is as good as your Yes, [128]
My shirt is nearer than my cloak, [322]
My sister’s son is a kinsman beyond dispute, [239]
My teeth are nearer than my kindred, [231], [242]
N.
National customs are national honours, [384]
Nature and love cannot be hid, [163] (See Love)
Nature draws stronger than seven oxen, [163]
Nature requires little, fancy much, [163]
Near is my petticoat, but nearer is my smock, [120]
Near the church far from God, [132]
Necessity becomes will, [106]
Necessity breaks iron, [164]
Necessity is the mother of invention (or teaches arts), [40], [164], [303]
Necessity knows (or has) no law, [40], [111], [164], [335], [393]
Necessity seeks bread where it is to be found, [164]
Necessity teaches the lame to dance, [164]
Necessity unites hearts, [164]
Need makes the old wife trot, [8], [227], [306], [393]
Needle and thread are half clothing, [224]
Neighbour once over the hedge, neighbour over it again, [163]
Neither a dumb barber nor a deaf singer, [286]
Neither a good friar for friend, nor a bad one for enemy, [233]
Neither handsome enough to kill, nor ugly enough to frighten, [230], [286]
Neither reprove nor flatter thy wife, where any one heareth or seeth it, [317]
Neither serve one who has been a servant, nor beg of one who has been a beggar, [230]
Neither sign a paper without reading it, nor drink water without seeing it, [230]
Neither trust or contend, nor lay wagers or lend, and you’ll have peace to your end, [285]
Neither women nor linen by candlelight, [111]
Neutrals are soused from above, and singed from below, [139]
Neutrals think to tread on eggs and break none, [163]
Never advise a man to go to the wars, or to marry, [225]
Never ask of him who has, but of him you know wishes you well, [238]
Never challenge a fool to do wrong, [23]
Never did capon love a hen, [27]
Never do evil that good may come of it, [114]
Never fell oak at the very first stroke, [145] (See An oak)
Never give advice unasked, [166]
Never give the skin when you can pay with the wool, [150]
Never heed the colour of a gift horse, [66]
Never let fools see half-finished work, [388]
Never let the bottom of your purse or of your mind be seen, [113]
Never limp before the lame, [23]
Never put your finger between the tree and the bark, [23]
Never put your thumbs between two grinders, [222]
Never refuse a good offer, [123]
Never repent a good action, [403]
Never say, Fountain, I will not drink of thy water, [23]
Never say, of this water I will not drink, of this bread I will not eat, [285]
Never seemed a prison fair, or mistress foul, [24], [157]
Never sell the bearskin till you have killed the bear, [24]
Never speak of a rope in the house of a thief, [276]
Never speak of a rope in the house of one who was hanged, [24], [114], [153], [221]
Never spread your corn to dry before the door of a saintly man, [200]
Never spur a willing horse, [76]
Never was a mewing eat a good mouser, [113]
Never was hood so holy but the devil could get his head into it, [302]
New brooms sweep clean, [100], [163], [335], [393]
New churches and new taverns are seldom empty, [163]
New come, welcome, [163], [393]
New doctor, new churchyard, [163]
New laws, new roguery, [163]
New loves drive out the old, [199]
New songs are eagerly sung (or are liked the best), [163], [393]
New trappings to an old mule, [199]
Night has no friend, [30]
No and yes cause long disputes, [393]
No answer is also an answer, [381]
No ape but swears he has the handsomest children, [156]
No armour is proof against the gallows, [157]
No better masters than poverty and want, [318]
Nobody so wise but has a little folly to spare, [157]
Nobody sows a thing that will not sell, [209]
Nobody’s sweetheart is ugly, [335]
No comforter’s head ever aches, [72]
No corn without chaff, [318]
No day but has its evening, [26], [115]
No feast like a miser’s, [24]
No fire without smoke, [40]
No flies get into a shut mouth, [9], [104], [221], [276]
No flies light on a boiling pot, [200]
No good doctor ever takes physic, [111]
No good lawyer ever goes to law himself, [111]
No grass grows on a beaten road, [2], [104]
No greater promisers than those who have nothing to give, [319]
No house without a mouse, no barn without corn, no rose without a thorn, [157]
No house without its cross, [318]
No is a good answer when given in time, [393]
No jealousy, no love, [163]
No jesting with edged tools, [53]
No Jew a fool, no hare lazy, [230]
No king was ever a traitor, or pope excommunicated, [230]
No living man all things can, [62]
No lock avails against a hatchet, [14]
No mad dog runs seven years, [318]
No man can serve two masters, [164]
No man is a hero in the eyes of his valet, [25]
No man is a prophet in his own country, [40]
No man is so tall that he need never stretch, and none so small that he need never stoop, [381]
No man knoweth fortune till he dies, [335]
No man learneth but by pain or shame, [335]
No man limps because another is hurt, [381]
No man looks for another in a sack, unless he has been there himself, [381]
No man understands knavery better than the abbot who has been a monk, [20]
No man’s master, no master’s man, [157]
No meat ever remains in the shambles however bad it may be, [114]
No money, no Swiss, [46], [157]
No need to say “trot” to a good horse, [65]
No need to seek shelter for an old ox, [193]
No news is good news, [46], [115]
No office so humble but is better than nothing, [335]
No one betrays himself by silence, [162]
No one can be caught in places he does not visit, [381]
No one can blow and swallow at the same time, [164]
No one can complain of the sea who twice suffers shipwreck, [164]
No one can do nothing, and no one can do everything, [157]
No one can guard against treachery, [172]
No one can have peace longer than his neighbour pleases, [335]
No one can see into another further than his teeth, [388]
No one ever became poor through giving alms, [111]
No one ever repented of having held his tongue, [111]
No one ever saw a goat dead of hunger, [42], [113]
No one falls low unless he attempt to climb high, [381]
No one gets into trouble without his own help, [381]
No one has seen to-morrow, [288]
No one is a good judge in his own cause, [286]
No one is always right, [287]
No one is bound to do impossibilities, [3], [69]
No one is content with his lot, [286]
No one is poor but he who thinks himself so, [285]
No one is rich enough to do without his neighbour, [381]
No one is so liberal as he who has nothing to give, [41]
No one is too old to learn, [191]
No one is wise enough to advise himself, [164]
No one is wise in his own affairs, [335]
No one knows better where the shoe pinches than he who wears it, [111], [147]
No one knows the parson better than the clerk, [381]
No one knows where another’s shoe pinches, [335]
No one likes justice brought home to his own door, [72]
No one likes to bell the cat, [147]
No one sees his own faults, [164]
No one should take in an eating pawn (or pledge), [119]
No one so hard upon the poor as the pauper who has got into power, [399]
No one so sure but he may miss, [335]
No one will get a bargain he does not ask for, [40]
No one would be an innkeeper but for money, [233]
No pear falls into a shut mouth, [104]
No penny, no pater-noster, [164]
No purchase like a gift, [26]
No relation is poor, [236]
No rose without a thorn, [46], [115], [318]
No sauce like appetite, [26]
No sheep runs into the mouth of a sleeping wolf, [306]
No smoke without fire, [157], [189]
No sooner is the law made than its evasion is discovered, [98]
No tree falls at the first stroke, [156]
No wind can do him good who steers for no port, [41]
No woman is ugly if she is well dressed, [209], [269]
No woman marries an old man for God’s sake, [147]
No wonder if he breaks his head who stumbles twice over one stone, [248]
No wonder lasts more than three days, [111]
No word is ill spoken that is not ill taken, [285]
None so busy as those who do nothing, [25]
None so deaf as he (or those) that won’t hear, [24], [112], [236], [381]
Not all are asleep who have their eyes shut, [115]
Not all flowers are fit for nosegays, [163]
Not all that is true is to be spoken, [286] (See Every truth)
Not all that shakes (or trembles) falls, [129]
Not all words require an answer, [129]
Not every ball hits, [163]
Not every dog that barks bites, [12]
Not every land has all at hand, [163]
Not every one may pluck roses, [166]
Not every one that dances is glad, [12]
Not every sort of wood is fit to make an arrow, [59]
Not every wood will make wooden shoes, [358]
Not every word requires an answer, [113]
Not he gives who likes, but who has, [230]
Not to wish to recover is a mortal symptom, [256]
Not too little, not too much, [163]
Nothing bolder than the miller’s shirt, that every morning collars a thief, [26], [164]
Nothing can come out of a sack but what is in it, [114]
Nothing dries sooner than tears, [164]
Nothing falls into the mouth of a sleeping fox, [2], [196], [267], [299]
Nothing grows old sooner than a kindness, [55]
Nothing happens for nothing, [55]
Nothing in haste but catching fleas, [318]
Nothing is difficult to a willing mind, [67]
Nothing is done while something remains undone, [26]
Nothing is ever well done in a hurry, except flying from the plague or from quarrels, and catching fleas, [109]
Nothing is had for nothing, [42]
Nothing is ill said if it is not ill taken, [106]
Nothing is impossible to a willing mind, [5]
Nothing is lost on a journey by stopping to pray or to feed your horse, [241]
Nothing is more like an honest man than a rogue, [55]
Nothing is so burdensome as a secret, [55]
Nothing is so liberally given as advice, [55]
Nothing is so new as what has long been forgotten, [164]
Nothing is so new but it has happened before (There is nothing new under the sun), [381]
Nothing looks more like a man of sense than a fool who holds his tongue, [164]
Nothing passes between asses but kicks, [128]
Nothing should be done in a hurry except catching fleas, [164]
Nothing so bad but it finds its master, [318]
Nothing so good as forbidden fruit, [55]
Nothing venture, nothing have, [50]
Nothing weighs lighter than a promise, [164]
Now that I have an ewe and a lamb, every one says to me: Good morrow, Peter, [194]
Nurenberg wit and a skilful hand will find their way through any land, [164]
Nurse, you are mistress whilst the child sucks, and after that nothing, [198]
O.
“O what we must suffer for the sake of God’s church!” said the abbot, when the roast fowl burned his fingers, [165]
Of bad debtors you may take spoilt herrings, [388]
Of big words and feathers many go to the pound, [151]
Of brothers-in-law and red dogs few are good, [210]
Of evils, choose the least, [211], [276]
Of hasty counsel take good heed, for haste is very rarely speed, [321]
Of judgment every one has a stock on hand for sale, [91]
Of listening children have your fears, for little pitchers have great ears, [331]
Of little cloth but a short cloak, [15]
Of oil, wine, and friends, the oldest, [268]
Of other men’s leather large thongs, [212] (See Good thongs)
Of soup and love, the first is the best, [228], [268]
Of the good man a good pledge, and of the bad neither pledge nor surety, [275]
Of the great and of the dead either speak well or say nothing, [90]
Of the malady a man fears, he dies, [211]
Of this world each man has as much as he takes, [92]
Of three things the devil makes a salad: lawyers’ tongues, notaries’ fingers, and a third that shall be nameless, [92]
Of two cowards, the one who attacks conquers the other, [275]
Of two evils choose the least, [14], [172], [340], [346]
Of two lookers-on one is sure to become a player, [14]
Of what does not concern you say nothing, good or bad, [91]
Of what use is it that the cow gives plenty of milk, if she upsets the pail, [175]
Of your wife and your tried friend believe nothing but what you know for certain, [213]
Offend one monk, and the lappets of all cowls will flutter as far as Rome, [135]
Offer a clown your finger, and he’ll take your fist, [345] (See Give a clown)
Office without pay makes thieves, [134]
Often shooting hits the mark, [165]
Oil is best at the beginning, honey at the end, and wine in the middle, [306]
Old as is the boat it may cross the ferry once, [242]
Old birds are hard to pluck, [134]
Old birds are not caught with cats, [336]
Old birds are not caught with chaff, [370]
Old birds are not caught with new nets, [115]
Old churches have dark windows, [133]
Old crows are hard to catch, [133]
Old foxes are hard to catch, [336]
Old friends and new reckonings, [63]
Old friends and old ways ought not to be disdained, [389]
Old love and old brands kindle at all seasons, [63]
Old love does not rust, [134]
Old oxen have stiff horns, [352], [370]
Old oxen tread hard, [134]
Old people see best in the distance, [134]
Old pigs have hard snouts, [134], [370]
Old reckonings breed new disputes, [7], [67], [194]
Old signs do not deceive, [370]
Old thanks are not for new gifts, [68]
Old trees are not to be bent, [133]
Old wounds easily bleed, [134]
On a fool’s beard all learn to shave, [193], [284]
On a fool’s beard the barber learns to shave, [1], [69]
On a hot day muffle yourself the more, [217]
On a long journey even a straw is heavy, [104]
On a small pretence the wolf devours the sheep, [119], [336]
On dry land even brackish water is good, [222]
On poor people’s beards the young barber learns his trade, [134]
Once a thief always a thief, [181], [309]
Once in people’s mouths, ’tis hard to get out of them, [144]
Once is no custom, [61], [314]
Once resolved, the trouble is over, [121]
Once upon a time, no time (or Some day, no day), [144]
One always returns to one’s first love, [43]
One always knocks oneself in the sore place, [43]
One ass among monkeys is grinned at by all, [260]
One ass nicknames another “Long-ears,” [142]
One bad eye spoils the other, [142]
One barber shaves another, [60]
One basket of grapes does not make a vintage, [130]
One beats the bush and another catches the bird, [138], [304]
One bee is better than a thousand (or a handful of) flies, [142], [232]
One beggar likes not that another has two wallets, [353]
One bell serves a parish, [129]
One bird in the dish is better than a hundred in the air, [145] (See a bird)
One bird in the hand is worth two flying (or on the roof), [281], [316], [343] (See A bird)
One bite brings another, [351]
One blind man leads another into the ditch, [60]
One briar does not make a hedge, [130]
One can speak and seven can sing, [142]
One candle for St. Michael, and another for his devil, [61]
One cannot be and have been, [42]
One cannot be at the oven and the mill at the same time (One cannot be in two places at once), [42]
One cannot blow and swallow at the same time, [258]
One cannot drink and whistle at the same time, [114] (See No one)
One cannot (no man can) keep peace longer than his neighbour will let him, [160]
One cannot please everybody and one’s father, [42]
One cannot ring the bells and walk in the procession, [42]
One cannot wash a blackamoor white, [143]
One can’t enter Paradise in spite of the saints, [114]
One can’t hinder the wind from blowing, [42]
One can’t shoe a running horse, [332]
One catches the hare and another eats it, [138]
One crow does not make a winter, [143], [313]
One day is as good as two for him who does everything in its place, [62]
One daughter helps to marry the other, [129]
One deceit brings on another, [61]
One devil does not make hell, [130]
One devil drives out another, [130]
One devil knows another, [130]
One does it for love, another for honour, a third for money, [304]
One does not always hit what one aims at, [59]
One dog growls to see another go into the kitchen, [137]
One door never shuts but another opens, [109], [114]
One enemy is too many (or too much), and a hundred friends are too few (or not enough), [98], [130], [142], [364]
One eye of the master sees more than four eyes of his servants, [121]
One eye on the frying-pan and the other on the cat, [260]
One flea does not hinder sleep, [129]
One flower does not make a garland, [61], [130], [142]
One fool always finds a greater to admire him, [63]
One fool is enough in a house, [74]
One fool makes a hundred (or many), [260], [280], [313], [364]
One fool may ask more questions than seven wise men can answer, [144], [366]
One fool praises another, [144]
One foot is better than two stilts, [39]
One God, one wife, but many friends, [313]
One good morsel and a hundred vexations, [130]
One good turn deserves another, [1], [142], [304]
One good word quenches more heat than a bucket of water, [121]
One grain does not fill the granary, but it helps its companion, [280]
One grievance borne, another follows, [260]
One grows used to love and to fire, [3]
One hair of a maiden’s head pulls harder than ten yoke of oxen, [365]
One hair of a woman draws more than a bell-rope, [143]
One half the world knows not how the other half lives, [29]
One half the world laughs at the other, [30], [143]
One hand full of money is stronger than two hands full of truth, [364]
One hand must wash the other, or both will be dirty, [372]
One hand washes the other, [143]
One hand washes the other, and both the face, [129], [228], [260], [280], [304]
One has always strength enough to bear the misfortunes of one’s friends, [41]
One has only to die to be praised, [159]
One hour’s sleep before midnight is better than two (or three) after it, [16], [143]
One hunts the hare, and another eats it, [353]
One is never so rich as when one removes (from one house to another), [43]
One is never soiled but by filth, [43]
One kisses the child for the mother’s sake, and the mother for the child’s sake, [159]
One kisses the nurse for the sake of the child, [171]
One knavery is met by another, [260]
One knife keeps another in its sheath, [130]
One knife whets another, [130], [144]
One knows not for whom he gathers, [43]
One learns by failing, [41]
One lie draws ten after it, [129]
One link broken, the whole chain is broken, [136]
One living pope is better than ten dead, [97]
One log does not burn long by itself, [142]
One lost, two found, [316]
One love drives out another, [260]
One man is another’s devil, [144]
One man is born to the money, and another to the purse, [364]
One man is not bad because another is good, [364]
One man knocks in the nail, and another hangs his hat on it, [138]
One man, no man, [62]
One man often talks another off his bench, and seats himself upon it, [364]
One mangy sheep spoils a whole flock, [365]
One man’s story is no story; hear both sides. (One story is good till another is told), [143]
One marriage is never celebrated but another grows out of it, [147]
One may as well be well beaten as badly beaten, [7]
One may buy gold too dear, [43], [126], [159]
One may go a long way after one is tired, [43]
One may have good eyes and see nothing, [127]
One may see through a wall, if there’s a hole in it, [159]
One may steal nothing save a lawyer’s purse, [24]
One may tire of eating tarts, [43]
One misfortune brings on another, [280], [322]
One must be either anvil or hammer, [22]
One must glean at harvest time, [161]
One must howl with the wolves (See He who herds), [22]
One must lose a minnow to catch a salmon, [22]
One must needs like what one cannot hinder, [23]
One must pass through the door or the window, [22]
One must plough with the horses one has, [160]
One must sometimes hold a candle to the devil, [333]
One must step back to make the better leap, [22]
One must talk soothingly to the dog until one has passed him, [58]
One nail drives in another, [304]
One nail drives out another, [61], [84], [130]
One never gets more than the money’s worth of anything, [42]
One never goes so far as when one don’t know whither one is going, [43]
One never wept but another laughed, [113]
One often has need of a lesser than oneself, [41]
One pair of ears would exhaust a hundred tongues, [130]
One penny in the pot (money-box) makes more noise than when it is full, [315]
One penny is better on land than ten on the sea, [364]
One piece of good advice is better than a bag full, [364]
One ploughs, another sows, who will reap no one knows, [364]
One quill is better in the hand than seven geese upon the strand, [315]
One raven does not peck out another’s eyes, [353]
One rotten apple in the basket infects the whole quantity, [315]
One rotten egg spoils the whole pudding, [142]
One scabbed sheep will mar (or infect, or spoil) a whole flock, [24], [36], [129], [347]
One shoe will not fit every foot, [144]
One should be born either a king or a fool, [160]
One starts the game and another bags it, [260]
One starts the hare, another catches it, [130]
One stroke on the nail and a hundred on the horseshoe, [260]
One swallow does not make a spring, [61], [143]
One swallow don’t make a summer, [129], [260], [315], [364]
One sword keeps another in the scabbard, [144], [358]
One “Take this” is better than ten “God help you!”, [144]
One “Take this” is better than two “You-shall-haves!”, [39], [63], [314]
One to-day is better than ten to-morrows, [143]
One to one, and two to the devil, [364]
One trick is met by another, [209]
One voice, no voice, [132]
One wedge drives another, [147] (See One nail)
One wolf does not kill another, [260], [287]
One word beforehand is better than ten afterwards, [350]
One word brings on another, [129]
One would not be alone even in Paradise, [114]
One would rather be bitten by wolves than by sheep, [388]
One wrong submitted to, another follows, [280]
One’s own hearth is worth gold (The Scotch say: Ane’s ain hearth is goud’s worth), [317]
One’s own spurs and another’s horse make the miles short, [127]
One’s prog does not clog (Store is no sore), [226]
Onions, smoke, and a shrew, make a good man’s eyes water, [385]
Only one can be emperor, [164]
Open hand makes open hand, [165]
Open thy mouth that I may know thee, [72]
Open your purse, and I will open my mouth, [263]
Opportunity makes desire, [319]
Opportunity makes the thief, [37], [105], [149], [227], [305], [384]
Order and do it, and you will be rid of anxiety, [230]
Other folks’ cares kill the ass, [210]
Other times, other counsels, [283]
Other times, other folk, [347]
Other times, other manners, [7]
Other towns, other lasses, [134]
Others’ bread has seven crusts, [103]
Others’ bread is too salt, [103]
Our last garment is made without pockets, [109]
Our neighbour’s children are always the worst, [172]
Our time runs on like a stream; first fall the leaves and then the tree, [336]
Out before day, in before night, [341]
Out of a great evil often comes a great good, [127]
Out of a little grass comes a great ass, [173]
Out of a white egg often comes a black chick, [93]
Out of sight, out of mind, [37], [134], [245], [280], [339], [384]
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh, [339]
Out of the frying-pan into the fire, [270]
Out of the mire and into the brook, [255]
Out of yes and no comes all dispute, [15]
“Own kin are the worst friends,” said the fox, when he saw the foxy dogs after him, [369]
Ox, keep to your grass, [165]
P.
Painted flowers have no scent, [49], [319]
Paper and ink and little justice, [239]
Paper bears anything (or is patient), [33], [137]
Paper does not blush, [105]
Paris was not built in a day, [44]
Patience is the virtue of asses, [30]
Patience! said the wolf to the ass, [118]
Patience surpasses learning, [318]
Pay-day comes every day, [190]
Pay what you owe, and be cured of your complaint, [238], [290]
Peace and a well-built house cannot be bought too dearly, [369]
Peace and patience, and death with penitence, [239]
Peace feeds, war wastes; peace breeds, war consumes, [369]
Peace must be bought even at a high price, [369]
Peace with a cudgel in hand is war, [291]
Peacock, look at your legs, [165]
Peel a fig for your friend, a peach for your enemy, [69]
Penny is penny’s brother, [165]
Penny wise and pound foolish, [161]
People count up the faults of those who keep them waiting, [41]
People lend only to the rich, [43]
People make the bells say what they please, [41]
People must eat, even were every tree a gallows, [333], [357] (See A man must eat)
People often change, and seldom for the better, [160]
People take more pains to be damned than to be saved, [41]
Peralvillo justice: hang a man first and try him afterwards, [226]
Perseverance brings success, [296]
Perseverance kills the game, [241], [292]
“Peter, I am taking a ride,” said the goose, when the fox was running into the wood with her, [395]
Peter is so godly that God does not improve his condition, [258]
Peter pinches me, and I like it, [240]
Physician, heal thyself, [110], [134]
Piety, prudence, wit, and civility, are the elements of true nobility, [148]
Pigs in the cold and men in drink make a great noise, [291]
Pilgrims seldom come home saints, [174]
Pills must be bolted, not chewed, [21], [65]
Places are God’s; placemen are the devil’s, [140]
Plants oft removed never thrive, [165]
Play with an ass and he will whisk his tail in your face, [206], [270]
Play with the fool at home and he will play with you abroad, [206]
Pleasures steal away the mind, [325]
Plenty makes daintiness, [65]
Plenty of words when the cause is lost, [66]
Plough deep and you will have plenty of corn, [202]
Plough or not plough, you must pay your rent, [202]
Plough wet or dry, and you will not have to kiss your neighbour’s breech, [202]
Pluck it from among the thistles, and we will take it off your hands, [255]
Pluck the magpie and don’t make her scream, [119]
Pluck the rose and leave the thorns, [88]
Poison quells poison, [104]
Policy goes beyond strength, [28]
Poor folk’s wisdom goes for little, [300]
Poor men do penance for rich men’s sins, [91]
Poor men’s money and cowards’ weapons are often flourished, [90]
Poor people’s words go many to a sackful, [134]
Poor relations have little honour, [367]
Possession and good right, with lance in hand, [242]
Possession is as good as a title, [46]
Pound the garlic, Pedro, whilst I grate the cheese, [230]
Poverty and hunger have many learned disciples, [134]
Poverty does not destroy virtue, nor does wealth bestow it, [228]
Poverty has no kin, [121]
Poverty is a sort of leprosy, [45]
Poverty is cunning; it catches even a fox, [134]
Poverty is no sin, [45], [200]
Poverty is no sin, but it is a branch of roguery, [240]
Poverty is the reward of idleness, [300]
Poverty is the sixth sense, [134]
Poverty never sped well in love, [291]
Power often goes before talent, [386]
Practice makes perfect, [171], [220], [261]
Practice makes the master, [171]
Practise not your art and ’twill soon depart, [180]
Praise a fine day at night, [168], [365]
Praise a fool, and you may make him useful, [396]
Praise borrowed from ancestors is but sorry praise, [359]
Praise paves the way to friendship, [385]
Praise the sea, and keep on land, [22], [109]
Praise yourself, basket, for I want to sell you, [195]
Praising is not loving, [159]
Pray to the saint until you have passed the slough, [299]
Praying to God, and hitting with the hammer, [194]
Precaution said, Good friend, this counsel keep: strip not yourself until you’re laid to sleep, [336]
Precious ointments are put in small boxes, [17]
Precious things are mostly in small compass (In small boxes the best spice), [331]
Precipitate counsel—perilous deed, [375]
Prepare a nest for the hen and she will lay eggs for you, [264]
Presents keep friendship warm, [149]
Pretty children sing pretty songs, [367]
Pride went out on horseback and returned on foot, [107]
Pride will have a fall, [152], [375]
Priestly knaves sweat hard at their meat, but never at work get into a heat, [165]
Priests and women never forget, [165]
Priests bless themselves first, [165]
Priests even smile pleasantly on young women, [165]
Priests, friars, nuns, and chickens, never have enough, [121]
Priests pay each other no tithes, [165]
Priests should not prate out of the confessional, [165]
Princes have long arms, [105]
Princes have long hands and many ears, [148]
Princes keep good reckoning, they never lose anything, [36]
Princes will not be served on conditions, [36]
Princes use men as the husbandman uses bees, [36]
Prison and Lent were made for the poor, [226]
Proffered service is little valued (Proffered service stinks), [296]
Profit is better than fame, [370]
Promises and undressed cloth are apt to shrink, [384]
Promises don’t fill the belly, [172]
Promises make debts, [191]
Promises make debts, and debts make promises, [300]
Promising and performing are two things, [47], [300]
Promising is one thing, performing another, [172], [300]
Promising is not giving, but serves to content fools, [292]
Prosperity forgets father and mother, [225]
Proverbs are the daughters of daily experience, [338]
Prudent men choose frugal wives, [157]
Public money is like holy water, every one helps himself to it, [101]
Pull gently at a weak rope, [296]
Pulling the devil by the tail does not lead far young or old, [58]
Put a beggar into your barn and he will make himself your heir, [232]
Put not all your eggs into one basket, [333]
Put out the fire betimes, ere it reach the roof, [159]
Put the belfry in the middle of the village, [22]
Put the light out, and all women are alike, [159]
Put your hand in your conscience and see if it don’t come out as black as pitch, [338]
Put your hand quickly to your hat, and slowly to your purse, and you will take no harm, [380]
Q.
Quick at meat, quick at work, [153]
Quick and well don’t agree (or seldom go together), [121], [398]
Quick enough, if good enough, [168]
R.
Rage avails less than courage, [39]
Ragged colts make the handsomest stallions, [135]
Rain comes oft after sunshine, and after a dark cloud a clear sky, [394]
Raise no more devils than you can lay, [160]
Rather a husband with one eye than with one son, [289]
Rather a single grape for me than a brace of figs for thee, [27]
Rather an ass that carries than a horse that throws, [121]
Rather go rob with good men than pray with bad, [266]
Rather hat in hand than hand in purse, [121]
Rather have a little one for your friend, than a great one for your enemy, [65]
Rather lose the wool than the sheep, [266]
Rather mulberry than almond (the almond-tree is in blossom earlier than the mulberry), [200]
Rather the egg to-day than the hen to-morrow, [349]
Rats do not play tricks with kittens, [209]
Ravens do not peck out ravens’ eyes, [34], [89]
Ready money works great cures, [5]
Reason does not come before years, [172]
Reason lies between bridle and spur, [128]
Reason not with the great, ’tis a perilous gate, [55]
Reasonings banish reason, [36]
Reconciled friendship is a wound ill salved, [70], [368]
“Red is Love’s colour,” said the woer to his foxy charmer, [166]
Rejoice in little, shun what is extreme; the ship rides safest in a little stream, [338]
Render unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, [333]
Renounce the devil and thou shalt wear a shabby cloak, [193]
Rent and taxes never sleep, [191]
Repentance costs dear, [33], [208]
Repentance is the heart’s medicine, [166]
Report makes the wolf bigger than he is, [149]
Repute hangs a man, [31]
Rest comes from unrest, and unrest from rest, [167]
Rest is good after the work is done, [371]
Rest makes rusty, [337]
Revenge a hundred years old has still its milk-teeth, [131]
Revenge converts a little right into a great wrong, [166]
Revenge is new wrong, [165]
Revenge remains not unrevenged, [165]
Reward sweetens labour, [332]
Rich gamblers and old trumpeters are rare, [166]
Rich garments weep on unworthy shoulders, [34]
Rich people are everywhere at home, [166]
Riches and favour go before wisdom and art, [396]
Riches are often abused, but never refused, [396]
Riches breed care, poverty is safe, [396]
Riches cause arrogance; poverty, meekness, [151]
Ride on, but look before you, [337]
Right is with the strongest, [139]
Right or wrong, God aid our purpose, [203]
Right or wrong, ’tis our house up to the roof, [203], [268]
Right overstrained turns to wrong, [212]
Rise early and watch, labour and catch, [230], [280]
Roast geese don’t come flying into the mouth, [305]
Roast pigeons don’t fly through the air, [318]
Rome was not built in a day, [55], [104], [166]
Rosary in hand, the devil at heart, [273]
Roses and maidens soon lose their bloom, [166]
Roses fall, but the thorns remain, [307]
Royal favour, April weather, woman’s love, rose-leaves, dice, and card-luck, change every moment, [148]
Running water carries no poison, [67]
Rust consumes iron, and envy consumes itself, [396]
Rust wastes more than use, [31]
S.
Safe bind, safe find, [174]
Safe over the bridge, one laughs at St. Nepomuck, [150]
Said in sport, meant in earnest, [153]
Said the frying-pan to the kettle, Stand off, black bottom, [213]
Sail while the breeze blows, wind and tide wait for no man, [397]
Saint cannot if God will not, [55]
Saint Francis shaved himself first, and then he shaved his brethren, [124]
Saint Martin was an easy man, he loved to drink Cerevisiam; and when he’d no Pecuniam, he left in pledge his Tunicam, [167]
Saints appear to fools, [266]
Saint’s words, cat’s claws, [291]
Salt and bread make the cheeks red, [167]
Salt spilt is never all gathered, [255], [299]
Samson was a strong man, but he could not pay money before he had it, [167]
Satiety causes disgust (Abundance begets indifference), [171]
Saving is a greater art than gaining, [169]
Saving is getting, [49]
Savings are the first gain, [109]
Say before they say (Tell your own story first), [200]
Say what we will, do what we will, the boat goes but sorrily without oars, [75]
Saying and doing are two things, [98], [167]
Saying is one thing, doing another, [70]
Saying well causes a laugh; doing well produces silence, [8]
Scratch people where they itch, [22]
Scratching and borrowing do well enough, but not for long, [156]
Seat yourself in your place and you will not be made to quit it, [257], [294]
Second thoughts are best, [103]
Secret fire is discovered by its smoke (Catalan), [222]
Secret gifts are openly rewarded, [374]
Security is nowhere safe, [169]
Security is the first cause of misfortune, [169]
See a pin and let it lie, you’ll want a pin before you die, [54]
See, hear, and hold your tongue, [261]
See how he has risen from a mayor to a hangman, [211]
See Naples and then die, [131]
See that you tie so that you can untie, [233]
Seeing is believing, [79]
Self-done, is soon done (Never trust to another what you should do yourself), [168]
Self is the man, [168]
Self-love is bad, and makes the eyes sad, [142]
Self-love is blind, [317]
Self-love nobody else’s love, [344]
Self-praise stinks, friend’s praise hinks, the stranger’s is sincere, and may last for a year, [142]
Sell me dear, and measure me fair, [77]
Sell publicly and buy privately, [261]
Send a man of sense on the embassy, and you need not instruct him, [282]
Sense comes with age, [259]
Seven brothers in a council make wrong right, [257]
Seven is company, and nine confusion (Alluding to a dinner party), [257]
Serve a lord and you’ll know what is grief, [257], [294]
Serve as a serf or fly like a deer, [56]
Service is no inheritance, [56], [126]
Services unrequired go unrequited, [171]
Set a beggar on horseback, and he don’t trot, but gallops, [321]
Set a beggar on horseback, and he’ll outride the devil, [178]
Set a peasant on horseback, and he forgets both God and man, [244]
Set a fox to catch a fox, [390]
Set a thief to catch a thief, [167], [334], [364]
Set thy expense according to thy trade, [345]
Set your sail according to the wind, [22]
Shame comes to no man unless he himself help it on the way, [381]
Shame lasts longer than poverty, [337]
She hangs out the broom (wants a husband), [345]
She is fond of greens who kisses the gardener, [223]
She is fond of him—on the side where the pocket hangs, [169]
She is good and honoured who is dead and buried, [222]
She is good who is close to the fire and does not burn, [222]
She is well married who has neither mother-in-law nor sister-in-law, [201], [267]
She who is born a beauty is born betrothed, [83]
She who loves an ugly man thinks him handsome, [249]
Shear the sheep but don’t flay them, [23], [333]
Shoemaker stick to your last, [168], [262], [337]
Shoemakers are always the worst shod, [34]
Shoemakers go to mass and pray that sheep may die, [261]
Short flax makes long thread, [399]
Short hair is soon brushed, [157]
Short hose must have long points, [193]
Short pleasure often brings long repentance, [399]
Short reckonings make long friends, [34], [157], [273], [317]
Should the heavens fall, many pipkins will be broken, [367]
Show me a liar and I’ll show you a thief, [39], [190], [344]
Show me a poor man, I will show you a flatterer, [273]
Shut your door, and you will make your neighbour good (or a good woman), [208], [272]
Sickly body, sickly mind, [157]
Sickness comes in haste, and goes at leisure, [399]
Sickness comes on horseback and departs on foot, [308]
Sickness comes uninvited—no need to bespeak it, [399]
Sickness is every man’s master, [399]
Sight goes before hearsay, [399]
Silence and look out, we shall catch both hen and chicks, [207]
Silence and reflection cause no dejection, [168]
Silence answers much, [345]
Silence gives consent, [50], [86], [185], [247], [311]
Silk and velvet put out the kitchen fire, [167]
Silken tongue and hempen heart often go together, [397]
Silly sheep, where one goes, all go, [238]
Silver and gold are all men’s dears, [398]
Since I wronged you, I have never liked you, [212]
Since the house is on fire, let us warm ourselves, [121], [242]
Since the wine is drawn it must be drunk, [47]
Since we have loaves let us not look for cakes, [242]
Since you have been scolding me, I have counted a hundred and twenty holes in that nutmeg grater, [213]
Singed eats live long, [172]
Singers, lovers, and poets, are privileged liars, [167]
Six things have no business in the world: a fighting priest, a coward knight, a covetous judge, a stinking barber, a soft-hearted mother, and an itchy baker, [57]
Skill or fortune will efface the spots, [72]
Skilled hands eat trouts, [230]
Slander expires at a good woman’s door, [399]
Slander! slander! some of it always sticks, [9]
Slaughter (or kill) no more than you can well salt, [167]
Sleep over it, and you will come to a resolution, [215]
Sloth is the beginning of vice, [332]
Sloth is the key to poverty, [148], [240], [292]
Slow and sure, [158]
Small beer comes the last, [348]
Small gains bring great wealth, [330]
Small profits and often, are better than large profits and seldom, [157]
Small profits are sweet, [384]
Small rain lays a great wind, [120]
Small saints, too, work miracles, [157]
Small undertakings give great comfort, [177]
Smoke, floods (or stench), and a scolding wife, are enough to drive a man out of his life, [19], [224], [337]
Smoke, rain, and a scolding wife, are three bad things in a house, [401]
Smooth words do not flay the tongue, [114]
Snarling curs never want sore ears, [13]
Snivelling folks always want to wipe other folks’ noses, [35]
So begun, so done, [345]
So good that he is good for nothing, [127]
So got, so gone, [345]
So it goes in the world: one has the purse, the other has the gold, [169]
So many countries, so many customs, [127], [158], [169]
So many heads, so many minds, [127], [397]
So many men, so many minds, [7], [173], [345]
So you tell me there are wolves on the mountain, and foxes in the valley, [202]
Soft and fair goeth far, [344]
Soft water constantly striking the hard stone, wears it at last, [264]
Soft words don’t scotch the tongue, [16]
Softly, barber, the water scalds, [120]
Softly, don’t raise a dust, [120]
Soldiers must be well paid, and well hanged, [169]
Some day Peter will command as much as his master, [196]
Some have bread who have no teeth left, [58]
Some have fine eyes and can’t see a jot, [58]
Some have the fame, and others card the wool, [260]
Some sell and don’t deliver, [58]
Some sing who are not merry, [127]
Some think they have done when they are only beginning, [58]
Some thinking to avenge their shame increase it, [58]
Some who jest tell tales of themselves, [127]
Some who mean only to warm, burn themselves, [58]
Something to every one is good division, [155]
Sometimes an egg is given for an ox, [69]
Sometimes the lees are better than the wine, [69]
Soon enough if well enough, [5]
Soon fire, soon ashes, [341]
Soon gained, soon squandered, [58]
Soon grass, soon hay, [341]
Soon ripe, soon rotten, [154]
Soon ripe, soon rotten; soon wise, soon foolish, [341]
Sooner or later the truth comes to light, [341]
Sorrow seldom comes alone, [397]
Sour wine, old bacon, and rye bread, keep a house rich, [261]
Sow corn in clay, and plant vines in sand, [257]
Sow not money on the sea, lest it sink, [344]
Spare to speak and spare to speed, [51]
Sparrows should not dance with cranes, their legs are too short, [375]
Speak little and well, they will think you somebody, [277]
Speak little of your ill luck, and boast not of your good luck, [400]
Speak little, speak truth. Spend little, pay cash, [166]
Speak not ill of the year until it is past, [112], [235], [285]
Speak, that I may see thee, [166]
Speak well of your friend; of your enemy neither well nor ill, [91]
Speaking comes by nature, silence by understanding, [166]
Speaking is silver, silence is gold, [338]
Speaking silence is better than senseless speech, [350]
Speech is oft repented, silence seldom, [386]
Speedy rise, speedy fall (Sudden glory soon goes out), [168]
Spending your money with many a guest, empties the kitchen, the cellar, and chest, [190]
Spilt salt is never well collected, [255], [299]
Spinner, spin softly, you disturb me; I am praying, [278]
Spit not in the well, you may have to drink its water, [40]
Spur not a willing horse, [1], [77], [188]
Stagnant water grows stinking, [170]
Stand up, farthing, let the florin sit down (Stand up, cent, let the dollar sit down), [152]
Starlings are lean because they go in flocks, [100]
Starved lice bite the hardest, [332]
Stay a while, and lose a mile, [338]
Stealing would be a nice thing, if thieves were hanged by the girdle, [218]
Step by step one goes far (or to Rome), [118], [297], [341]
Still water breeds vermin, [67]
Still waters run deep, [170], [338], [363]
Stock-fish are made tender by much beating, [334]
Stolen bread stirs the appetite, [44]
Stones or bread, one must have something in hand for the dogs, [118]
Stoop, and let it pass; the storm will have its way, [364]
Strain not your bow beyond its bent, lest it break, [338]
Strangers’ meat is the greatest treat, [369]
Straying shepherd, straying sheep, [154]
Strength avails not a coward, [67]
Stretch your legs, according to your coverlet, [160] 170, [338] (See Every one stretches)
Strew no roses before swine, [338]
Strike while the iron is hot, [22], [74], [160], [282], [337], [390]
Strong folks have strong maladies, [170]
Strong is the vinegar of sweet wine, [99]
“Success to you! God speed the craft!” as the hangman said to the judge, [150]
Such awkward things will happen as going into the great square and coming back without ears, [202]
Suffering and patience, obedience and application, help the lowly born to honour, [384]
Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof, [2]
Sugared words generally prove bitter, [239]
Suit yourself to the times, [167]
Summer-sown corn and women’s advice turn out well once in every seven years, [169]
Supper is soon served in a plentiful house, [284]
Supple as a glove, [318]
Suspicion is the poison of friendship, [57]
Sweat makes good mortar, [168]
Sweep before your own door before you look after your neighbour’s, [340]
Sweet meat requires sour sauce, [93]
Sweet song has betrayed many, [170]
Sweet wine makes sour vinegar, [170]
Swim on and don’t trust, [40]
T.
Take a horse by his bridle and a man by his word, [333]
Take a woman’s first advice and not her second, [46]
Take advice of a red-bearded man, and be gone, [400]
Take an ox by his horn, a man by his word, [31]
Take care of your geese when the fox preaches, [400]
Take care of your plough, and your plough will take care of you, [180]
Take care you don’t let your tail be caught in the door, [100]
Take counsel before it goes ill, lest it go worse, [312]
Take down a thief from the gallows and he will hang you up, [15], [92]
Take help of many, advice of few, [400]
Take not your sickle to another man’s corn, [388]
Take nothing in hand that may bring repentance, [335]
Take the horse to the knacker, and throw in bridle and saddle, [190]
Take the middle of the way and thou wilt not fall, [225]
Take the world as it is, not as it ought to be, [164]
Taking out without putting in soon comes to the bottom, [211], [276]
Talk as you go, husband, to the gallows, [199]
Talk little and well, and you will be looked upon as somebody, [223]
Talk of sporting, and buy game in the market, [223]
Talk of the devil and his imp appears, [178]
Talk of the devil and you hear his bones rattle, [299]
Talk of the wolf and behold his skin, [277]
Talk of the wolf and his tail appears, [48], [299]
Talking is easier than doing, and promising than performing, [166]
Talking is silver, silence is gold, [166]
Tall trees catch much wind, [328]
Tell a lie and you’ll hear the truth, [167], [214]
Tell everybody your business and the devil will do it for you, [92]
Tell her she is handsome, and you will turn her head (or brain), [214], [275]
Tell it her once, and the devil will tell it her ten times, [214]
Tell, me the company you keep, and I’ll tell you what (or who) you are, [16], [92], [214], [344]
Tell me with whom thou goest, and I’ll tell thee what thou doest, [275]
Tell no one what you would have known only to yourself, [303]
Tell no tales out of school, [160]
Tell not all you, know believe not all you hear, do not all you are able, [67]
Tell not all you know, nor judge of all you see, if you would live in peace, [245]
Tell your affairs in the market-place, and one will call them black and another white, [255]
Tell your friend a lie, and if he keeps it secret tell him the truth, [203], [268]
Tell your friend your secret, and he will set his foot on your neck, [91], [213], [275]
Ten noes are better than one lie, [401]
Tender surgeons make foul wounds, [344]
Thank you, pretty pussy, was the death of my cat, [119]
That beer’s of your own brewing, and you must drink it, [303]
That bench is well adorned that is filled with virtuous women, [352]
That brings water to the mill, [9]
That costs dear which is bought with begging, [77]
That happens in a moment (or a day) which may not happen in a hundred years, [20], [66]
That is beggar’s fare, said the dame, when she fried eggs with the sausages, [303]
That is done soon enough which is well done, [5], [73]
That is gold which is worth gold, [43], [118], [238], [290]
That is good wisdom which is wisdom in the end, [324]
That is not in the looking-glass which is seen in the looking-glass, [147]
That is pleasant to remember which was hard to endure, [124]
That is poor help that helps you from the feather-bed to the straw, [359]
That may be soon done which brings long repentance, [362]
That miller is honest who has hair on his teeth, [139]
That mouse will have a tail (i. e. The thing will have a long train of consequences), [303]
That priest is a fool who decries his relics, [119]
That usury is a sin some hold, but take for granted they’ve no gold, [185]
That which burns thee not, cool not, [343]
That which comes with sin, goes with sorrow, [375]
That which covers thee discovers thee, [252]
That which has been eaten out of the pot cannot be put into the dish, [362]
That which has been thrown away has often to be begged for again, [393]
That which is customary requires no excuse, [88]
That which is stamped a penny will never be a pound, [352]
That which is unsaid, may be said; that which is said, cannot be unsaid, [363]
That which must be, will be, [362]
That’s all well and good, but gold is better, [303]
That’s as much as a bean in a brewing copper, [325]
That’s but an empty purse which is full of other men’s money, [354]
That’s quickly done which is long repented, [324]
Thaw reveals what has been hidden by snow, [362]
The abbey does not fail for want of one monk, [46]
The absent are always in the wrong, [33], [303]
The absent were never in the right, [237]
The accomplice is as bad as the thief, [294]
The account is correct, but not a sixpence appears, [224]
The act of treachery is liked, but not he that does it, [228]
The aged in council—the young in action, [352]
The ant gets wings that she may perish the sooner, [233] (See God gives wings)
The anvil is not afraid of the hammer, [138], [365]
The anvil is used to noise, [138]
The anvil lasts longer than the hammer, [95], [120]
The archer that shoots badly has a lie ready, [261], [269]
The arguments of the strongest have always the most weight, [31]
The arms of Bruges: an ass in an arm-chair, [325]
The art is not in making money, but in keeping it, [323]
The ass and his driver do not think alike, [138], [304]
The ass carries corn to the mill and gets thistles, [138]
The ass dead, the barley at his tail, [195], [267]
The ass does not know the worth of his tail till he has lost it, [107]
The ass embraced the thistle, and they found themselves relations, [263]
The ass of many owners is eaten by wolves, [202], [267]
The ass that is common property is always the worst saddled, [30]
The ass that is hungry eats thistles, [268]
The ass that trespasses on a stranger’s premises will leave them laden with wood (i.e. cudgelled), [268]
The ass well knows in whose house he brays, [205], [269]
The ass’s hide is used to the stick, [107]
The ass’s son brays one hour daily, [288]
The back door is the one that robs the house, [107]
The bacon of paradise for the married man that does not repent, [220]
The bad barber leaves neither hair nor skin, [220]
The bad man always suspects knavery, [218]
The bad neighbour gives a needle without thread (Galician), [198], [265]
The bagpipe never utters a word till its belly is full, [27]
The bailiff’s cow and another’s cow are two different cows, [140]
The balance in doing its office knows neither gold nor lead, [18]
The bath has sworn not to whiten the blackamoor, [225]
The beadle’s cow may graze in the churchyard, [157], [331]
The beadle of the parish is always of the vicar’s opinion, [31]
The beard does not make the philosopher, [105]
The beast dead, the venom dead, [39], [110]
The beast that goes well is never without some one to try his paces, [225], [263]
The beaten pay the fine, [33]
The beggar’s wallet has no bottom, [103], [136]
The beginning hot, the middle lukewarm, the end cold, [134]
The bell does not go to mass, and yet calls every one to it, [112], [235]
The belly does not accept bail, [263]
The belly gives no credit, [351]
The belly is a bad adviser, [138]
The belly overrules the head, [36]
The belly warm, the foot at rest, [268]
The benefice must be taken with its liabilities, [22]
The best always goes first, [125]
The best cast at dice is not to play, [218]
The best cause requires a good pleader, [303]
The best cloth has uneven threads, [221]
The best company must part, as King Dagobert said to his hounds, [26]
The best driver will sometimes upset, [25]
The best feed of a horse is his master’s eye, [218], [303]
The best friends are in one’s purse, [140]
The best goods are the cheapest, [321]
The best horse stumbles sometimes, [321] (See Even a horse)
The best is the cheapest, [102], [137]
The best is what one has in his hand, [137]
The best manure is under the farmer’s shoe, [357]
The best of the mill is that the sacks can’t speak, [154]
The best pears fall into the pigs’ mouths, [76]
The best pilots are ashore, [303]
The best spices are in small bags, [111] (See Precious ointments)
The best swimmer is the first to drown himself, [85]
The best trees are the most beaten, [104]
The best wine has its lees, [32]
The better day the better deed, [8], [221], [276]
The better lawyer, the worse Christian, [328]
The big fish eat the little ones, [34], [103]
The bird once out of hand is hard to recover, [367]
The bird ought not to soil its own nest, [37]
The biter is sometimes bit, [57], [78]
The bites of priests and wolves are hard to heal, [176]
The blade wears out the sheath, [29]
The blind man has picked up a coin, [264]
The blunders of physicians are covered by the earth, [290]
The boor looks after a cent as the devil after a soul, [303]
The bow may be bent until it breaks, [396]
The bow must not be always bent, [303]
The bow that is always bent slackens or breaks, [202]
The bowels support the heart, and not the heart the bowels, [260]
The branch is seldom better than the stem, [397]
The branch must be bent early that is to make a good crook, [363]
The braying of an ass does not reach heaven, [124]
The bread eaten, the company departed, [219], [291]
The bucket goes so often to the well that it leaves its handle there, [128]
The buckets take to fighting with the well, and get their heads broken, [109]
The bud becomes a rose, and the rose a hip, [31]
The busy fly is in every man’s dish, [219]
The candle that goes before gives the best light, [305]
The candle that goes before is better than that which comes after, [28]
The cask always smells of the herring, [28]
The cask can give no other wine than what it contains, [105]
The cask full, the mother-in-law drunk, [226]
The cask smells of the wine it contains, [226]
The cat always leaves her mark upon her friend, [203]
The cat is a good friend, but scratches, [206], [269]
The cat loves fish, but is loth to wet her feet, [106], [141]
The cat well knows whose beard she licks, [269]
The cats that drive away mice are as good as those that catch them, [147]
The chamber-bell (chamber-clapper, or curtain lecture) is the worst sound a man can have in his ears, [101]
The chamois climbs high and yet is caught, [149]
The child who gets a stepmother also gets a stepfather, [357]
The church, the sea, or the royal household, for those who would thrive, [225]
The churl knows not the worth of spurs, [36]
The coalheaver is master at home, [13]
The cock is a lord (or king, or valiant) on his own dunghill, [95], [134], [138]
The cock often crows without a victory, [400]
The cook shuts his eyes when he crows, because he knows it by heart, [138]
The concealer is as bad as the thief, [152]
The corn falls out of a shaken sheaf, [15]
The corn that is taken to a bad mill will be badly ground, [362]
The counterfeit image of a pot with two ears, [305]
The court of Rome likes not sheep without wool, [89]
The cow does not know the value of her tail till she has lost it, [305], [383]
The cow gives milk through her mouth, [141]
The cow is milked, not the ox; the sheep is shorn, not the horse, [383]
The cow licks no strange calf, [141]
The cow that does not eat with the oxen, either eats before or after them (Galician), [204]
The cows that low most give the least milk, [141]
The cross on his breast, and the devil in his acts, [226]
The crow will find its mate (Like will to like), [383]
The curse on the hearth wounds the deepest, [347]
The danger past, the saint cheated, [118]
The day I did not make my toilette, there came to my house one I did not expect, [217]
The day I did not sweep the house, there came to it one I did not expect, [217]
The day is never so holy that the pot refuses to boil, [352]
The day is sure to come when the cow will want her tail, [352]
The day you marry ’tis either kill or cure, [217]
The days follow each other and are not alike, [35]
The dead and the absent have no friends, [199], [265]
The dead are soon forgotten, [35]
The dead open the eyes of the living, [290]
The dearer the child, the sharper must be the rod, [382]
The debts go to the next heir, [141]
The deceived sheep that went for wool and came back shorn, [216]
The devil gets into the belfry by the vicar’s skirts, [241]
The devil has his martyrs among men, [304]
The devil is bad because he is old, [102]
The devil is civil when he is flattered, [139]
The devil is fond of his own (Galician), [238]
The devil is not always at a poor man’s door, [32]
The devil is not so black (or ugly) as he is painted, [102], [139], [285], [304]
The devil is so fond of his son that he put out his eye, [258]
The devil leads him by the nose, who the dice too often throws, [10]
The devil likes to souse what is already wet, [139]
The devil lurks (or sits) behind the cross, [15], [152], [213], [304]
The devil may die without my inheriting his horns, [32]
The devil tempts all, but the idle man tempts the devil, [102]
The devil turns away from a closed door, [69], [212]
The devil was handsome when he was young, [32]
The devil will tempt Lucifer, [102]
The devil’s in the cards, said Sam, four aces and not a single trump, [302]
The devil’s meal turns half to bran, [28]
The difficult thing is to get foot in the stirrup, [103]
The doctor is often more to be feared than the disease, [32]
The doctor seldom takes physio, [92]
The dog barks and the ox feeds, [76]
The dog does not get bread every time he wags his tail, [159]
The dog gets into the mill under cover of the ass, [57]
The dog rages at the stone, not at him who throws it, [138]
The dog that barks much, bites little, [272] (See Dogs that bark)
The dog that barks much is never good for hunting, [271]
The dog that bites does not bark in vain, [76]
The dog that has been beaten with a stick is afraid of its shadow, [101]
The dog that has its bitch in town never barks well, [208]
The dog that is forced into the woods will not hunt many deer, [354]
The dog that is quarrelsome and not strong, woe to his hide, [77]
The dog that kills wolves, is killed by wolves, [240], [271]
The dog that licks ashes is not to be trusted with flour, [65]
The dog that means to bite don’t bark, [101]
The dog that starts the hare is as good as the one that catches it, [138]
The dog wags his tail, not for you but your bread, [110], [232], [269]
The dog will not get free by biting his chain, [379]
The dogs bite the hindermost, [137]
The dog’s kennel is not the place to keep a sausage, [380]
The dress does not make the friar, [217]
The drunken man’s joy is often the sober man’s sorrow, [363]
The drunken mouth reveals the heart’s secrets, [171]
The eagle does not catch (or hunt) flies, [29], [138] (See Eagles)
The eagle does not war against frogs, [107]
The early riser is healthy, cheerful, and industrious, [20]
The earth covers the errors of the physician, [99]
The earth hides, as it takes, the physician’s mistakes, [230]
The earth is always frozen to lazy swine, [382]
The earthen pan gains nothing by contact with the copper pot, [384]
The egg will be more knowing than the hen, [137]
The election of the abbot is not stopped for want of a monk, [119]
The elephant does not feel a flea-bite, [108]
The Emperor of Germany is the king of kings, the King of Spain king of men, the King of France king of asses, the King of England king of devils, [33]
The empty waggon must make room for the full one, [139]
The end crowns the work, [29], [102], [288], [322]
The end of all things is death, [322]
The end of mirth is the beginning of sorrow, [322]
The end of the corsair is to drown, [102]
The end of wrath is the beginning of repentance, [191]
The envious man’s face grows sharp and his eyes big, [196], [266]
The envious will die, but envy never, [34]
The evil which issues from thy mouth falls into thy bosom, [218]
The executioner is a keen shaver, [138]
The eye is bigger than the belly, [140]
The eye is blind if the mind is absent, [88]
The eye is never satiated with seeing, [136]
The eye of the master fattens the steed, [37], [109], [219], [380]
The eye of the master makes the horse fat, and that of the mistress the chambers neat, [325]
The eyes are bigger than the belly, [306]
The eyes believe themselves, the ears other people, [140]
The fairer the hostess, the heavier the reckoning, [155]
The false friend is like the shadow of a sun-dial, [32]
The farther from Rome the nearer to God, [328]
The farthest way about is the nearest way home, [143]
The fat sow knows not what the hungry sow suffers, [353]
The father a saint, the son a sinner (or devil), [92], [212], [275]
The fatter the flea the leaner the dog, [154]
The fault is as great as he that commits it, [28], [258]
The fear of war is worse than war itself, [119]
The feast passes and the fool remains, [118], [239]
The fertile field becomes sterile without rest, [216]
The fewer the words the better the prayer, [155]
The fierce ox becomes tame on strange ground, [216]
The fingers of the same hand are not alike, [290]
The fire burns brightest on one’s own hearth, [351]
The fire heeds little whose cloak it burns, [380]
The fire is welcome within when icicles hang without, [351]
The fire well knows whose cloak burns, [205]
The first at the mill grinds first, [85]
The first bird gets the first grain, [353]
The first blow is as good as two, [33], [103]
The first comer grinds first (First come, first served), [33]
The first dish pleases every one, [107]
The first in the boat has the choice of oars, [317]
The first occasion offered quickly take, lest thou repine at what thou didst forsake, [320]
The first step binds one to the second, [33]
The first step is all the difficulty, [26] (See The difficult thing)
The first wife is a broom, and the second a lady, [228]
The fish lead a pleasant life, they drink when they like, [140]
The fisherman fishes in troubled water, [284]
The flame is not far from the smoke, [385]
The flatterer’s throat is an open sepulchre, [100]
The flawed pot lasts longest, [36]
The flitch hangs never so high but a dog will look out for the bone, [368]
The fly flutters about the candle till at last it gets burnt, [306]
The fly that bites the tortoise breaks its beak, [106]
The fool cuts himself with his own knife, [32]
The fool hunts for misfortune, [32]
The fool knows more in his own house than the sage in other men’s, [120]
The fool who is silent passes for wise, [19], [289]
The foot of the farmer manures the field, [351]
The forest has ears, and the field has eyes, [398]
The fortress that parleys soon surrenders, [77]
The fox advised the others to cut off their tails, because he had left his own in the trap, [107]
The fox changes his skin, but keeps the rogue, [138]
The fox does not do as much mischief in a year as it pays for in an hour, [235]
The fox does not go twice into the same trap, [395]
The fox does not prey near his hole, [188]
The fox goes through the corn and does not eat, but brushes it down with his tail (Galician), [204]
The fox is knowing, but more knowing he who catches him, [233], [284]
The fox knows well with whom he plays tricks, [205]
The fox may lose his hair, but not his cunning, [316]
The fox said the grapes were sour, [107]
The fox says of the mulberries when he cannot get at them, they are good for nothing, [2]
The fox that sleeps in the morning has not his tongue feathered, [55]
The fox that tarries long is on the watch for prey, [254]
The fox thinks everybody eats poultry like himself, [20]
The Frenchman sings well when his throat is moistened, [269]
The friar (or monk) who begs for God begs for two, [222]
The friendship of great men is like the shadow of a bush, soon gone, [4]
The friendship of the great is fraternity with lions, [70]
The frog does not bite, because it cannot, [107]
The frog will jump back into the pool, although it sits on a golden stool, [307]
The fruit falls not far from the stem, [307]
The fugitive finds everything impede him, [66]
The full belly does not believe in hunger, [89]
The full cask makes no noise, [105] (See Full vessels)
The full-fed cow makes company of her tail, [228]
The full-fed sheep is frightened at her own tail, [238], [290]
The fuller the cask, the duller its sound, [155]
The gallows takes its own, [226]
The gallows was made for the unlucky, [106], [239]
The game is not worth the candle, [32]
The gardener’s dog neither eats greens (or lettuce) nor lets any one else eat them, [76], [219], [290]
The gardener’s dog, neither full nor hungry, [219]
The gardener’s feet do no harm to the garden, [230]
The generous man enriches himself by giving, the miser hoards himself poor, [310], [354]
The gentle calf sucks all the cows, [269]
The gentle hawk mans herself, [41]
The gentle lamb sucks any ewe as well as its mother, the surly lamb sucks neither its own nor another, [216]
The Germans carry their wit in their fingers, [33]
The girl as she is taught, the flax as it is wrought, [227]
The glass-dealer’s horses fell out, and he looked on to see which kicked hardest, [254]
The goat can’t well cover herself with her tail, [230]
The golden ass passes everywhere, [202]
The golden key opens every door, [88], [105]
The good seaman is known in bad weather, [101]
The good shepherd shears, not flays, [101]
The good time comes but once, [103]
The goose goes so often into the kitchen, till at last she sticks to the spit, [369]
The goose hisses, but does not bite, [305]
The goose that has a good gander cackles loudly, [353]
The goose that has lost its head no longer cackles, [353]
The goslings would lead the geese out to grass, [35]
The gossips fall out and tell each other truths, [254]
The gown does not make the friar (or monk), [36], [105]
The grapes are sour, said the fox when he could not reach them, [202], [304] (See The fox said)
The greater the fear, the nearer the danger, [382]
The greatest burdens are not the gainfullest, [17]
The greatest conqueror is he who conquers himself, [185]
The greatest cunning is to have none at all, [30]
The greatest step is out of doors, [138]
The green burns for the dry, and the righteous pay for sinners, [202]
The greyhound that starts many hares kills none, [223], [278]
The guests will go away, and we will eat the pasty, [279]
The gutter by dropping wears the stone, [226]
The handsomest snuffs the candle, [141]
The handsomest woman can only give what she has, [30]
The hardest step is over the threshold, [103]
The hare always returns to her form, [32]
The hare starts from where it is least expected, [91], [214], [241]
The hasty man was never a traitor, [152]
The headache is mine, and the cows are ours, [264]
The heart does not lie, [322]
The heart does not think all the mouth says, [113]
The heart is no traitor, [216]
The heart leads whither it goes, [32]
The hen flies not far unless the cock flies with her, [399]
The hen is ill off when the egg teaches her how to cackle, [360]
The hen lays upon an egg, [258]
The hen likes to lay in a nest where there are eggs already, [137]
The hen lives by pickings, as the lion by prey, [396]
The hen ought not to cackle in presence of the cock, [30]
The hen that stays at home picks up the crumbs, [278]
The hen’s eyes are with her chickens, [30]
The hen’s eyes follow her eggs (Galician), [204], [289]
The herb patience does not grow in every man’s garden, [400]
The heron blames the water because he cannot swim, [374]
The higher the ape climbs the more he shows his rump, [45], [154]
The higher the bell is hung, the shriller it sounds, [154]
The higher the mountain the lower the vale, the taller the tree the harder the fall, [328]
The higher the rise the greater the fall, [15], [69], [211]
The hole invites the thief, [215]
The honest man enjoys the theft, [216]
The horse is not judged of by the saddle, [137]
The horse must go to the manger, and not the manger to the horse, [374]
The horse that draws best is the most whipped, [43], [137]
The horse thinks one thing, and his rider another, [260]
The horse’s best allowance is his master’s eye, [280] (See The eye of the master)
The horseshoe that clatters wants a nail, [224]
The house completed, possession defeated, [77]
The hunchback does not see his own hump, but sees his companion’s, [31], [216]
The husband’s mother is the wife’s devil, [140]
The ill year comes in swimming, [32]
The injurer never forgives, [84]
The interested friend is a swallow on the roof (Prepared to leave at the approach of winter), [29]
The Italianised Englishman is a devil incarnate, [109]
The Italians are wise before the act, the Germans in the act, the French after the act, [99]
The Italians cry, the Germans bawl, and the French sing, [35]
The Jew ruins himself with passovers, the Moor with wedding feasts, and the Christian with lawsuits, [218]
The kettle smuts the frying-pan, [31]
The key at the girdle keeps me good and my neighbour too, [264]
The key that is used grows bright, [139]
The keys at the girdle, the dog in the larder, [228]
The king cannot always rule as he wishes, [139]
The king goes as far as he can, not so far as he would, [220]
The king likes the treachery, but not the traitor, [239]
The king of the bees has no sting, [290]
The king’s chaff is better than other folk’s corn, [140]
The kite’s malady, its wings broken and its beak sound, [218]
The laggard cow gets the sour grass, [355]
The lame goat does not take a siesta, [270]
The land a man knows is his mother, [228]
The last come is the best liked, [32]
The last comers are often the masters, [34]
The last shuts the door, [87], [139]
The last stole the sack, [139]
The late comer is ill lodged, [86]
The later the evening the fairer the company, [155]
The law devised, its evasion contrived, [278]
The law says what the king pleases, [29]
The lawyer’s pouch is a mouth of hell, [29]
The lazy pig does not eat ripe pears, [121]
The lazy servant takes eight steps to avoid one, [219], [289]
The lean dog is all fleas, [197]
The less said the sooner mended, [343]
The letter enters with blood, [226]
The liar is not believed when he speaks the truth, [69]
The liar is sooner caught than the cripple, [200]
The light is painful to sore eyes, [68]
The lion had need of the mouse, [102]
The lion is known by his claws, [90]
The lion is not so fierce as he is painted, [235]
The list is worse than the cloth, [29]
The listener makes the backbiter, [32]
The little alms are the good alms, [30]
The lives of doctors, the souls of priests, and the property of lawyers, are in great danger, [107]
The longest way round is the shortest way home, [107]
The Lord will not fail to come, though he may not come on horseback, [403]
The loss which your neighbour does not know is no real loss, [267]
The loyal man lives no longer than the traitor pleases, [237]
The lucky man has a daughter for his first-born, [196], [264]
The mad dog bites its master, [289]
The magistrate’s son gets out of every scrape, [224]
The magpie cannot leave her hopping, [304]
The malady that is most incurable is folly, [289]
The man has neither sense nor reason who leaves a young wife at home, [37]
The man in the moon stole the wood, [139]
The man of sense does not hang up his knowledge, [290]
The man of your own trade is your enemy, [279]
The mare’s kick does not harm the colt, [76], [226], [288]
The mare’s kicks are caresses to the horse, [208], [273]
The master derives honour from his art, [368]
The master orders the man, the man orders the cat, and the cat orders her tail, [282]
The master’s eye and foot are the best manure for the field, [303]
The master’s eye does more than both his hands, [136]
The master’s eye makes the horse fat, [289] (See The eye of the master)
The master’s foot is manure for the estate, [219]
The maw costs much, [305]
The meaning is best known to the speaker, [33]
The merchant that loses cannot laugh, [38]
The middle path is the safe path, [162]
The mill does not grind with water that is past (or without water), [33], [102], [209], [272]
The mill gains by going, and not by standing still, [199]
The miller is never so drunk that he forgets to take his dues, [390]
The miller’s hen and widower’s maid, of want need never be afraid, [162]
The millstone that lies undermost also helps to grind, [354]
The miser and the pig are of no use till dead, [31]
The miser’s bag is never full, [370]
The money paid, the workman’s arm is broken, [5]
The monk preached against stealing, and had the goose in his larder (The friar preached against stealing, and had a pudding in his sleeve), [306]
The monk responds as the abbot chants, [32], [139]
The monk (or friar) that begs for God’s sake begs for two, [39], [222]
The month loses its own, but not the year, [240]
The moon does not heed the baying of dogs, [106]
The more a man exposes his nakedness the colder he is, [46]
The more a woman admires her face, the more she ruins her house, [227]
The more by law, the less by right, [382]
The more cooks the worse broth, [382]
The more fools the more laughter, [46]
The more haste, the less (or worse) speed, [46], [154], [250], [328]
The more knave, the better luck, [382]
The more law, the less justice, [155]
The more one has the more one wants, [250]
The more servants the worse service, [328]
The more shepherds the less care, [382]
The more the fox is cursed, the more prey he catches, [123]
The more the well is used the more water it yields, [155]
The more you court a clown the statelier he grows, [261]
The more you stir a t—d (or filth, or mire) the more it stinks, [46], [155], [328], [357]
The more you stroke the cat’s back the more she sets up her tail, [123]
The morning hour has gold in its mouth, [162], [306], [390]
The mortar always smells of the garlic, [32], [103]
The most cautious passes for the most chaste, [227]
The most covered fire is always the most glowing, [32]
The most cunning are the first caught, [36]
The most difficult mountain to cross is the threshold, [362] (See The hardest step)
The most disorderly students make the most pious preachers, [140]
The most friendly fortune trips up your heels, [29]
The most learned are not the wisest, [305]
The most prudent yields to the strongest, [70]
The moth does most mischief to the finest garment, [111]
The Mother of God appears to fools, [197]
The mother reckons well, but the child reckons better, [205]
The mother-in-law does not remember that she was once a daughter-in-law, [237], [285]
The mother-in-law must be entreated, and the pot must be let stand, [228]
The mountain is in labour, and brings forth a mouse, [118]
The mountaineer’s ass carries wine and drinks water, [30]
The mouse does not leave the cat’s house with a bellyful, [91], [210]
The mouse is knowing, but the cat more knowing, [390]
The mouse may find a hole, be the room ever so full of cats, [394]
The mouse that has but one hole is soon caught, [57], [219], [315]
The mouth and the purse, shut, [225]
The month often utters what the head must answer for, [390]
The mouth that says yes, says no, [205], [269]
The mule long keeps a kick in reserve for its master, [33]
The myrtle is always a myrtle, though it be among nettles, [102]
The nearer the bone the sweeter the flesh, [155], [328]
The nearer the church the farther from God, [46], [155]
The nearer the inn, the longer the road, [155]
The nearer the minster the later to mass, [46]
The nearest boor is the nearest kinsman when the calf lies in the ditch, [334]
The nearest the dearest, [137]
The nest made, the bird dead, [287]
The new is always liked, though the old is often better, [393]
The niggard spends as much as he who is liberal, and in the end more, [7]
The night brings counsel, [30]
The nobler the blood the less the pride, [382]
The nobler the tree the more pliant the twig, [328]
The noise is so great one cannot hear God thunder, [31]
The oaths of one who loves a woman are not to be believed, [225]
The office teaches the man, [136]
The official who can’t lie may as well be out of the world, [219]
The oft-moved (or rolling) stone gathers no moss, [356]
The old branch breaks if bent, [370]
The old for want of ability, and the young for want of knowledge, let things be lost, [220]
The old man at home, and the young abroad, lie after the same fashion, [220]
The old monkey gets the apple, [30]
The old ones sing, the young ones pipe (or, As the old cock crows, the young cook learns), [342]
The old saints are forgotten in the new, [291]
The old wife, if she does not serve for a pot, serves for a cover, [227]
The older a fool the worse he is (There is no fool like an old fool), [154]
The older one grows the more one learns, [328]
The older, the colder; the more avaricious, the more vicious, [154]
The one-eyed is a king in the land of the blind, [6], [172], [222], [286]
The only victory over love is flight, [31]
The only way to keep a secret is to say nothing, [25]
The open door invites the thief, [306] (See The hole; also Opportunity)
The owl does not praise the light, nor the wolf the dog, [402]
The owl thinks her children the fairest, [402]
The ox comes to the yoke at the call of his feeder, [197]
The ox spoke and said “Moo,” [223]
The ox that tossed me threw me into a good place, [216], [270]
The ox without a bell is soon lost, [216]
The pan says to the pot, Keep off, or you’ll smutch me, [106]
The paunch warm, the foot sleepy, [204]
The people’s voice, God’s voice, [64], [132], [140], [174]
The pike grows big on small fry, [370]
The pitcher goes so often to the well that it gets broken at last, [58], [139], [305], [383]
The pitcher goes so often to the well that it leaves its handle or its mouth, [131], [208], [258], [271]
The point of the thorn is small, but he who has felt it does not forget it, [97]
The poor man eats at double cost, [288]
The poor man has his crop destroyed by hail every year, [217]
The poor man seeks for food, the rich man for appetite, [368]
The poor man wants much, the miser everything, [353]
The poor man’s corn always grows thin, [368]
The poor must dance as the rich pipe, [140]
The poor-houses are filled with the honestest people, [211]
The pope and a peasant know more than the pope alone, [125]
The pope eats peasants, gulps gentlemen, and voids monks, [139]
The pot boils best on your own hearth, [365]
The pot that boils too much loses its flavour, [291]
The pot upbraids the kettle that it is black, [306]
The pride of the poor does not endure, [368]
The priest errs at the altar, [97]
The priest loves his flock, but the lambs more than the wethers, [139]
The priest to his book, the peasant to his plough, [395]
The proof of the pudding is in the eating, [307]
The rat does not leave the cat’s house with a bellyful, [274]
The rat that has but one hole is soon caught, [198], [354], [299] (See The mouse)
The raven always thinks that her young ones are the whitest, [395]
The raven is fair when the rook is not by, [395]
The repeated stroke will fell the oak, [173]
The rich devour the poor, and the devil devours the rich, and so both are devoured, [306]
The rich have many friends, [337]
The rich man has more relations than he knows, [33]
The rich man transgresses the law, and the poor man is punished, [259]
The rich widow’s tears soon dry, [396]
The richest man carries nothing away with him but a shroud, [33]
The richest man, whatever his lot, is he who’s content with what he has got, [318]
The right hand is slave to the left, [105]
The righteous man sins before an open chest, [221]
The righteous pays for the sinner, [290]
The river does not swell with clear water, [102]
The river passed the saint forgotten, [118]
The road to heaven is equally short, where’er we die, [361]
The road to ruin is paved with good intentions, [139]
The roses fall, and the thorns remain, [108]
The rotten apple spoils its companion, [227]
The saint has no believers unless he works miracles, [114]
The saint who works no cures has few pilgrims to his shrine, [55]
The saint’s-day over, farewell the saint, [29]
The same fire purifies gold and consumes straw, [126]
The same shoe does not fit every foot, [74]
The scabbier the sheep the harder it bleats, [328]
The scalded cat (or dog) dreads cold water, [101], [223]
The scoffer’s own house is often on fire, [357]
The secret in swimming is to know how to take care of your clothes, [226]
The secret of two is God’s secret, the secret of three is everybody’s secret, [56]
The servant wench that has a mother in town swoons seven times a day, [250]
The shadow of a lord is a cap for a fool, [118]
The sharper soon (or easily) cheats the covetous man, [220], [290]
The she-bear thinks her cubs pretty, [70]
The sheep on the mountain is higher than the bull on the plain, [28]
The sheep that bleat most give the least milk, [367]
The sheep that bleats loses a mouthful, [9], [119], [238], [290]
The sheep that is too tame is sucked by too many lambs, [9]
The ship does not go without the boat, [106]
The shirt is nearer than the doublet, [66], [231], [398]
The shortest follies are the best, [35]
The shovel scouts the poker, [30]
The sick man is free to say all, [109]
The sick man is vexed with the flies on the wall, [137]
The sick man sleeps when the debtor cannot, [106]
The silent dog is the first to bite, [168]
The silent man is most trusted, [400]
The skin is nearer than the shirt, [30]
The sky is not the less blue because the blind man does not see it, [374]
The smith’s dog sleeps at the noise of the hammer, and wakes at the grinding of teeth, [219]
The smoke of my own house is better than another man’s fire, [121]
The snail, to be rid of annoyances, bartered its eyes for horns, [216]
The soldier is well paid for doing mischief, [103]
The soldier’s blood exalts the captain, [103]
The son of an ass brays twice a day, [217]
The son-in-law’s sack is never full, [290]
The sound of the bell does not drive away rooks, [127]
The sow prefers the mire, [398]
The spider’s web lets the rat escape and catches the fly, [228]
The spot will come out in the washing, [197]
The steps at court are slippery, [401]
The stew mixed by many is ill-seasoned and worse cooked (Too many cooks spoil the broth), [238]
The stew that boils much loses flavour, [238]
The still swine eat the mash, the wild ones run past it, [352]
The stone is hard and the drop is small, but a hole is made by the constant fall, [228]
The stone that everybody spits upon will be wet at last, [356]
The strong man’s sport is the weak man’s death, [170]
The stronger the seam the worse the rent, [14]
The strongest is always in the right, [103]
The sun passes over filth and is not defiled, [71]
The sun shines for all the world, [35]
The sun will bring to light what lay under the snow, [141]
The sun-dial counts only the bright hours, [141]
The sweetest grapes hang highest, [141]
The sword and the ring according to the hand that bears them, [226], [264]
The sword keeps the peace of the land, [403]
The tail is the hardest to scourge, [30], [105]
The tailor ill-dressed, the shoemaker ill-shod, [265]
The talker sows, the listener reaps, [85]
The teeth of the puppy are growing while the old dog is gnawing bones, [347]
The tender surgeon makes a foul wound, [102]
The thief becomes the gallows well, [269]
The thief cannot find any tree that suits him for a gallows, [147]
The thief is frightened even by a mouse, [69]
The thief proceeds from a needle to gold, and from gold to the gallows, [288]
The thief thinks that all men are like himself, [240], [288]
The thief’s wife does not always laugh, [114]
The third person makes good company, [304]
The thirteenth man brings death, [304]
The thorn comes into the world point foremost, [226]
The thread breaks where it is thinnest, [217]
The threatener loses the opportunity of vengeance, [215]
The threatener sometimes gets a drubbing, [58]
The threshold says nothing but what it hears of the hinge, [235]
The tired mare goes willingly to grass, [276]
The tired ox plants his foot firmly, [216]
The tongue goes where the tooth aches (or to the aching tooth), [29], [94], [196], [280]
The tongue of a bad friend cuts more than a knife, [226]
The tongue wounds more than a lance, [61]
The tooth often bites the tongue, and yet they keep together, [400]
The town that parleys is half surrendered, [64]
The trade of thick-headed Michael: eating, drinking, and idling, [303]
The treason approved, the traitor abhorred, [172], [265]
The tree does not fall at the first stroke, [6], [31], [70], [304]
The tree is not felled at one blow, [68]
The tree is not to be judged of by its bark, [91]
The tree is sure to be pruned before it reaches the skies, [401]
The tree must be bent while it is young, [137]
The Trojans were wise too late, [128]
The two make a pair, [34]
The unbidden guest is ever a pest, [171]
The unfortunate know who are their real friends, [89]
The unrighteous penny consumes the righteous dollar, [172]
The upright never grow rich in a hurry, [396]
The venom is in the tail, [111]
The virtue of silence is a great piece of knowledge, [132]
The voice of the people is the voice of God, [262] (See Vox Populi, vox Dei, in Dict. of Quotations)
The waggon must go whither the horses draw it, [403]
The watch-dog does not get sweet milk unless there be drowned mice in it, [398]
The water breaks out where it is not expected, [94]
The water runs while the miller sleeps, [402]
The weakest goes to the wall, [125]
The weakest must hold the candle, [6]
The wedding feast is not made with mushrooms only, [237]
The weeping bride makes a laughing wife, [176]
The well-bred hound, if he does not hunt to-day will hunt to-morrow, [216]
The well-dressed woman draws her husband away from another woman’s door, [227]
The well-fed man does not believe in hunger, [103]
The well-fed sheep makes a cloak of its tail, [227]
The wet branch burns better than the dry stone, [349]
The white coat does not make the miller, [107]
The wicked shun the light as the devil shuns the cross, [306]
The will gives the work its name, [140]
The will is everything, [107]
The will is taken for the deed, [37]
The will is the soul of the work, [140]
The wind does not always blow from the same quarter, [147]
The wine given to your workmen is that for which you get the best paid, [36]
The wine is not known by the hoops, [42]
The wine-skin has its reasons for smelling of pitch, [264]
The winter is gone, the spring is come, a fig for those who us good have done, [218]
The wise drunkard is a sober fool, [171]
The wise hand does not all that the tongue says, [227]
The wise knows that he does not know, the ignoramus thinks he knows, [205]
The wise man does not hang his knowledge on a hook, [217]
The wise man has long ears and a short tongue, [139]
The wit one wants spoils what one has, [36]
The wolf and the fox are both in one story, [218]
The wolf bemoans the sheep, and then eats it, [102]
The wolf does that in the course of the week which hinders him from going to mass on Sunday, [218]
The wolf eats of what is counted, [211], [275] (See Counted sheep)
The wolf is always left out of the reckoning, [90]
The wolf is not always a wolf, [102]
The wolf is not so big as people make him (or The wolf is always said to be bigger than he is), [42], [126]
The wolf loses his teeth, but not his inclinations, [218], [233], [288]
The wolf picks the ass’s fleas by moonlight, [195]
The wolf preys not in his own field (or commits no mischief at home), [218], [402]
The wolf will die in his skin, [32]
The woman in finery, the house in filth, but the doorway swept, [227]
The woman who gives is seldom good; the woman who accepts is in the power of the giver, [93]
The wood has ears, the field has eyes, [139]
The word of honour of a gentleman—another pledge would be better, [18]
The words are fair, said the wolf, but I will not come into the village, [307]
The work praises the workman, [137]
The workman is known by his work, [3], [70], [296]
The workman is worthy of his hire, [312]
The world belongs to the phlegmatic, [103]
The world is for him who has patience, [103]
The world is governed with little brains, [89]
The world is like a staircase; some go up, others go down, [103]
The world likes to be cheated, [307]
The world likes to have night-owls, that it may have matter for wonder, [141]
The world wags on with three things: doing, undoing, and pretending, [103]
The world’s a stage; each plays his part, and takes his share, [307]
The worse service, the better luck, [328]
The worse the carpenter, the more the chips, [328]
The worse the dun, the worse the paymaster, [154]
The worst clothed go to windward, [35]
The worst ewe dungs in the milking-pail, [227]
The worst jests are those that are true, [11]
The worst of a lawsuit is that out of one there grow a hundred, [229]
The worst pig eats the best acorn (or pear), [70], [197], [289]
The worst wheel creaks most (or makes the most noise), [12], [96], [137], [325], [328]
The worth of a thing is what it will bring, [295]
The wrath of brothers is the wrath of devils, [225], [280]
The wrong-doer never lacks a pretext, [66], [197]
The year has a wide mouth and a big belly, [346]
The young may die, the old must die, [138], [330]
The young pig must often suffer for what the old sow did, [394]
The young ravens are beaked like the old, [305]
Their dogs don’t hunt in couples, [36]
There are calumnies against which even innocence loses courage, [27]
There are eyes that fall in love with bleared ones (Fancy surpasses beauty), [238]
There are fagots and fagots (all are not alike), [27]
There are good and bad everywhere, [119]
There are good dogs of all sizes, [15]
There are ills that happen for good, [279]
There are many days in the year, and still more meals, [356]
There are many preachers who don’t hear themselves, [173]
There are many roads to Rome, [119]
There are more asses than carry sacks, [126]
There are more foolish buyers than foolish sellers, [27]
There are more old drunkards than old doctors, [43], [145]
There are more thieves than are hanged, [302]
There are more thieves than gibbets, [126]
There are more threatened than hurt, [121], [231]
There are no children now-a-days, [25]
There are no foolish trades, there are only foolish people, [25]
There are only two good women in the world: the one is dead, the other not to be found, [146]
There are some who despise pride with greater pride, [127]
There are some who see ill, and would like to see worse, [88]
There are three bad neighbours: great rivers, great lords, and great roads, [356]
There are three things from which no good can be got without a beating: a walnut-tree, a donkey, and a shrew, [401]
There are toys for all ages, [27]
There come just as many calf-skins to market as cow-skins, [146], [302]
There die as many lambs as wethers, [294]
There goes more than one ass to market, [98]
There is a cause for all things, [116]
There is a fool at every feast, [301]
There is a remedy for everything but death, [27], [43], [203], [317], [356]
There is always a Pharaoh who does not know Joseph, [146]
There is little peace in that house where the hen crows and the cock is mute, [104]
There is little use in watching a bad woman, [199]
There is more disputing about the shell than the kernel, [159]
There is never a cry of “Wolf!” but the wolf is in the district, [97]
There is never a great dunghill at a sportsman’s door, [200]
There is never enmity between the cook and the butler, [128]
There is never enough where nought is left, [115]
There is never wanting a dog to bark at you, [287]
There is no answer for Get out of my house, and What have you to do with my wife?, [195]
There is no appeal from time past, [91]
There is no beard so well shaven but another barber will find something more to shave from it, [115]
There is no beast so savage but sports with its mate, [236]
There is no better patch than one off the same cloth, [236]
There is no bush so small but casts its shadow, [26]
There is no chapel so small but has its saint, [25]
There is no choicer morsel than that which is stolen, [236]
There is no cure against a slanderer’s bite, [356]
There is no day without its night, [285]
There is no disputing about taste, [258]
There is no dog, be he ever so wicked, but wags his tail, [115]
There is no fire without smoke, [356]
There is no flavour in a swallowed morsel, [39]
There is no fool like a learned fool, [105]
There is no getting blood from a turnip, [90]
There is no good in preaching to the hungry, [137]
There is no helping him who will not be advised, [66]
There is no house without its hush! hush!, [236]
There is no hunting but with old hounds, [24]
There is no joy without alloy, [318]
There is no law but has a hole in it, for those who can find it out, [146]
There is no lock if the pick is of gold, [236]
There is no love without jealousy, [25], [112]
There is no making pancakes without breaking the eggs, [84]
There is no mother like the mother that bore us, [236]
There is no need to bind up one’s head before it is broken, [111]
There is no need to blow what does not burn you, [358]
There is no need to fasten a bell to a fool, he is sure to tell his own tale, [390]
There is no occasion for priests to marry while peasants have wives, [146]
There is no pleasure but palls, and the more so if it costs nothing, [236], [285]
There is no pot so bad (or ugly) but finds its cover, [26], [236]
There is no pride like that of a beggar grown rich, [24]
There is no saint so petty but claims his own candle, [146]
There is no spite like that of a proud beggar, [25]
There is no stripping a naked man, [142]
There is no such thing as an insignificant enemy, [25]
There is no such witness as a good measure of wine, [236]
There is no tax upon lying, [219]
There is no thief without a receiver, [230]
There is no use in blowing a fire that burns well, [362]
There is no use in saying, I will not go such a way, nor drink of such a water, [113]
There is no virtue in a promise unless it be kept, [380]
There is no worse fruit than that which never ripens, [112]
There is no worse joke than a true one, [112], [115], [236]
There is no worse thief than a bad book, [115]
There is no worse water than that which sleeps, [24]
There is not a pair of ears for every Jew, [239]
There is nothing for which the boors pray so much to God as that the horses of the squirearchy may not die, for otherwise they would ride the boors with spurs, [140]
There is nothing so bad but may be of some use, [156]
There is nothing so secret but it transpires, [317]
There is nothing so well done but may be mended, [25]
There is plenty of corn in Castile, but he who has none starves, [284]
There is some distance between Peter and Peter, [196]
There never was a banquet so sumptuous but some one dined ill at it, [25]
There never was a looking-glass that told a woman she was ugly, [25]
There never was a shoe, however handsome, that did not become an ugly slipper, [113]
There were never fewer nobles than when all would be so, [346]
There would be no ill word if it were not ill taken, [235]
There’s cunning in—a pointed chin, [169]
There’s many a knave concealed under a surplice, [366]
There’s neither rhyme nor reason in him, [25]
There’s no argument like that of the stick, [236]
There’s no catching trouts with dry breeches, [286]
There’s no disputing about tastes, [91]
There’s no getting to heaven in a coach, [114]
There’s no guarding against the privy thief, [16]
There’s no handsome woman on the wedding-day, except the bride, [285]
There’s no living without friends, [285]
There’s no making a donkey drink against his will, [112], [332]
There’s no making a good cloak of bad cloth, [212]
There’s no making a silk purse of a sow’s ear, [332]
There’s no making apples of plums, [165]
There’s no need to grease the fat pig’s rump, [42]
There’s no putting off a lie upon the belly, [138]
There’s no showing the wolf to a bad dog, [3]
There’s no smoke without fire, [112]
There’s no turning a windmill with a pair of bellows, [114]
There’s not enough if there’s not too much, [5]
There’s nothing like being bespattered for making a man defy the gutter, [25]
There’s nothing like having the key of the fields, [25]
There’s nothing new under the sun, [145]
There’s virtue in a man’s face (i. e. presence carries weight), [17]
They agree like cats and dogs, [345]
They are all honest men, but my cloak is not to be found, [259]
They are rich who have friends, [201], [267]
They may whip me in the market-place, so it be not known at home, [259]
They must be strong legs that can support prosperous days, [147]
They must hunger in frost who spring-time have lost, [182]
“They say” is a fool (or a liar), [41], [126]
They took away the mirror from me because I was ugly, and gave it to the blind woman, [254]
They understand one another like thieves in a fair, [345]
They whip the cat if our mistress does not spin, [204]
They who are often at the looking-glass seldom spin, [344]
They who come from afar have leave to lie, [173], [311]
They who deserve honour fail of it, and they who obtain it do not deserve it, [181]
They who do not wash well do not bleach well, [378]
They who don’t keep goats and yet sell kids, where do they get them?, [230]
They who don’t kill pigs must not expect black-puddings, [201]
They who eat cherries with the great are like to have the stones and stalks flung in their face, [162]
They who fight with golden weapons are pretty sure to prove their right, [310]
They who shun the smoke often fall into the fire, [126]
They wrangle about an egg and let the hens fly away, [169]
Thick wine is better than clear water, [97]
Things are not as they are, but as they are regarded, [108]
Things promised are things due, [13] (See Promises make debts)
Think much, say little, write less, [45], [119]
Think of many things, do one, [273]
Thinking is not knowing, [273]
Thinking of where you are going, you forget whence you came, [273]
Thirst comes from drinking, [75]
Thirteen nuns, fourteen children!, [141]
Thistles and thorns prick sore, but evil tongues prick more, [311]
Those besoms can be sold cheapest which are stolen ready made, [140]
Those who climb high often have a fall, [378]
Though a lie be swift, truth overtakes it, [75]
Though my father-in-law is a good man, I do not like a dog with a bell, [203]
Though the ass may carry a sack of gold, it feeds on thistles, [348]
Though the bird may fly over your head, let it not make its nest in your hair, [368]
Though the fool waits, the day does not, [54]
Though the fox runs, the pullets have wings, [75]
Though the heron flies high the falcon kills it, [264]
Though the speaker be a fool, let the hearer be wise, [203]
Though we are negroes, we are men, and have souls, [264]
Though you are a prudent old man, do not despise counsel, [204]
Though you seat the frog on a golden stool, he’ll soon jump off and into the pool, [168]
Though you see me with this coat, I have another up the mountain, [203]
Though you teach a wolf the pater-noster, he will say, “Lamb! lamb!”, [383]
Though your bloodhound (or mastiff) be gentle, don’t bite him on the lip, [203], [264]
Thought when sober, said when drunk, [164]
Thoughts are toll-free, but not hell-free, [149]
Thousands drink themselves to death before one dies of thirst, [147]
Threads do not break for being fine, but for being gouty and ill-spun, [285]
Threatened folks eat bread, [229], [294]
Threats are arms for the threatened, [108]
Threats don’t kill (Men don’t die of threats), [340]
Three brothers, three castles, [60], [128], [295]
Three daughters and a mother, four devils for the father, [260]
Three know it, all know it, [128]
Three or four daily will bring you to the bottom of the sack, [270]
Three removals are as bad as a fire, [60], [141]
Three things drive a man out of doors: smoke, dropping water (or a leaky roof), and a shrew, [128]
Three things kill a man: a scorching sun, suppers, and cares, [260]
Three who help each other are as good as six, [204]
Three women and a goose make a market, [128], [312], [401]
Three women, three geese, and three frogs, make a fair, [141]
Thrift is better than an annuity, [39]
Through being too knowing the fox lost his tail, [119]
Through not spending enough, we spend too much, [241]
Throw no stones at a sleeping dog, [389]
Throw not the child out with the bath, [382]
Throw not thy hatchet at the Lord, He will turn the sharp edge against thee, [382]
Throw that bone to another dog, [200], [266]
Thrust not thy finger into a fool’s mouth, [338]
Thunder-showers and great men’s favour are always partial, [401]
Tie me hand and foot and throw me among my own people, [108]
Time and opportunity are in no man’s sleeve, [191]
Time and place make the thief, [170], [338]
Time and straw make medlars ripe, [334]
Time and the hour are not to be tied with a rope, [295]
Time and the hour run through the roughest day, [191]
Time and tide wait for no man, [190]
Time betrays and hangs the thief, [191]
Time brings everything, to those who can wait for it, [190]
Time brings roses, [190], [307]
Time covers and discovers everything, [191]
Time destroys all things, [307]
Time gained, much gained, [339]
Time goes, death comes, [307]
Time is anger’s medicine, [190]
Time is an inaudible file, [104]
Time is God’s and ours, [307]
Time is money, [339]
Time is not tied to a post, like a horse to the manger, [400]
Time is the best counsellor (or preacher), [138], [190]
Time is the herald of truth, [190]
Time makes hay, [190]
Time passes like the wind, [295]
Time past never returns, [307]
Time waits for no man, [400]
Time, wind, women, and fortune, are ever changing, [191]
Timid dogs bark most, [173]
Tired folks are quarrelsome, [34]
Tired oxen tread hard, [162]
’Tis a fat bird that bastes itself, [323]
’Tis a good farthing that saves a penny, [9]
’Tis a good horse that has no fault, [24]
’Tis a long day, a day without bread, [12]
’Tis a silly sheep that makes the wolf her confessor, [18], [110]
’Tis a wise child that knows its own father, [323]
’Tis as necessary to him as gold weights are to a beggar, [303]
’Tis best to woo where you can see the smoke, [322]
’Tis easier to hurt than heal, [172]
’Tis everywhere the same as here, [11]
’Tis good feasting in other men’s houses, [108]
’Tis hard to swim against the stream, [187]
’Tis possible if true, [56]
’Tis the mind ennobles, not the blood, [141]
’Tis too late to spare when the pocket (or cask) is bare, [191], [324]
’Tis well that wicked cows have short horns, [323]
’Tis written, “What’s not your own, that let alone,” [146]
To a bold man fortune holds out her hand, [2]
To a crazy ship every wind is contrary, [71]
To a depraved taste sweet is bitter, [196]
To a friend’s house the road is never long, [360]
To a good cat a good rat, [1]
To a hard knot a hard wedge, [198]
To a hasty demand a leisure reply, [200], [263]
To a quick ear half a word, [190]
To a rogue a rogue and a half, [2]
To a son-in-law and a hog you need show the way but once, [198]
To a woman and a magpie tell your secrets in the market-place, [195]
To a young heart everything is sport, [68]
To ask wool of an ass, [15]
To bait and to grease does not retard a journey, [348]
To be a merchant, the art consists more in getting paid than in making sales, [256]
To be content to let twelve pennies pass for a shilling, [132]
To be led by the nose, [345]
To be like a bunch of nettles, [256]
To be like a fish in the water, [277]
To be like a leek, a grey head and the rest green, [256]
To be like a louse in a seam, [256]
To be like a tailor’s pattern-book, [256]
To be like the esquire of Guadalaxara, who knew nothing in the morning of what he said at night, [256]
To be like the tailor of Campillo, who worked for nothing and found thread, [256]
To be slow to give, and to refuse, are the same thing, [58], [295]
To beards with money cavaliers pay respect, [195]
To beat the dog in presence of the lion, [7]
To become rich in this world, it needs only to turn one’s back on God, [119]
To begin skinning the eel at the tail, [16]
To blow hot and cold, [57]
To break the constable’s head, and take refuge with the sheriff, [212]
To bring down two apples with one stick, [339]
To build castles in the air, [18], [330]
To burn out a candle in search of a pin, [19]
To buy a cat in a poke, [2]
To cackle and lay no egg, [206], [270]
To carry a lantern in mid-day, [46]
To carry fir-trees to Norway (To carry coals to Newcastle), [338]
To carry water to the sea (or river), [46], [176], [280], [343]
To cast pearls before swine, [99], [336]
To catch a hare with a cart, [120]
To catch two pigeons with one bean, [12]
To change and to better are two different things, [133]
To change one’s habits smacks of death, [284]
To circumstances and custom the law must yield, [368]
To commit the sheep to the care of the wolf, [221]
To cover the well after the child has been drowned in it, [137]
To cry famine on a heap of corn, [14]
To cry up wine, and sell vinegar, [242]
To cut broad thongs from another man’s leather, [18] (See Broad thongs)
To cut into another man’s ear is like cutting into a felt hat, [348]
To-day for money, to-morrow for nothing, [152], [339]
To-day in finery, to-morrow in filth, [152]
To-day in gold, to-morrow in the mould, [380]
To-day must borrow nothing of to-morrow, [152]
To-day red, to-morrow dead, [152], [321]
To-day stately and brave, to-morrow in the grave, [321]
To-day’s sorrow brings nought to-morrow (Sorrow will pay no debts), [325]
To discover truth by telling a falsehood, [255]
To do like the monkey, get the chesnuts out of the fire with the cat’s paw, [17]
To do nothing teacheth to do evil, [335]
To do, one must be doing, [42]
To draw the foot out of the mire, [255]
To draw the snake out of the hole with another’s hand, [209]
To eat and to scratch, one has but to begin, [209]
To eat, drink, and sleep together, is marriage, methinks, [8]
To err is human (to forgive, divine), [154], [312]
To every bird its nest seems fair, [6]
To every evil-doer his evil day, [193]
To every fool his cap, [329]
To every lord every honour, [6]
To every one his own is not too much, [155]
To every saint his candle, [2], [68]
To exchange a one-eyed horse for a blind one, [12]
To expect what never comes, to lie in bed and not sleep, to serve well and not be advanced, are three things to die of, [73]
To fall from the wall into the ditch (Out of the frying-pan into the fire), [340]
To fall out of the frying-pan into the fire, [76], [340]
To fawn with the tail and bite with the mouth, [223]
To fetch water after the house is burned, [226]
To find oneself in tight breeches (Ill at ease—we say, In tight boots), [261]
To flay the flayed dog, [125]
To flee and to run are not all one, [224]
To get out of one muck into another, [255]
To get out of the mire and fall into the river, [278]
To get out of the rain under the spout, [134]
To get out of the smoke and fall into the fire, [278]
To get the chicks one must coax the hen, [21]
To give a pea for a bean (A Rowland for an Oliver), [55]
To give an egg to get an ox, [16], [313]
To give change out for his coin, [55]
To give counsel to a fool is like throwing water on a goose, [348]
To give court holy-water, [16]
To give is honour, to beg is dishonour, [274]
To give is honour, to lose is grief, [217]
To give one the sack, [329]
To give quickly is to give doubly, [135]
To give tardily is to refuse, [58], [295]
To go for wool and come back shorn, [225]
To go mulberry-gathering without a crook, [3]
To go rabbit-catching with a dead ferret, [199]
To go safely through the world you must have the eye of a falcon, the ear of an ass, the face of an ape, the mouth of a pig, the shoulders of a camel, and the legs of a deer, [87]
To go to the vintage without baskets, [3]
To God’s council-chamber there is no key, [372]
To good eating belongs good drinking, [134]
To grease the fat pig’s tail, [197]
To grow rich one has only to turn his back on God, [24]
To hang your sickle on another man’s corn, [307]
To harness the horses behind the cart (To put the cart before the horse), [306]
To have a belly up to one’s mouth, [259]
To have friends both in heaven and hell, [7]
To have hairs on his heart (Hard-hearted), [259]
To have “heard say” is half a lie, [74]
To have it written on his forehead, [259]
To have luck needs little wit, [132]
To have one eye on the cat and another on the frying-pan, [74]
To have one’s brains in one’s heels, [259]
To have the foot in two shoes, [259]
To him who can take all you have, give what he asks, [67]
To him who gives you a capon you may spare a leg and a wing, [197], [252]
To him who gives you a pig you may well give a rasher, [67]
To him who is determined it remains only to act, [67]
To him who watches, everything is revealed, [67], [201]
To hold the wolf by the ears, [58]
To jump into the water for fear of the rain, [56]
To jump out of the frying-pan into the fire, [55], [255]
To keep one upon hot coals, [258]
To kick against the pricks, [259]
To kill a mercer for a comb, [60]
To kill the hen by way of getting the egg, [60]
To kill two birds with one stone, [282], [339]
To know a man well one must have eaten a bushel of salt with him, [46]
To know everything is to know nothing, [129]
To know the law and do the right are two things, [348]
To lather an ass’s head is only wasting soap, [262], [277]
To laugh in one’s sleeve, [330]
To live from hand to mouth, [64]
To live long is to suffer long, [383]
To lock the stable after the horses are stolen, [93]
To look for a needle in a bundle (or bottle) of hay, [13], [143]
To look for five feet in a cat, [206]
To look for noon at fourteen o’clock, [13]
To lose one eye that you may deprive another of two, [245]
To love and to be wise are two different things (or impossible), [2], [198], [265]
To mad words deaf ears, [200]
To make a happy couple, the husband must be deaf and the wife blind, [46]
To make a virtue of necessity, [18], [340]
To make an elephant of a fly (To make a mountain of a molehill), [98]
To make coqs-à-l’âne, [340]
To make of a flea a knight cap-à-pie, [277]
To make one hole by way of stopping another, [18]
To make the cart go you must grease the wheels, [119]
To make two hits with one stone, [18]
To make two nails at one heat, [98]
To marry once is a duty; twice a folly; thrice is madness, [316]
To-morrow will be another day, [230]
To-morrow’s remedy will not ward off the evil of to-day, [239]
To offer one candle to God and another to the devil, [16]
To one who has a pie in the oven you may give a bit of your cake, [1]
To parade the gallows before the town, [233]
To pay one in his own coin, [118], [291], [329]
To piece the lion’s skin with that of the fox, [325]
To pluck the goose without making it cry out, [45]
To pray to the saint until the danger is past, [254]
To preserve friendship one must build walls, [119]
To promise is easy, to keep is troublesome, [385]
To promise more butter than bread, [47]
To promise more carts than oxen, [121]
To promise much means giving little, [284]
To protest and knock one’s head against the wall is what everybody can do, [122]
To pull down the house for the sake of the mortar, [124]
To put a good face on a bad game, [17]
To put in a needle and take out a bar, [232]
To put on one’s doublet before one’s shirt, [110]
To put out the fire with tow, [126]
To put the plough before the oxen (or cart before the horse), [38]
To put water into a basket (To pour water into a sieve), [342]
To quarrel over a straw, [336]
To quench fire with fire, [255]
To rain upon the wet, [272]
To reckon without the hostess, [223], [277]
To rise at five, dine at nine, sup at five, go to bed at nine, makes a man live to ninety-nine, [36]
To rise at six, eat at ten, sup at six, go to bed at ten, makes a man live years ten times ten, [36]
To rob a robber is not robbing, [64]
To rude words deaf ears, [4]
To save at the spiggot, and let it run out at the bung-hole (Also Scotch), [160]
To save for old age, earning one maravedi and drinking three, [195]
To scare a bird is not the way to catch it, [54]
To see the sky through a funnel, [261]
To see the mote in another’s eye and not the beam in your own, [307]
To sell a cat for a hare, [261], [295]
To sell honey to a bee-keeper, [131], [261], [295]
To sell the bird in the bush, [131]
To sell the skin of the bear before it is caught, [131]
To send one arrow after another, [215]
To sew the fox’s skin to the lion’s, [14]
To shave an egg, [313]
To shiver at work, and sweat at meals, [196]
To show the sun with a torch, [39]
To sign for both parties, [56]
To sing out of tune and persist in it, [208]
To sink a well by the river side, [163]
To spend much and gain little is the sure road to ruin, [173]
To spur a horse on level ground, [122]
To squeeze an eel too hard is the way to lose it, [44]
To start the hare for another’s profit, [280]
To steal the leather, and give away the shoes for God’s sake, [137]
To steal the pig, and give away the pettitoes for God’s sake, [124], [225], [278]
To stop the hole after the mischief is done, [254]
To strip one altar to cover another, [125]
To strip Peter to clothe Paul, [14], [127] (To rob Peter to pay Paul)
To swallow a camel, and strain at a gnat, [259]
To swallow both sea and fish, [307]
To swim and swim more, and be drowned on shore, [233]
To swim between two waters, [40]
To take one foot out of the mire and put the other into it, [255]
To take opportunity by the forelock, [46], [259]
To take out a burning coal with another’s hand (To make a cat’s-paw of one), [255]
To take the chesnuts out of the fire with the cat’s paw, [58]
To take Villadiego’s boots (To take to your heels), [259]
To the bold man fortune gives her hand, [196], [266]
To the devil with so many masters, said the toad to the harrow, [6]
To the fallen tree, hatchets! hatchets!, [67]
To the grateful man give more than he asks, [195]
To the jaundiced all things seem yellow, [59]
To the lean pig a fat acorn (See The worst pig), [265]
To the looker-on no work is too hard, [137]
To thrash one’s jacket, [262]
To throw oil on the fire, [336]
To throw in a smelt to catch a codfish, [316]
To throw the halter after the ass, [128]
To throw the helve after the hatchet, [28], [215]
To throw the rope after the bucket, [99]
To throw the stone and conceal the hand, [259]
To throw up a feather in the air, and see where it falls, [215]
To turn fishmonger on Easter-eve, [56]
To undo crosses in a straw-loft (i. e. to part all the straws that they may not lie crosswise; to be over nice), [213]
To wait and be patient soothes many a pang, [348]
To wash a blackamoor white, [323]
To wash an ass’s head is but loss of time and soap (To reprove a fool is but lost labour), [3]
To whom do you offer your shells for sale? To people who come from Saint Michel (where shells abound), [5]
To whom you tell your secret you surrender your freedom, [66]
To wipe up the sea with a sponge, [308]
To withhold truth is to bury gold, [348]
To wolf’s flesh dog’s teeth, [193], [264]
To work for the bishop (Prayers, but no pay), [259]
To your son give a good name and a trade, [203]
Too keen an edge does not cut, too fine a point does not pierce, [60]
Too late the bird cries out when it is caught, [6]
Too little and too much spoils everything, [368]
Too many cooks oversalt the porridge, [341]
Too many sacks are the death of the ass, [173]
Too much bursts the bag, [133]
Too much familiarity breeds contempt, [266]
Too much humility is pride, [191]
Too much is not enough, [133]
Too much of one thing is good for nothing, [338]
Too much scratching smarts, too much talking harms, [60]
Too much wax burns the church, [266]
Too much will soon break, [191]
Too much wisdom is folly, [191]
Too much zeal spoils all, [60]
Touch a galled horse and he’ll wince, [337]
Touch not another man’s money, for the most honest never added to it, [40]
Translators, traitors, [128]
Travel east or travel west, a man’s own house is still the best, [339]
Treachery and slander are long lived, [399]
Treachery lurks in honeyed words, [402]
Tread on a worm and it will turn, [63]
Trees often transplanted seldom prosper, [302]
Trick against trick, [159]
Trickery comes back to its master, [60]
Trim my beard and I will trim your topknot, [18]
Tripe broth, you make much of yourself, [207]
Trouts are not caught with dry breeches, [237]
True jokes never please, [9]
True love never grows old, [71]
True love suffers no concealment, [215]
True nobility is invulnerable, [64]
Trueman’s house stands the longest, [174]
Trust, beware whom!, [171]
Trust, but not too much, [171]
Trust everybody, but thyself most, [401]
Trust in God upon good security, [40], [222]
Trust no one till you have eaten a bushel of salt with him, [171]
Trust not a dog that limps, [285]
Trust not a skittish horse, nor a great lord, when they shake their heads, [389]
Trust not still water nor a silent man, [401]
Trust not tow with firebrands, nor a woman with men, [286]
Trust not your gossip to a priest who has been a friar, [194]
Trust not your money to one whose eyes are bent on the ground, [212]
Trust was a good man, Trust-not was a better, [98]
Trust-well rides away with the horse, [170]
Truth and folly dwell in the wine-cask, [397]
Truth and oil always come to the surface, [228], [268]
Truth creeps not into corners, [174]
Truth finds no asylum, [174]
Truth gives a short answer, lies go round about, [174]
Truth ill-timed is as bad as a lie (Truth should not always be revealed), [172]
Truth is bitter food, [397]
Truth is lost with too much debating, [333]
Truth is the club that knocks down and kills everybody, [31]
Truth is the daughter of time, [174], [307]
Truth makes the tongue smart, [174]
Truth may be suppressed, but not strangled, [174]
Truth must be seasoned to make it palatable, [357]
Truth’s cloak is often lined with lies, [400]
Turn your tongue seven times before speaking, [23]
’Twixt the spoon and the lip the morsel may slip, [339] (See Between, &c.)
’Twixt the word and the deed there’s a long step, [16]
Two are the masters of one, [401]
Two birds of prey do not keep each other company, [215]
Two cannot fall out if one does not choose, [245]
Two cats and one mouse, two women in one house, two dogs to one bone, will not agree long, [192]
Two cocks in one house, a eat and a mouse, an old man and a young wife, are always in strife, [339]
Two cocks in one yard do not agree, [113]
Two dogs over one bone seldom agree, [191], [339]
Two eyes see more than one, [282]
Two eyes, two ears, only one mouth, [191]
Two false men to one traitor, [204]
Two hard flints never grind well, [191]
Two heads are better than one, [95]
Two may lie so as to hang a third, [401]
Two men may meet, but never two mountains, [15]
Two of a trade never agree, [249]
Two sparrows on one ear of corn never agree, [15], [194]
Two women and a goose make a market, [94]
U.
Unbending the bow does not heal the wound, [14], [72], [120]
Under a gold sheath a leaden knife, [258]
Under a good cloak may be a bad man, [210]
Under a shabby cloak may be a smart drinker, [210], [274]
Under fair words beware of fraud, [274]
Under my cloak I command (or kill) the king, [210], [258]
Under the sackcloth there is something else, [258], [274]
Under white ashes are often glowing embers, [126], [402]
Union is strength, [317]
Unlaid eggs are uncertain chickens, [135], [171], [336]
Unlooked-for, often comes, [172]
Until death there is no knowing what may befal, [99]
Until hell is full no lawyer will ever be saved, [56]
Unwilling service earns no thanks, [402]
Unworthy offspring brag the most of their worthy descent, [394]
Upbraiding makes a benefit an injury, [60]
Upon a slight pretext the wolf takes the sheep, [4]
Upon an egg the hen lays an egg, [57]
V.
Vainglory bears no grain, [29]
Vainglory blossoms, and bears no fruit, [223]
Vanity has no greater foe than vanity, [31]
Various are the roads to fame, [69]
Very good corn grows in little fields, [17]
Very hard times in the wood when the wolves eat each other, [21]
Vetches seem bitter to the full-cropped pigeon, [67]
Vice is learnt without a schoolmaster, [401]
Vile let him be who thinks himself vile (or base), [293]
Vipers breed vipers, [346]
Virtue consists in action, [307]
Virtue flourishes in misfortune, [171]
Virtue in the middle, said the devil, when seated between two lawyers, [364]
Virtue is its own reward, [304]
Virtue never dies, [171]
Virtue subdues power, [171]
W.
Wait is a hard word to the hungry, [137]
Wait time and place to take your revenge, for it is never well done in a hurry, [73]
Wake not a sleeping cat (or dog), [40], [115], [167], [337]
Walls have ears, [35], [141], [268], [306]
Walls sink and dunghills rise, [193], [263]
Want and necessity break faith and oaths, [401]
War begun, hell unchained, [100]
War is pleasant to him who does not go to it (or who has not tried it), [139], [275]
War makes robbers, and peace hangs them, [29], [106]
War with all the world, and peace with England, [209]
Wash a dog, comb a dog, still a dog remains a dog, [31], [401]
Wasting is a bad habit, sparing a sure income, [338]
Watching a woman is labour in vain, [176]
Water afar does not quench a fire at hand, [67]
Water is the strongest drink; it drives mills, [176]
Water past will not turn the mill, [67], [195]
Water, smoke, and a vicious woman, drive men out of the house, [67] (See Smoke, &c.)
Water washes everything, [263]
Wax, flax, and tin; much out and little in, [342]
We are all well placed, said the cat, when she was seated on the bacon, [403]
We are both carriers, and shall meet on the road, [202]
We are not yet roasting, and already we are basting (or make sops in the pan), [203], [230]
We beat the sack and mean the miller, [160]
We cannot all be Pope of Rome, [188]
We do in haste what we repent at leisure (Marry in haste and repent at leisure), [161]
We give to the rich and take from the poor, [166]
We hang little thieves and let great ones escape, [305] (See Great thieves hang, &c.)
We hang little thieves and take off our hats to great ones, [157]
We have no son, and yet are giving him a name, [224]
We have not yet saddled, and are already mounted (or riding), [203], [264]
We knock in jest and it is opened in earnest, [153]
We know what we have, but not what we shall get, [161]
We learn by teaching, [104]
We must bear our cross with patience, said the man when he took his wife on his back, [388]
We must eat and drink though every tree were a gallows, [147], [333] (See A man must eat)
We must sow even after a bad harvest, [389]
We must suffer much or die young, [389]
We shall see, as the blind man said, [40]
Wealth is not his who makes it, but his who enjoys it, [107]
Weather, wind, women, and fortune, change like the moon, [58]
Wedlock rides in the saddle and repentance on the crupper, [18]
Weight and measures save a man toil, [240]
Weighty work must be done with few words, [403]
Welcome, misfortune, if thou comest alone, [205], [221]
Well begun is half done, [20], [76], [78], [151], [190], [206], [270], [287], [313], [403]
Well-done outlives death, [190]
Well fed but ill taught, [8]
Well-regulated charity begins with one’s self (or at home), [13]
Were all adulterers to wear grey coats the cloth would be dear, [169]
Were every one to sweep before his own house, every street would be clean, [298]
Were fools silent they would pass for wise, [345]
Were he to throw a groat on the roof it would come down a dollar, [188]
Were I a hatter, men would come into the world without heads, [174]
Were it a wolf it would spring at your throat, [56]
Were it not for “if” and “but,” we should all be rich for ever, [56]
Were the devil to come from hell to fight, there would forthwith be a Frenchman to accept the challenge, [56]
Were the sky to fall, not an earthen pot would be left whole, [341] (See If the sky, &c.)
Were there no fools there would be no wise men, [149]
Were you at the wedding, Molly? No, mother, but the bride was very fine, [230]
What a monk thinks, he dares, [10]
What a woman wills, God wills, [10], [229]
What belongs to the ravens is never drowned, [175]
What can’t be cured must be endured, [175], [290]
What children hear their parents say by the fireside they repeat in the highway, [213]
What Christ (or the Church) does not take the Exchequer takes, [176], [229]
What comes from the fife goes back to the drum (Lightly come, lightly go; or, what is got over the devil’s back is spent under his belly), [11]
What comes from the heart, goes to the heart, [176]
What comes seldom, comes sharp, [176]
What costs little is little esteemed, [123]
What costs nothing is worth nothing, [343]
What cures Sancho makes Martha sick, [209]
What does not happen in a year may happen in a moment, [229]
What does not poison, fattens, [123]
What does the moon care if the dogs bark at her?, [175]
What force cannot do ingenuity may, [229]
What God hath joined together let no man put asunder, [175]
What harm is there in a good word? It costs nothing, [176]
What has horns will gore, [343]
What has not been, may be, [123]
What I see with my eyes I can guess with my fingers, [229]
What is another’s always pines for its master, [229], [294]
What is bad for one is good for another, [11]
What is bought is cheaper than a gift, [89], [281]
What is bred in the bone won’t out of the flesh, [343]
What is done cannot be undone, [102], [123], [370]
What is done, is done for this time, [229]
What is enough was never little, [11]
What is got by begging is dearly bought, [351]
What is in use, wants no excuse, [229]
What is learned in the cradle lasts till the grave, [11]
What is long spoken of happens at last (Long looked for comes at last), [333]
What is lost in the fire must be sought in the ashes, [309]
What is marriage, mother? Daughter, it is spinning, bearing children, and weeping, [281]
What is mine is my own; my brother Juan’s is his and mine, [229]
What is much desired is not believed when it comes, [229]
What is new is always fine, [6]
What is no sin, is no shame, [175]
What is not taken by the Church is taken by the Exchequer, [176]
What is play to the strong is death to the weak, [399]
What is right for the one is reasonable for the other, [175]
What is said is said, and no sponge can wipe it out, [149]
What is sport (or play) to the cat is death to the mouse, [141], [382]
What is sweet in the mouth is not always good in the stomach, [358]
What is the use of running, when we are not on the right road?, [175]
What is too high, that let fly, [175]
What is true is not always probable, [36]
What is whispered in your ear tell not to your husband, [229]
What is worth receiving is worth returning (Give and take), [59]
What is wrong to-day won’t be right to-morrow, [343]
What! keep a dog and bark myself? 175
What keeps out the cold keeps out the heat, [123]
What lay hidden under the snow cometh to light at last, [325]
What man has made, man can destroy, [175]
What Master Jacky does not learn, Mr. John never knows, [175]
What much is worth comes from the earth, [229]
What my neighbour eats does my stomach no good, [229]
What one does not bake, another brews, [175]
What ripens fast does not last, [174]
What smarts, teaches, [176]
What the abbot of Bamba cannot eat he gives away for the good of his soul, [215]
What the child hears at the fireside is soon known at the parish church, [10]
What the colt learns in youth he continues in old age, [11] (See What youth learns)
What the eye sees not, the heart craves not, [343]
What the eye sees not, the heart rues not, [10], [115], [174]
What the eyes see, the heart believes, [175]
What the fool does at last the wise man does at first, [229], [290]
What the gauntlet wins the gorget consumes, [10]
What the lion cannot, the fox can, [175]
What the peacock has too little on his head, he has too much on his tail, [175]
What the she-wolf does (or brings forth) pleases the he-wolf, [10], [229]
What the sober man has in his heart, the drunken man has on his lips, [358]
What the sober man thinks, the drunkard tells, [10], [342]
What three know everybody knows, [229]
What three know will soon be known to thirty, [175]
What was hard to bear is sweet to remember, [290]
What water gives, water takes away, [263]
What we want in hay we make up in straw, [175]
What will be, will be, [77]
What you can’t have, abuse, [123]
What you dislike for yourself do not like for me, [229]
What you do, do quickly, [175]
What you do, do thoroughly (Age quod agis), [22]
What you do yourself is well done, [397]
What you give, is written in sand; what you take, with an iron hand, [177]
What you learn to your cost you remember long, [362]
What you lend to a friend an enemy sues for, [175]
What youth learns age does not forget, [363]
Whatever way you take there is a league of bad road, [241]
What’s everybody’s business is nobody’s business, [238], [287]
What’s of no use is too dear at a gift, [176]
What’s the use of putting honey in an ass’s mouth, [176]
When a cow is lost it is something to recover its tail, were it only to make a handle for one’s door, [16]
When a dog runs away, hit him! hit him!, [65]
When a fox is in his hole smoke fetches him out, [262]
When a good offer comes for your daughter, don’t wait till her father returns from market, [243]
When a man has fallen into the mire, the more he flounders the more he fouls himself, [83]
When a man is down everybody runs over him, [179]
When a man is in a sack, he must get out at the mouth or at the bottom, [392]
When a man is not used to breeches the seams gall him, [250]
When a man is rich he begins to save, [178]
When a mouse has fallen into a meal sack, he thinks he is the miller himself, [298]
When a peasant gets rich, he knows neither relations nor friends, [244]
When a thing is done advice comes too late, [2]
When a thing is done, make the best of it (Make the best of a bad bargain), [191]
When a tree is falling, every one cries, Down with it, [67]
When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman, [133], [339]
When all other sins are old avarice is still young, [48]
When an old dog barks, look out (When the old dog barks, he giveth counsel), [135], [298]
When an old man cannot drink, prepare his grave, [244]
When anger blinds the eyes truth disappears, [379]
When apes climb high they show their naked rumps, [297] (See The higher)
When blind leads blind both fall into the ditch, [178]
When bulls fight, woe to the frogs, [291]
When cat and mouse agree the farmer has no chance, [391]
When eats are mousing they don’t mew, [297]
When Christ was alone the devil tempted him, [133]
When David grew old he sang pious psalms, [133]
When dirt comes to honour it knows not what to be, [392]
When drink enters, wisdom departs, [214]
When every man gets his own the devil gets nothing, [391]
When every one minds his own business the work is done, [391]
When every one says you are an ass, bray, [244]
When every one sees that you are a pig, why don’t you go into the sty?, [297]
When everybody says you are drunk, go to sleep, [123]
When flies swarm in March sheep come to their death, [298]
When fools go to market, pedlars (or hucksters) make money, [298], [391]
When fortune’s chariot rolls easily, envy and shame cling to the wheels, [369]
When fortune knocks, open the door, [123], [177]
When glory comes, memory departs, [48]
When gnats swarm in January the peasant becomes a beggar, [298]
When God gives light he gives it for all, [243]
When God means to punish a nation, He deprives its rulers of wisdom, [178], [298]
When God pleases it rains in fair weather, [243]
When God pleases it rains with every wind, [243], [299]
When God says To-day, the devil says To-morrow, [178]
When God sends flour the devil carries off the sack, [47]
When God will not the saints cannot, [122], [243], [298]
When gold speaks every tongue is silent, [94]
When goods increase the body decreases, [47]
When had comes, have is too late, [299]
When he was born, Solomon passed by his door, and would not go in, [255]
When his head is broken he puts on his helmet, [124]
When I have money in my purse, I have food in my mouth, [391]
When I was born I wept, and every day brings a reason why, [213]
When I’m dead, everybody’s dead, and the pig too, [110]
When ill-luck sleeps, let no one wake her, [244]
When industry goes out of the door, poverty comes in at the window, [342]
When it is God’s will to plague a man, a mouse can bite him to death, [298]
When it pours upon the parson, it drops upon the clerk, [391]
When it rains in August, it rains honey and wine, [244]
When it rains in February, it will be temperate all the year, [244]
When it rains porridge the beggar has no spoon, [391]
When it thunders, the thief becomes honest, [123]
When joy is in the parlour, sorrow is in the passage, [391]
When lazy horses begin to start, old women to dance, and white clouds to rain, there is no stopping them, [392]
When many shepherds tend the sheep, they but so much the longer sleep, [340]
When mistrust enters, love departs, [379]
When need is greatest, help is nearest, [178]
When neighbours quarrel, lookers-on are more apt to add fuel than water, [401]
When nought comes to aught, it does not know itself, [299]
When old horses get warm, they are not easily held in, [177]
When one door shuts, a hundred open, [244]
When one foot stumbles, the other is near falling, [391]
When one goose drinks, all drink, [171]
When one has not what one likes, one must like what one has, [48]
When one is dead, it is for a long while, [48]
When one sheep is over the dam, the rest follow, [298]
When one wolf eats another, there is nothing to eat in the wood, [245]
When (or after) our daughter is married, sons-in-law are plenty, [47], [195]
When poor, liberal; when rich, penurious, [244]
When poverty (or misfortune) comes in at the door, love flies out at the window, [171], [178]
When prosperity smiles, beware of its guiles, [299]
When rogues go in procession the devil carries the cross, [122]
When shepherds quarrel, the wolf has a winning game, [178]
When the ass is too happy he begins dancing on the ice, [297]
When the bee sucks, it makes honey, when the spider, poison, [245]
When the beer (or wine) goes in the wit goes out, [298], [392]
When the blind man carries the banner, woe to those who follow, [47]
When the cage is ready the bird is flown, [47]
When the calf is drowned they cover the well, [332]
When the calf is stolen, the peasant mends the stall, [178]
When the cat sleeps, the mice play, [297]
When the cat’s away, it is jubilee with the mice, [298]
When the cat’s away the mice (or rats) dance, [122]
When the cat’s away the mice will play, [1], [178], [261], [292], [391]
When the child cuts its teeth, death is on the watch, [244]
When the child is christened come godfathers enough, [11]
When the cook and the steward fall out we hear who stole the butter, [298]
When the cook is roasting for the butler, woe to the master’s wine-cask, [391]
When the cord is tightest it is nearest snapping, [392]
When the corsair promises masses and candles, it goes ill with the galley, [243]
When the crane attempts to dance with the horse she gets broken bones, [393]
When the devil finds the door shut he goes away, [46], [200]
When the devil gets into the church he seats himself on the altar, [331]
When the devil grows old he turns hermit, [47], [102]
When the devil says his pater-nosters (or prayers) he means to cheat you, [47], [243]
When the dog is awake the shepherd may sleep, [177]
When the dog is down, every one is ready to bite him, [297]
When the dog is drowning every one brings him water, [47]
When the door is low one must stoop, [47]
When the fields yield not, the saints have not, [244]
When the fool has made up his mind the market is over, [243]
When the fox licks his paw let the farmer look after his geese, [392]
When the fox preaches, look to the geese, [177]
When the fox preaches, take care of yourselves, poultry, [123]
When the fox preaches to the goose her neck is in danger, [392]
When the fox wants to catch geese, he wags his tail, [177]
When the Frenchman sleeps the devil rocks him, [47]
When the game is most thriving it is time to leave off, [392]
When the goose trusts the fox then woe to her neck, [391]
When the guest is in most favour he will do well to quit, [177]
When the head aches all the limbs ache, [391]
When the head is sick the whole body is sick, [299]
When the helm is gone the ship will soon be wrecked, [391]
When the hen has laid an egg she cackles, [152]
When the host smiles most blandly he has an eye to the guest’s purse, [393]
When the husband earns well the wife spins well, [298]
When the iron is hot, then is the time to strike, [243]
When the jest is at its best, ’twill be well to let it rest, [178]
When the lion is dead the hares jump upon his carcase, [122]
When the lords come out of the council-house, they are wiser than when they went in, [178]
When the manger is empty the horses fight, [392]
When the measure is full, it runs over, [179]
When the millers are making an uproar, tie up your sacks; 122
When the mouse has had enough (or its fill) the meal is bitter, [298], [392]
When the old dog barks he gives counsel, [219], [288]
When the pear is ripe, it falls, [122], [178]
When the pig has had a bellyful it upsets the trough, [299]
When the prior plays cards, what will the monks do?, [243]
When the rabbit has escaped, comes advice, [216]
When the river makes no noise, it is either dried up or much swollen, [244]
When the rooks are silent the swans begin to sing, [351]
When the root is worthless, so is the tree, [188]
When the sack is full it pricks up its ears, [178], [298]
When the shepherd strays, the sheep stray, [297]
When the Spaniard sings, he is either mad or has no money, [243]
When the spleen increases, the body diminishes, [243]
When the stomach is full the heart is glad, [297]
When the summer is winter, and the winter summer, it is a sorry year, [244]
When the sun shines on thee, thou needest not care for the moon, [122]
When the sword is in the mouth you must caress the sheath, [392]
When the tale of bricks is doubled, then comes Moses, [178]
When the tree falls every one runs to cut boughs (or gather sticks), [342], [393]
When the tree is down every one runs to it with a hatchet to cut wood, [88]
When the tree is down everybody runs for branches, [47]
When the waggon is tilting everybody gives it a shove, [393]
When the will is prompt the legs are nimble, [94]
When the wine is in the man, the wit is in the can, [342]
When the wine is in (or goes in) the wit is (or goes) out, [94], [132], [289], [298], [392]
When the wine runs to waste in the cellar, he mends the cask, [191]
When the wolf grows old the crows ride him, [298]
When the wolf’s ears appear, his body is not far off, [392]
When the word is out it belongs to another (or some one else), [177]
When the words are said, the holy water is made, [47]
When the wound is healed the pain is forgotten, [392]
When there are two friends to one purse, one sings, the other weeps, [215]
When there is a fire in the neighbourhood carry water to your own house, [123]
When there is little bread at table put plenty on your plate, [122]
When there is no wind every man is a pilot, [47]
When there is nothing the church loses, [123]
When there is room in the heart there is room in the house, [378]
When they give you the calf be ready with the halter, [244]
When they offer you a ring, hold out your finger, [244]
When thieves fall out, honest men come to their goods, [342]
When thieves fall out, their knaveries (or thefts) come to light, [35], [239], [291], [393]
When thine enemy retreateth, make him a golden bridge (For a flying enemy make a silver bridge), [299]
When things go well it is easy to advise, [299]
When thou seest thy house in flames, go warm thyself by it, [245]
When thy neighbour’s house is on fire it’s time to look about thee, [299]
When two dogs fight for a bone, the third runs away with it, [299]
When two enemies blow one horn, the third will have to suffer for it, [392]
When two quarrel both are in the wrong, [302]
When two Sundays come together, [191]
When we ask a favour we say, Madam; when we obtain it, what we please, [244]
When we least expect it, the hare darts out of the ditch, [302]
When we think to catch we are sometimes caught, [195]
When wine enters modesty departs, [94]
When wisdom fails luck helps, [357]
When wise men play the fool (or pranks) they do it with a vengeance, [108]
When woman reigns, the devil governs, [122]
When you are an anvil, bear; when you are a hammer, strike, [243]
When you are on the road speak not ill of your enemy, [244]
When you are well off, keep as you are, [47]
When you can’t get bread, oat-cakes are not amiss, [198]
When you can’t get meat chickens and bacon are good, [198]
When you eat new bread don’t drink water, [243]
When you go to a strange house knock at the door, [244]
When you go to dance, take heed whom you take by the hand, [376]
When you see the wolf, do not look for his track, [123]
When your devil was born, mine was going to school, [122]
Where a man feels pain he lays his hand, [302]
Where a woman rules the house the devil is serving-man, [188]
Where every one goes, the grass never grows, [189]
Where force prevails, right perishes, [214]
Where friars abound, keep your eyes open, [222]
Where friends, there riches, [189], [289]
Where ghosts walk, there is loving or thieving, [190]
Where God bestows an office, he provides brains to fill it, [177]
Where God builds a church the devil builds a chapel, [188]
Where gold chinks, arguments are of no avail (Where gold avails, argument fails), [189]
Where honour grows a span, folly grows an ell, [174]
Where law lacks, honour should eke it out, [357]
Where love is, there the eye is, [94]
Where luck is wanting, diligence is useless, [214]
Where might is master, justice is servant, [189]
Where might is right, right is not might, [189]
Where misfortune befals injuries follow, [5]
Where money and counsel are wanting, it is best not to make war, [379]
Where one door is shut another opens, [215]
Where poverty comes in at the door, love flies out at the window, [297]
Where remedies are needed, sighing avails not, [93]
Where shall the ox go, and not have to plough?, [214], [289]
Where shall the ox go but he must labour, since he knows how?, [266]
Where the bee sucks honey, the spider sucks poison, [342]
Where the best wine grows, the worst is drunk, [188]
Where the bird was hatched, it haunts, [307]
Where the carrion is, there the eagles gather, [378]
Where the cock is the hen does not crow, [289]
Where the devil cannot put his head he puts his tail, [102]
Where the devil can’t go himself, he sends an old woman, [188]
Where the dike (or dam) is lowest, the water first runs over, [342]
Where the goat is tied she must browse, [44]
Where the goat leaps, leaps that which sucks her, [241]
Where the hedge is lowest, every one goes over, [94], [188], [342]
Where the hedge is lowest men leap over, [44]
Where the hedge is lowest, the devil leaps over, [188]
Where the hostess is handsome the wine is good, [44]
Where the lion’s skin falls short, borrow of the fox, [188]
Where the lion’s skin falls short, piece it out with (or join) that of the fox, [93], [94]
Where the Pope is, Rome is, [94]
Where the river is deepest it makes least noise, [94], [215], [289]
Where the sea goes let the sands go, [241]
Where the ship goes the brig can go, [94]
Where the thread is weakest it breaks, [44]
Where the wasp has passed the fly sticks fast, [44]
Where the wolf gets one lamb he looks for another, [94], [218], [289]
Where there are no dogs the fox is a king, [94]
Where there are too many cooks the soup will be too salt (Too many cooks spoil the broth), [94]
Where there are too many workmen there is little work, [189]
Where there is discipline there is virtue; where there is peace there is plenty, [378]
Where there is great love there is great pain, [94]
Where there is least heart there is most tongue, [94]
Where there is little bread, cut first, [267]
Where there is no honour there is no dishonour, [289]
Where there is no sore there needs no plaister, [44]
Where there is no want of will there will be no want of opportunity, [235]
Where there is no wit within, no wit will come out, [357]
Where there is not equality there never can be perfect love, [94]
Where there is nothing, the king (or emperor) loses his rights, [44], [189], [342]
Where there is shame, there is virtue, [189]
Where there’s a will there’s a way, [67], [214]
Where there’s fire there’s smoke, [214]
Where there’s money, there is the devil; but where there’s none, a greater evil, [189]
Where there’s no fire there’s no smoke, [276], [289]
Where there’s no good within, no good comes out, [302]
Where there’s no jealousy, there’s no love, [189]
Where there’s no love, all faults are seen, [189]
Where there’s no might there’s no right, [289]
Where there’s no shame, there’s no honour, [189], [308]
Where they eat your meat let them pick the bones, [215]
Where two fall out the third wins, [189]
Where water has been, water will come again, [189]
Where will is right, law is banished, [379]
Where wine goes in, modesty goes out, [94], [189]
Where you cannot climb over you must creep under, [379]
Where you lost your cloak, seek it, [215]
Where you smart there I will hit you, [204]
Where you tell your secret you surrender your freedom, [267]
Where you think there is bacon there are not even hooks for it, [194]
Where you were a page be not an esquire, [276]
Where your father has been with ink, go not you with a bag (i.e. what your father has sold and assigned, think not to recover with a bag of papers. In other words, don’t go to law for it), [215]
Where’er an ass is crowned to fame, both town and country bear the shame, [189]
Wherever there is a pretty spot, the devil plants a monastery or a lord, [189]
Wherever there is mischief, there is sure to be a priest and a woman in it, [189]
Wherever you are, do as you see done (When you are at Rome, do as Rome does), [214], [241]
Whether it be so or not, husband, put on your hood (He had told her there was a new law that every man with horns should wear a hood), [241]
Whether the pitcher strike the stone, or the stone the pitcher, woe to the pitcher, [256]
While the dogs yelp the hare flies to the wood, [390]
While the grass is growing the steed starves, [174], [317], [390]
While the great bells are ringing no one hears the little ones, [391]
While the pot boils friendship blooms, [169]
While there’s life there’s hope, [99], [276]
Whilst the dogs are growling at each other the wolf devours the sheep, [45]
Whilst the grass grows the steed starves, [110], [154]
Whilst the nurse suckles we love her; when she is of no further use she is forgotten, [222]
Whilst the tall maid is stooping the little one sweeps the house, [232], [276]
White hands are no offence, [228]
White meal is not got out of a coal-sack, [16]
Whither goest thou, misfortune? To where there is more, [194], [276]
Whither goest thou, sorrow? Whither I am used to go, [194]
Whither shall the ox go where he will not have to plough?, [194], [214], [289]
Who accepts nothing has nothing to return, [184]
Who accepts, sells himself, [85]
Who answers for another, pays, [52]
Who are ready to believe are easy to deceive, [183]
Who arrays himself in other men’s garments is stripped on the highway, [247]
Who avoids small sins does not fall into great ones, [183]
Who begins amiss ends amiss, [187]
Who blackens others does not whiten himself, [179]
Who blows his nose too hard makes it bleed, [50]
Who bows to might loses his right, [186]
Who builds on the mob builds on sand, [81]
Who buys land buys war, [79]
Who buys wants a hundred eyes, who sells need have but one, [311]
Who can escape envy and blame that speaks or writes for public fame?, [343]
Who cannot beat the horse let him beat the saddle, [84]
Who cannot fight wins nought by right, [184]
Who cannot sing may whistle, [184]
Who cannot work out his salvation by heart will not do it by book, [50]
Who carries doubtful people to his house will doubtless from his carriage something lose, [187]
Who changes country, changes luck, [83]
Who changes his condition changes fortune, [83]
Who chastises his child will be honoured by him, who chastises him not will be shamed, [344]
Who comes first grinds first, [186], [309]
Who comes seldom is welcome, [85]
Who comes unbidden departs unthanked, [186]
Who could live without hope?, [52]
Who dangles after the great is the last at table and the first to be cuffed, [85]
Who deceives me once, shame on him; if he deceive me twice, shame on me, [183]
Who demands justice must administer justice, [184]
Who divides honey with the bear will be like to get the lesser share, [79]
Who does all he may never does well, [81]
Who does not punish evil, invites it, [187]
Who does not venture gets neither horse nor mule, and who ventures too much loses horse and mule, [51]
Who does not wish to be like the wolf let him not wear its skin, [84]
Who does too much often does little, [127]
Who don’t keep faith with God won’t keep it with man, [308]
Who doubts, errs not, [49]
Who eats capon, capon comes to him, [48]
Who eats his fowl alone, must saddle his horse alone, [252], [292]
Who errs in the tens errs in the thousands, [80]
Who excuses himself accuses himself, [53], [86], [310]
Who excuses himself without being accused proclaims his fault, [86]
Who faints not, achieves, [265]
Who falls short in the head, must be long in the heels, [175]
Who fears no shame comes to no honour, [308] (See Where there’s no shame)
Who frequents the kitchen smells of smoke, [81]
Who gives, teaches a return, [79]
Who gives to me, teaches me to give, [310]
Who gives well, sells dear, if the receiver be not a churl, [78]
Who gives what he has, before he is dead, take a mallet and knock that fool on the head, [247]
Who glows not, burns not, [83]
Who goes and returns makes a good journey, [54]
Who goes fasting to bed will sleep but lightly, [344]
Who goes himself is in earnest, who sends is indifferent, [87]
Who goes not, sees not; who proves not, believes not, [84]
Who goes softly goes safely, and he that goes safely goes far, [86]
Who has a bad wife, his hell begins on earth, [309]
Who has a head won’t want for a hat, [181]
Who has a tongue in his head can go all the world over (or to Rome), [81]
Who has but one eye must take good care of it, [310]
Who has, is, [81]
Who has, let him thereof take heed; love wanes, misfortune comes with speed, [182]
Who has love in his heart has spurs in his sides, [81]
Who has many servants has many thieves, [311]
Who has never done thinking never begins doing, [83]
Who has no bread to spare should not keep a dog, [201]
Who has no children does not know what love is, [83]
Who has no head should have legs, [83]
Who has no money in his purse must have honey in his mouth, [83]
Who has no money must have no wishes, [83]
Who has no plagues makes himself some, [83]
Who has no shame all the world is his own, [82], [84]
Who has no thirst has no business at the fountain, [343]
Who has not, cannot, [50]
Who has not, is not, [83]
Who has nothing, fears nothing, [83], [201]
Who has nothing, is nothing, [83]
Who has patience may get fat thrushes at a farthing apiece, [82]
Who has patience sees his revenge, [82]
Who has plenty of pepper may pepper his beans, [344]
Who has something, is something, [82]
Who has tasted a sour apple, will have the more relish for a sweet one, [183]
Who has time, yet waits for time, comes to a time of repentance, [253]
Who hath no courage must have legs, [83]
Who hears but one bell hears but one sound, [50]
Who heeds not little things, will be troubled about lesser ones, [182]
Who herds with wolves, must howl with wolves, [183] (See He who herds)
Who holds his peace and gathers stones, will find a time to throw them, [292]
Who honours not age, is unworthy of it, [186]
Who hunts two hares together catches neither, [186] (See He who hunts)
Who is always prying into other men’s affairs, leads a dangerous life, [249]
Who is born a fool is never cured, [83]
Who is born of a cat will run after mice, [50]
Who is in fear of every leaf must not go into the wood, [82], [311]
Who is in the right fears, who is in the wrong hopes, [82], [311]
Who is over nice, loses many a shoe, [181]
Who is righteous overmuch is a morsel for the Old One, [310]
Who is tender in everything is a fool in everything (Catalan), [245]
Who is to bell the cat?, [249]
Who is to carry the cat to the water?, [249]
Who is well seated should not budge, [186]
Who is your enemy? A man of your own trade, [249]
Who judges others, condemns himself, [78]
Who knows most, believes least, [85]
Who knows most, forgives most, [85]
Who knows most, says least, [51], [85], [250]
Who knows not how to dissemble knows not how to reign, [84]
Who knows not how to flatter knows not how to talk, [84]
Who knows not how to pray let him go sail the sea, [84]
Who knows nothing in his thirtieth year, is nothing in his fortieth, has nothing in his fiftieth, learns nothing, is nothing, and comes to nothing, [182]
Who knows the tongues is at home everywhere, [308]
Who laughs at others’ ills, has his own behind the door, [85]
Who lends his lips to nought but blame, has in his heart no love of fame, [184]
Who lends recovers not; or if he recovers, recovers not all; or if all, not much; or if much, a mortal enemy, [251]
Who lends to a friend loses doubly, [52]
Who lets another sit on his shoulder, will soon have him on his head, [185] (See He who lets)
Who lies down with dogs gets up with fleas, [79] (See He that lies)
Who lives on the score has shame evermore, [54]
Who lives will see, [54]
Who loves, believes, [78]
Who loves, fears, [78]
Who loves his work and knows to spare, may live and flourish anywhere, [179]
Who loves not women, wine, and song, remains a fool his whole life long, [184]
Who loves the tree loves the branch, [78]
Who loves well chastises well, [28], [48], [78]
Who loves well is slow to forget, [48]
Who makes friends of all, keeps none, [179]
Who makes no promises has none to perform, [184]
Who makes the wolf his companion should carry a dog under his cloak, [81]
Who moves picks up, who stands still dries up, [86]
Who neither believes heaven or hell, the devil heartily wishes him well, [189]
Who offends writes on sand; who is offended, on marble, [84]
Who often changes, suffers, [53]
Who paints me before, blackens me behind, [79]
Who pays a debt creates capital, [85]
Who pays beforehand is served behindhand, [85]
Who pays promptly borrows when he will, [51]
Who proves too much, proves nothing, [52]
Who punishes one threatens a hundred, [53]
Who readily borrows, readily lies (Debtors are liars), [182]
Who receives, should thank; who gives, should be silent, [181]
Who reckons without his host must reckon again, [311] (See He that reckons)
Who refuses, muses, [52]
Who refuses to submit to justice, must not complain of oppression, [184]
Who rides slow must saddle betimes, [183]
Who runs is followed, [343]
Who saves, saves for the cat, [85]
Who says little, has little to answer for, [186]
Who serves the mass is thanked by none, but cursed if aught be left undone, [53]
Who serves the public, serves no one (or a fickle master), [85], [308] (See He who serves)
Who serves well and says nothing makes claim enough, [73]
Who serves well asks enough, [5]
Who sings, drives away care, [247]
Who sows ill, reaps ill, [82]
Who sows, reaps, [53]
Who sows thorns should not go barefoot, [53], [85]
Who speaks, sows; who listens, reaps, [51]
Who spits against heaven, it falls on his head, [49]
Who spits against the wind, fouls his beard, [344] (See He who spits)
Who steals a calf, steals a cow, [181]
Who takes a lion at a distance fears a mole present, [85]
Who takes an eel by the tail and a woman at her word, may say he holds nothing, [85]
Who takes an eel by the tail or a woman by her word, grasp as he will, holds nothing fast, [181]
Who talks much, errs much, [250]
Who the daughter would win, with mamma must begin, [161]
Who threatens, warns, [181]
Who throws a stone above himself may have it fall on his own head (Eccles. xxvii. 25), [181]
Who throws a stone at the sky, may have it fall on his head, [79]
Who to-day was a haughty knight, is to-morrow a penniless wight, [309]
Who troubles others has no rest himself, [78]
Who undertakes many things at once seldom does anything well, [311]
Who undertakes too much seldom succeeds, [310]
Who ventures nothing has no luck (Nothing venture, nothing have), [251]
Who ventures to lend, loses money and friend, [310]
Who wants fire, let him look for it in the ashes, [311]
Who wants to beat a dog, soon finds a stick, [87], [308] (See He that wants)
Who watches not, catches not, [310]
Who weds a sot to get his cot, will lose the cot and keep the sot, [312]
Who will not feed the cats, must feed the mice and rats, [184]
Who will not when he can, can’t when he will, [292] (See He that will not)
Who wishes for a short Lent let him contract debts to be paid at Easter, [88]
Who wives for a dower, resigns his own power, [52]
Who would be rich, must keep his soul under cover of his cash-box, [185]
Who would be young in age, must in youth be sage, [182]
Who would have many friends let him test but few, [87]
Who would not have feet set on his neck, let him not stoop, [84]
Who would regard all things complacently must wink at a great many, [344]
Who would win, must learn to bear, [182]
Who would wish to be valued must make himself scarce, [186]
Whoever brings finds the door open for him, [72]
Whoever falls sick of folly, is long in getting cured, [248]
Whom fortune favours, the world favours, [177]
Whom God loves, his bitch litters pigs, [201]
Whore or thief, young or old, welcome so you’ve got the gold, [168]
Whoredom and thieving are never long concealed, [242]
Whose bread I eat, his song I sing, [187]
Whoso hath land hath war, [53]
Whoso hunteth with cats will catch nothing but rats, [309]
Whoso is tired of happy days, let him take a wife, [309]
Whoso is well let him keep so, [49]
Who’s the man that was never fooled by a woman?, [153]
Will he nill he, the ass must go to the fair, [293]
Will is power, [64]
Willows are weak, yet serve to bind bigger wood, [105]
Win a bet (or game) of your friend, and drink it on the spot, [203], [268]
Wind and fortune are not lasting, [261], [295]
Windmills are not driven by bellows, [188]
Wine and women make fools of everybody, [176]
Wine poured out is not wine swallowed, [64]
Wine upon beer is very good cheer, beer upon wine consider with fear, [176]
Wine wears no breeches, [36], [220]
Wine will not keep in a foul vessel, [17]
Wipe the nose of your neighbour’s son, and marry him to your daughter, [196], [288]
Wipe your sore eye with your elbow, [219], [288]
Wisdom in the man, patience in the wife, brings peace to the house, and a happy life, [344]
Wisdom is the least burdensome travelling pack, [381]
Wise lads and old fools were never good for anything, [124]
Wise men sue for offices, and blockheads get them, [341]
Wishes never filled the bag, [41]
With a little wrong a man comes by his right, [209]
With a staircase before you, you look for a rope to go down by, [193]
“With all my heart!” (or great pleasure), says the boor when he must, [161], [173]
With an old husband’s hide one buys a young one, [16]
With art and knavery we live through half the year; with knavery and art we live through the other half, [88]
With great men one must allow five to be an even number, [135]
With honour in store, what would you more, [343]
With houses and gold, men are rarely bold, [189]
With law must the land be built, [390]
With lightning and with love, the clothes sound, the heart burned, [220]
With money you would not know yourself, without money nobody would know you, [209]
With patience and time the mulberry-leaf becomes a silk gown, [162]
With the fox one must play the fox, [89]
With the good we become good, [301]
With the Gospel men may become heretics, [88]
With the help of an If, you might put Paris into a bottle, [7]
With the hide of the dog its bite is cured, [89]
With time and straw medlars ripen, [7], [88]
With wishing comes grieving, [89]
Without bread and wine, even love will pine, [55]
Without debt, without care, [126]
Without knowledge, without sin, [165]
Witticisms spare no one, [9]
Woe be to an evil eye, [403]
Wolves are often hidden under sheep’s clothing, [393]
Wolves do not eat wolves (or one another), [35], [104], [109]
Woman impromptu, man on reflection, [105]
Woman’s beauty, the forest echo, and rainbows, soon pass away, [176]
Women always speak the truth, but not the whole truth, [108]
Women and glass are always in danger, [265]
Women and hens are lost by too much gadding, [98]
Women and maidens must be praised, whether truly or falsely, [148]
Women are as fickle as April weather, [176]
Women are never at a loss for words, [176]
Women are supernumerary when present, and missed when absent, [267]
Women are watches that keep bad time, [176]
Women are wise impromptu, fools on reflection, [125]
Women, asses, and nuts, require strong hands, [93]
Women, fortune, and gold, favour fools, [176]
Women know a point more than the devil, [108]
Women, money, and wine, have their balm and their harm, [18]
Women, priests, and poultry, never have enough, [93]
Women rouge that they may not blush, [108]
Women, wind, and fortune, soon change, [233], [283]
Women’s tears are a fountain of craft, [106]
Woo the widow whilst she is in weeds, [148]
Woods have ears and fields have eyes, [174], [304]
Word by word great books are made, [39]
Words are female, deeds are male, [108]
Words are good, but fowls lay eggs, [190]
Words are good when works follow, [190]
Words don’t fill the belly, [291]
Words don’t fill the sack, [190]
Words fine and bold are goods half sold, [168]
Words of snow, which fell last year, [190]
Words often do more than blows, [190]
Words once spoken cannot be wiped out with a sponge, [363]
Words will not do for my aunt, for she does not put faith even in deeds, [237]
Words won’t feed cats, [108]
Work done expects money, [287]
Workmen are easier found than masters (There are more hands than heads), [187]
Worldly good is ebb and flood, [343]
Would you be strong, conquer yourself, [188]
Would you have me serve you, good king, give me the means of living, [293]
Would you know your daughter? See her in company, [293]
Would you live long, be healthy and fat, drink like a dog, and eat like a cat, [188]
Wounds from the knife are healed, but not those of the tongue, [255]
Wounds heal, but not ill words, [256]
Wounds pain most when grown cool, [254]
Write on one of the devil’s horns, “Good angel,” and many will believe it, [168]
Y.
Years and sins are always more than owned, [72]
Yesterday a cowherd, to-day a cavalier, [204]
Yielding stays war, [163]
You a lady, I a lady, who is to put the sow out of doors? (Galician), [262]
You can have no more of a fox than his skin, [386]
You cannot damage a wrecked ship, [114]
You cannot draw blood from a turnip, [114]
You cannot drink and whistle at the same time, [388] (See No one can blow)
You cannot get oil out of a wall, [43]
You cannot have peace longer than your neighbour chooses, [387] (See No man can have)
You cannot make a good archbishop of a rogue, [387]
You cannot make a good hunting-horn (or shaft) of a pig’s tail, [275], [387]
You cannot make a hawk of a buzzard, [43]
You cannot make a sieve of an ass’s tail, [135]
You cannot make an ass drink if he is not thirsty, [43]
You cannot pull hard with a broken rope, [387]
You cannot sail as you would, but as the wind blows, [387]
You cannot shear the sheep closer than the skin, [388]
You cannot take a cow from a man who has none, [386]
You can’t make pancakes without breaking eggs, [237]
You have broken my head, and now you bring me plaister, [245]
You have debts, and make debts still; if you’ve not lied, lie you will, [213]
You have lent and not recovered; and if recovered, not so much; and if so much, not such; and if such, a mortal enemy, [276] (See Who lends recovers not)
You have married a beauty? So much the worse for you, [109]
You may always find an opportunity in your sleeve, if you choose, [387]
You may as well give a good beating as a bad one, [7]
You may call that your own which no one can take from you, [358]
You may cook in small pots as well as in large ones, [388]
You may force a horse (or an ox) to the water, but you cannot make him drink, [388], [388]
You may force a man to shut his eyes, but you cannot make him sleep, [388]
You may gain by fair words what may fail you by angry ones, [386]
You may get something off a bone, but nothing off a stone, [387]
You may keep yourself safe from fire, but not from a bad man, [276]
You may knock a long while against an alder-bush before you get a swarm of bees out of it, [389]
You may know the lion by his claw, [3]
You may light another’s candle at your own without loss, [388]
You may often feel that heavily on your back, which you took lightly on your conscience, [400]
You may preach ever so long to the wolf, he will nevertheless call for lamb before night, [390]
You may shut your doors against a thief, but not against a liar, [388]
You must be strong to pull a rope against a stronger, [357]
You must contrive to bake with the flour you have, [386]
You must grease the wheels if you would have the car run, [75]
You must have good luck to catch hares with a drum, [357] (See Hares)
You must howl with the wolves when you are among them, [390] (See He who herds)
You must judge a maiden at the kneading trough, and not in a dance, [390]
You must not throw stones into your neighbour’s garden, [23]
You must shift your sail with the wind, [75]
You must walk a long while behind a wild goose before you find an ostrich feather, [389]
You need not find a shelter for an old ox, [263]
You notice what I drink, and not the thirst I feel, [233]
You surrender your freedom where you deposit your secret, [201]
You used to be a baker, though now you wear gloves, [239]
You want better bread than wheaten, [206]
You will not be loved if you think of none but yourself, [70], [237]
You will not see many with green eyes, [288]
Young cats will mouse, young apes will louse, [330]
Young dogs have sharp teeth, [402]
Young folk, silly folk; old folk, cold folk, [330]
Young fools think that the old are dotards, but the old have forgotten more than the young fools know, [305]
Young gambler, old beggar, [150], [156]
Young people must be taught, old ones be honoured, [363]
Young pigs grunt as old hogs grunted before them, [396]
Young twigs may be bent, but not old trees, [330]
Your cracked jug seems better to me than my sound one, [232]
Your enemy makes you wise, [103]
Your friend lends, and your enemy asks payment, [332]
Your wife and the sauce at the lance hand (the right hand), [227]
“Your words are fair,” said the wolf, “but I will not come into the village”, [141]
Youth may stray afar yet return at last, [29]
THE END.
C. WHITING, BEAUFORT HOUSE, STRAND.