Category:English proverbs

*

• Appendix:English proverbs

A

• a bad carpenter blames his tools
• a bad penny always comes back
• a bad penny always turns up
• a bad workman always blames his tools
• a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
• a camel is a horse designed by a committee
• a camel is a horse made by a committee
• a cat can look at a king
• a cat in gloves catches no mice
• a cat may look at a king
• a chain is only as strong as its weakest link
• a closed mouth gathers no feet
• a dumb priest never got a parish
• a fool and his money are soon parted
• a friend in need is a friend indeed
• a golden key can open any door
• a good beginning makes a good ending
• a house divided against itself cannot stand
• a house is not a home
• a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• a leopard cannot change its spots
• a lie has no legs
• a man is known by the company he keeps
• a man's home is his castle
• a mind is a terrible thing to waste
• a miss is as good as a mile
• a new broom sweeps clean
• a nod is as good as a wink
• a penny saved is a penny earned
• a penny saved is a penny gained
• a picture is worth a thousand words
• a picture paints a thousand words
• a promise is a promise
• a rising tide lifts all boats
• a rolling stone gathers no moss
• a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
• a stitch in time saves nine
• a stopped clock is right twice a day
• a turning wheel gathers no rust
• a watched kettle never boils
• a watched pot never boils
• absence makes the heart grow fonder
• actions speak louder than words
• all cats are gray at night
• all cats are gray in the dark
• all cats are grey at night
• all cats are grey by night
• all cats are grey in the dark
• all good things come to an end
• all roads lead to Rome
• all that glisters is not gold
• all that glitters is not gold
• all the world's a stage
• all things come to those who wait
• all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
• all's fair in love and war
• all's well that ends well
• almost doesn't count
• an apple a day keeps the doctor away
• an army marches on its stomach
• an Englishman's home is his castle
• another day, another dollar
• any press is good press
• apple does not fall far from the stem
• apple does not fall far from the tree
• apple does not fall far from the trunk

A cont.

• apple never falls far from the tree
• April showers bring May flowers
• as a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly
• as you sow, so shall you reap
• attack is the best form of defence

B

• bad money drives out good
• barking dogs never bite
• barking dogs seldom bite
• beauty is in the eye of the beholder
• beauty is only skin deep
• beggars can't be choosers
• better an egg today than a hen tomorrow
• better dead than red
• better dead than Red
• better Dead than Red
• better safe than sorry
• better the devil you know
• better the devil you know than the devil you don't
• better the devil you know than the devil you don't know
• better the devil you know than the one you don't
• better the devil you know than the one you don't know
• better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all
• better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness
• big things come in small packages
• bird in the hand
• birds of a feather flock together
• birds of the feather flock together
• blood is thicker than water
• boys will be boys
• brevity is the soul of wit
• bros before hoes
• bros before hos
• business before pleasure
• buy cheap, buy twice

C

• carpe diem
• carpe diem cras
• casu consulto
• caveat lector
• che sara sara
• che sera sera
• cheaters never prosper
• chickens come home to roost
• chicks before dicks
• children should be seen and not heard
• claw me, claw thee
• clogs to clogs in three generations
• close only counts in horseshoes
• clothes don't make the man
• cold hands, warm heart
• cool heads must prevail
• cool heads prevail
• cool heads will prevail
• cooler heads must prevail
• cooler heads prevail
• cooler heads will prevail
• correlation does not imply causation
• curiosity killed the cat

D

• dead men tell no tales
• desperate times call for desperate measures
• desperate times require desperate measures
• devil is in the details
• diamonds are a girl's best friend
• discretion is the better part of valor
• discretion is the better part of valour
• do as I say, not as I do
• do unto others as you would have them do unto you
• does Macy's tell Gimbel's

D cont.

• don't change a winning team
• don't count your chickens before they're hatched
• don't cry over spilled milk
• don't dip your pen in company ink
• don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly
• don't drop the soap
• don't look a gift horse in the mouth
• don't put all your eggs in one basket
• don't shit in your own nest
• don't shit where you eat
• don't shoot the messenger
• don't sweat the small stuff
• don't take any wooden nickels
• don't try to teach grandma how to suck eggs

E

• e pluribus unum
• each to his own
• early bird catches the worm
• early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise
• easy come, easy go
• eat, drink and be merry
• eaten bread is soon forgotten
• empty vessels make the most sound
• enough is as good as a feast
• enough is enough
• even a blind pig can find an acorn once in a while
• even Homer nods
• even Jove nods
• every cloud has a silver lining
• every dark cloud has a silver lining
• every day is a school day
• every dog has its day
• every Jack has his Jill
• every king needs a queen
• every little helps
• every man has a price
• every rule has an exception
• every shut eye isn't asleep
• every silver lining has a cloud
• everything happens for a reason
• experience is the best teacher
• eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth

F

• faith will move mountains
• familiarity breeds contempt
• feed a cold, starve a fever
• finders keepers
• fine feathers make fine birds
• fine words butter no parsnips
• first come, first served
• first things first
• fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me
• fools rush in where angels fear to tread
• forbidden fruit is the sweetest
• forewarned is forearmed
• forewarned, forearmed
• forget, when up to one's neck in alligators, that the mission is to drain the swamp
• fortune favors the bold
• fortune favors the brave
• fortune favours the bold
• fortune favours the brave

G

• garbage in, garbage out
• give a man a fish
• give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime
• give him enough rope and he'll hang himself
• God helps those who help themselves
• God is in the detail
• God works in mysterious ways