Built Monday September 7, 2026 at 2:52 PM · 131 proverbs · 80 from other cultures · read-only, the content lives in the Google Sheet (search the id on each card)
The nail that sticks out
Standing out from the group invites pressure to fall back in line — a warning about conformity, not a recommendation of it.
Where it comes fromA Japanese proverb — deru kui wa utareru — widely quoted for centuries and still heard in every Japanese schoolyard and office.
A journey of a thousand miles
Any large undertaking is done one small action at a time — so start.
Where it comes fromUsually traced to the Tao Te Ching, the Chinese classic attributed to Laozi, roughly 2,400 years old.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day;
Help that builds a skill outlasts help that only meets today's need.
Where it comes fromUsually called a Chinese proverb, but no Chinese text has been found for it — its earliest known form is in Mrs. Dymond, an 1885 novel by the English writer Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie.
Do not be afraid of going slowly;
Progress at any pace beats none — the real failure is stopping.
Where it comes fromA Chinese proverb — bu pa man, jiu pa zhan — often said to students and to people starting over.
The frog at the bottom of the well
A narrow view feels complete from inside it — the frog's whole sky is the well's mouth.
Where it comes fromFrom the writings of Zhuangzi, a Chinese philosopher of the 4th century BC, and still a common four-character saying in China, Japan and Korea.
One generation plants the trees,
The best work benefits people who come after you and may never know your name.
Where it comes fromA Chinese proverb — qian ren zai shu, hou ren cheng liang — widely quoted about parents, teachers and public works.
Ten people,
Everyone is different, and that is simply how people come — no two alike.
Where it comes fromA Japanese four-character saying — junin toiro — widely used the way Americans say "different strokes for different folks."
Dumplings
Practical things over pretty ones — said of someone who picks the snack over the view at a cherry-blossom picnic.
Where it comes fromA Japanese proverb — hana yori dango — old enough to appear in a card game of the 1700s, and later the title of a hugely popular comic and television drama.
The best husband is
A joke with a point — a spouse who is well, busy and out of the house is easy to live with.
Where it comes fromA Japanese saying — teishu wa jobu de rusu ga ii — from a 1986 television commercial for cold medicine; it became a household phrase overnight and is still quoted.
Starting is
The hardest part of most jobs is beginning them — once begun, you are already halfway.
Where it comes fromA Korean proverb — sijagi banida — often said to anyone hesitating; the same thought appears in Aristotle.
You cannot spit
It is very hard to stay angry at someone who meets you with warmth.
Where it comes fromA Korean proverb — utneun eolgure chim mot baetneunda — often said as advice for dealing with a difficult person.
Even if the sky falls,
However bad things get, there is always a way through.
Where it comes fromA Korean proverb — haneuri muneojyeodo sosanal gumeongi itda — widely taught; one of the first sayings Korean children learn.
When you eat the fruit,
Be grateful to the people whose earlier work you are enjoying now.
Where it comes fromA Vietnamese proverb — an qua nho ke trong cay — widely taught in Vietnamese schools and quoted on the day that honors teachers.
Slowly, slowly,
Take your time and the result will be good — a blade forged in a hurry is a bad blade.
Where it comes fromA Thai proverb — cha cha dai phra lem ngam — said to anyone rushing a job.
When the blanket is short,
Live within what you have and adapt to it, rather than complaining about it.
Where it comes fromA Filipino proverb — hangga't makitid ang kumot, matutong mamaluktot — widely known as one of the best-loved sayings in Tagalog.
The guest
Treat whoever comes to your door as you would treat the divine — hospitality as a sacred duty.
Where it comes fromUsually traced to the Taittiriya Upanishad, a Sanskrit text roughly 2,500 years old — atithi devo bhava — and still the slogan of India's tourism ministry.
Whoever holds the stick
Might makes right — the one with the power ends up with the goods, fair or not.
Where it comes fromA Hindi proverb — jiski lathi uski bhains — widely quoted in Indian politics and journalism.
This too
Nothing lasts — not the bad times, and not the good ones either.
Where it comes fromUsually traced to the Persian Sufi poets of the Middle Ages, in a tale of a king's ring engraved with the words; Abraham Lincoln retold the story in an 1859 speech.
A drowning man
When the worst is already happening, small troubles stop mattering.
Where it comes fromA Persian proverb, widely quoted across Iran and Afghanistan.
Trust in God,
Have faith, but do your own part too — faith is no substitute for a good knot.
Where it comes fromAttributed to the Prophet Muhammad in a saying recorded by al-Tirmidhi in the 800s, and quoted across the Muslim world ever since.
He who has health has hope,
Health comes first because everything else can be rebuilt from it.
Where it comes fromAn Arabic proverb, widely known across the Middle East and North Africa.
Patience is
Whatever you are waiting for, the way to it is to keep waiting well.
Where it comes fromA Turkish proverb — sabir cennetin anahtaridir — widely known, and often stitched onto wall hangings.
Who is rich?
Wealth is contentment, not the size of the pile.
Where it comes fromFrom Pirkei Avot, the Ethics of the Fathers, a collection of rabbinic sayings compiled around the year 200, when Judea was a Roman province.
Do not look at the jug,
Judge by the contents, not the container — an old jug can hold new wine.
Where it comes fromFrom Pirkei Avot, the Ethics of the Fathers, a collection of rabbinic sayings compiled around the year 200, when Judea was a Roman province — said of a young teacher whose wisdom outran his years.
A wise person hears one word
Understanding is catching what was meant, not just what was said.
Where it comes fromA Yiddish proverb — a kluger farshteyt fun eyn vort tsvey — widely quoted wherever Yiddish was spoken.
You cannot dance
You cannot be in two places or on two sides at the same time — pick one.
Where it comes fromA Yiddish proverb, widely known, and usually quoted in a ruder form that names the part of the body you would need two of.
Everything has an end;
All things finish — said with a shrug, and a joke, when something is over.
Where it comes fromA German saying — alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei — recorded in the 1800s and made a nationwide catchphrase by a hit song in 1986.
Do not praise the day
Wait until something is finished before calling it a success.
Where it comes fromA German proverb — man soll den Tag nicht vor dem Abend loben — recorded in the 1500s.
Luck and glass —
Good fortune is fragile; do not lean on it.
Where it comes fromA German rhyme — Glück und Glas, wie leicht bricht das — recorded in the 1500s.
The cost
You have to spend before you earn — the outlay comes first.
Where it comes fromA Dutch proverb — de kost gaat voor de baat uit — widely quoted in a nation of traders.
Between saying and doing
Talking about something and actually doing it are an ocean apart.
Where it comes fromAn Italian proverb — tra il dire e il fare c'è di mezzo il mare — recorded by the 1500s.
Who goes slowly
Steady beats fast — the careful traveler is the one who gets there.
Where it comes fromAn Italian proverb — chi va piano va sano e va lontano — often said to every child on a bicycle.
An old hen
Age has its own value — experience improves what it touches.
Where it comes fromAn Italian proverb — gallina vecchia fa buon brodo — often said kindly, and sometimes not so kindly, about people of a certain age.
Tell me who you walk with,
Your company reveals your character.
Where it comes fromA Spanish proverb — dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres — quoted by Sancho Panza in Don Quixote in 1615, and older still.
There is no evil
Bad times end — nothing terrible goes on forever.
Where it comes fromA Spanish-language proverb, said across Mexico and Latin America — no hay mal que dure cien años — usually with the tail "nor a body that could stand it."
Whoever has no dog
Make do with what you have — improvise.
Where it comes fromA Portuguese proverb — quem não tem cão, caça com gato — widely used in Brazil.
God writes straight
Things that look like detours or mistakes may be leading somewhere right.
Where it comes fromA Portuguese proverb — Deus escreve direito por linhas tortas — recorded by the 1600s and later borrowed by writers across Europe.
Appetite
Starting something creates the desire to continue — begin, and the wanting follows.
Where it comes fromFrom Rabelais, in Gargantua, 1534 — l'appétit vient en mangeant — and a French proverb ever since.
A nation without a language
A people's language carries its identity — lose one and you lose the other.
Where it comes fromA Welsh proverb — cenedl heb iaith, cenedl heb galon — the motto of the movement that kept Welsh alive.
What's for you
What is meant for you will find you — stop fretting over what might be missed.
Where it comes fromA Scottish saying — what's for ye'll no go by ye — widely heard across Scotland to this day.
Trust,
Take people at their word and check anyway — the two are not in conflict.
Where it comes fromA rhyming Russian proverb — doveryai, no proveryai — that President Reagan learned from a writer and repeated to Gorbachev at the 1987 treaty signing, to Gorbachev's amusement.
Without effort, you cannot
Nothing worth having comes without work — not even the easy things.
Where it comes fromA Russian proverb — bez truda ne vytashchish i rybku iz pruda — widely taught; one of the first every Russian child hears.
Where two are fighting,
While rivals wear each other out, an outsider walks off with the prize.
Where it comes fromA Polish proverb — gdzie dwóch się bije, tam trzeci korzysta — with cousins in Latin and German.
Without work,
Rewards come from effort — nobody gets the cake who did not bake.
Where it comes fromA Czech proverb — bez práce nejsou koláče — widely known, and a rhyme in the original.
Many geese
Enough small forces together can beat one big one.
Where it comes fromA Hungarian proverb — sok lúd disznót győz — often said whenever the underdogs gang up.
The wolf changes its coat,
Appearances change; character rarely does.
Where it comes fromA Romanian proverb — lupul își schimbă părul, dar năravul ba — with ancestors in Latin.
Shared joy is a double joy;
Company multiplies the good and divides the bad.
Where it comes fromA Swedish proverb — delad glädje är dubbel glädje, delad sorg är halv sorg — widely known across all of Scandinavia.
A bad rower
People who do a job badly tend to blame the tools.
Where it comes fromAn Icelandic proverb — árinni kennir illur ræðari — widely known in a nation that has rowed for a thousand years.
Hurry, hurry
Rushing brings nothing good — slow down and it will go better.
Where it comes fromA Swahili proverb — haraka haraka haina baraka — a rhyme widely heard from Kenya to Tanzania.
A person is a person
We become who we are through our ties to others — the idea called ubuntu.
Where it comes fromA Zulu proverb — umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu — widely known since Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela carried it around the world.
Wisdom is like a baobab tree;
Nobody holds all the wisdom — it takes many people, each with an arm around a part of it.
Where it comes fromA West African proverb, usually traced to the Akan or Ewe peoples of Ghana.
He who conceals his disease
You cannot be helped with a problem you refuse to admit.
Where it comes fromAn Ethiopian proverb, widely quoted by doctors and preachers alike.
A man who pays respect to the great
Honor those who have earned it and you learn what earning it takes.
Where it comes fromAn Igbo proverb from Nigeria, one of many that Chinua Achebe put into Things Fall Apart in 1958.
Beyond the mountains,
Solve one problem and there is another behind it — keep climbing.
Where it comes fromA Haitian Creole proverb — dèyè mòn gen mòn — widely known as the best-loved saying on the island.
Cockroach has no business
Stay out of quarrels that are not yours, especially between people who could squash you.
Where it comes fromA Jamaican proverb, widely heard all over the Caribbean.
We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors;
The world is on loan to us from the people who come next — treat it that way.
Where it comes fromOften called a Native American proverb, but nobody has traced it to a particular people; its earliest documented uses are from the 1970s, in the United States and Australia.
With the origin above the options, an origin that quotes the answer gives it away. The story is kept; the quoted words are not.
A stitch in time
Deal with a small problem now and you avoid a much bigger one later.
Where it comes fromFirst written down in a 1732 English proverb collection, and meant literally — mend a small tear before it becomes a big one. The number at the end is probably there for the rhyme.
An apple a day
A small healthy habit, repeated, does more than an occasional big effort.
Where it comes fromIt began in the 1860s in Wales as a longer rhyme about eating an apple at bedtime to keep a certain professional from earning his bread. The tidy modern rhyme arrived around 1913.
Curiosity
Prying into things can get you into trouble.
Where it comes fromOlder versions put the blame on "care" — meaning worry — rather than curiosity. The switch happened around 1900.
Every cloud has
There is something good to be found in most bad situations.
Where it comes fromFrom Milton, in 1634, who described a dark cloud with a bright edge turned toward the moon. The proverb form came later.
Hindsight is
Everything looks obvious once you already know how it turned out.
Where it comes fromTwentieth century, and American — the ending borrows the optician's notation for normal vision, which only became common language after eye charts did.
Hope springs
People keep hoping, whatever the evidence.
Where it comes fromFrom Alexander Pope's Essay on Man, 1733 — the line goes on to say where it springs: "in the human breast."
Give them an inch
Small concessions get treated as permission for large ones.
Where it comes fromFirst recorded in 1546 with an older unit of cloth measure, about 45 inches, in place of today's ending.
Call a spade
Say plainly what a thing is.
Where it comes fromA mistranslation, oddly. The Greek original was about a trough or a bowl; an early translator misread the word, and the garden tool stuck.
Variety is
Change and novelty are what make life interesting — and, as it happens, what challenge the brain.
Where it comes fromFrom a 1785 poem by William Cowper, The Task; his line is one word longer than the proverb.
All that glitters
Attractive appearance does not mean real value.
Where it comes fromShakespeare used it in The Merchant of Venice with "glisters" in place of "glitters"; the idea was already centuries old.
You catch more flies with honey
Kindness gets you further than harshness.
Where it comes fromAn Italian saying, in English by the 1600s. Franklin printed his own version in Poor Richard's, measuring a spoonful of the one against a gallon of the other.
The last straw
One small addition to an already heavy load is what finally causes the collapse.
Where it comes fromFrom a 1600s saying about a horse and the last feather it could carry; the desert animal took over in the 1800s.
The pot calling
Criticizing someone for exactly the fault you have.
Where it comes fromIn English by the 1600s, from the days of open fires when every cooking vessel came out equally sooty.
Don't rob Peter
Solving one shortage by creating another.
Where it comes fromIn English by the 1400s. The two saints are two London churches, and money really was moved between them.
By the skin
Only just, and with nothing to spare.
Where it comes fromFrom the Book of Job, and it has puzzled readers ever since — the part of the body it names has no skin.
The dogs bark,
Criticism and noise do not have to stop you — keep moving toward where you are going.
Where it comes fromA proverb of the desert trade routes, usually traced to Arabic and Persian.
Fall down seven times —
Persistence outlasts failure — what matters is the getting up, not the falling.
Where it comes fromA Japanese proverb — nana korobi ya oki — often linked with the Daruma doll, which rights itself whenever it is tipped over.
Even monkeys
Even the most skilled among us make mistakes — so a slip is nothing to be ashamed of.
Where it comes fromA Japanese proverb — saru mo ki kara ochiru — often said to comfort an expert who has slipped.
Even if you know the way,
Checking costs nothing — overconfidence is how the sure-footed get lost.
Where it comes fromA Korean proverb — aneun gildo mureo gara — often said before setting out on a journey.
After the rain,
Hard times leave things — and people — firmer than they were before.
Where it comes fromA Korean proverb, often said to someone finding their feet again after a setback.
Teachers open the door,
Guidance can only take you to the threshold — the learning is yours to do.
Where it comes fromA Chinese proverb, usually traced to the long tradition of master-and-student teaching.
Measure seven times,
Prepare carefully so you only have to act once — haste wastes the material.
Where it comes fromA Russian proverb — sem raz otmer, odin raz otrezh — usually traced to the tailor's bench and the carpenter's shop.
The first pancake
First attempts rarely come out right — that is how the pan warms up.
Where it comes fromA Russian proverb — pervyy blin komom — often said kindly about anyone's first try.
Not my circus,
This mess belongs to somebody else — you are allowed to not manage it.
Where it comes fromA Polish proverb — nie mój cyrk, nie moje małpy — widely borrowed into English in recent years.
Man plans,
Life rarely follows the script — hold your plans lightly.
Where it comes fromA Yiddish proverb — der mentsh trakht un got lakht — often said with a shrug.
Words should be weighed,
What matters is the weight of what you say, not how much of it there is.
Where it comes fromA Yiddish proverb, widely quoted wherever Yiddish was spoken.
It is in the shelter of each other
We survive by leaning on one another — community is the roof over everyone.
Where it comes fromAn Irish proverb — ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine — widely known in Ireland to this day.
A gentle hand may lead an elephant
Gentleness can steer what force cannot budge.
Where it comes fromA Persian proverb, usually traced to Persia's classical poetry.
Coffee should be black as night, strong as death,
Some pleasures deserve to be done properly or not at all.
Where it comes fromA Turkish saying, widely repeated wherever Turkish coffee is poured.
Little by little
Small steady additions add up to plenty — patience does the filling.
Where it comes fromA Swahili proverb — haba na haba, hujaza kibaba — widely taught across East Africa.
The one who asks questions
Asking is not weakness — it is how you stay on the road.
Where it comes fromAn Akan proverb from Ghana, widely used in teaching and storytelling.
However far the stream flows,
Wherever life takes you, you carry where you came from.
Where it comes fromA Yoruba proverb from Nigeria, often said of someone who has gone far from home.
When spiders unite,
Small forces working together can hold what none could alone.
Where it comes fromAn Ethiopian proverb, widely quoted about what unity can do.
The shrimp that falls asleep
Stay alert — drift along and events will decide for you.
Where it comes fromA Spanish-language proverb, widely known in Mexico — camarón que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente.
Not all doughnuts
Not everything turns out as planned — and it is usually still worth eating.
Where it comes fromAn Italian proverb — non tutte le ciambelle riescono col buco — often said when plans half-work.
Whatever is good to know
The valuable lessons cost effort — that is part of what makes them valuable.
Where it comes fromA Greek proverb, usually traced to Greek folk tradition.
Drop by drop,
Great outcomes are gathered in small amounts — keep adding drops.
Where it comes fromAn Indian proverb — boond boond se sagar bharta hai — widely taught in Hindi.
Whoever does not look back to where they came from
Gratitude for your beginnings is part of arriving anywhere worth being.
Where it comes fromA Filipino proverb, often credited to the national hero José Rizal.
There is no bad weather,
Conditions are rarely the real problem — preparation is.
Where it comes fromA Norwegian saying, widely shared across Scandinavia.
Don't put all your eggs
Spread your risk rather than staking everything on one outcome.
Where it comes fromCervantes put it in Don Quixote in the early 1600s, and it was already proverbial then.
A penny saved
Money you avoid spending is worth as much as money you bring in.
Where it comes from⭐ Benjamin Franklin gets the credit and never wrote it. What he published in Poor Richard's Almanack was "a penny saved is twopence clear."
Rome wasn't built
Anything worthwhile takes longer than you would like.
Where it comes fromNot Roman at all. It is medieval French, from around 1190, and reached English in a 1538 collection.
A bird in the hand
Something you already have beats a better thing you might not get.
Where it comes fromIn English by the 1400s. Often linked to falconry — the trained hawk being worth more than the prey — though that is likely but not proven.
You can lead a horse to water
You can give someone every opportunity, but you cannot make them take it.
Where it comes from⭐ One of the oldest sayings in the language — written down around 1175.
The grass is always greener
Other people's circumstances look better than they are, from a distance.
Where it comes fromThe idea is ancient — Ovid wrote that the harvest is always richer in another man's field — but this wording is thought to be only about a century old.
Don't burn your bridges
Do not destroy a relationship you might need again.
Where it comes fromThought to come from Roman military practice: burn the bridge behind you and the army cannot retreat, so it must win.
You can't have your cake
You cannot keep something and spend it at the same time.
Where it comes fromIn English since the 1500s, and the older order was "eat your cake and have it," which makes rather more sense.
You can't teach an old dog
It is hard to change long habits. Worth knowing that the research disagrees.
Where it comes fromOne of the oldest in the language — written down around 1523, in a book about husbandry.
A friend in need
The friends who show up when things are hard are the real ones.
Where it comes fromOne of the oldest in English, recorded in the 11th century and probably older still.
Don't judge a man
You cannot understand someone's choices without knowing their circumstances.
Where it comes fromThought to come from a Native American saying; the earliest printed English versions date to the early 1900s.
A leopard can't
People do not fundamentally change their nature.
Where it comes fromStraight from the Book of Jeremiah, by way of the King James Bible.
Manners
How you treat people is what defines you.
Where it comes fromThe motto of William of Wykeham, a 14th-century bishop, and still the motto of the school he founded.
No news
If something had gone wrong, you would have heard.
Where it comes fromRecorded in the 1600s, and originally about slow post rather than about worry.
An ounce of prevention
A little care now saves a great deal of trouble later.
Where it comes fromFranklin wrote this one, in 1735 — and he was writing about fire safety in Philadelphia, not health.
If the shoe fits
If a description applies to you, accept it.
Where it comes fromAmerican, from the 1700s, and originally about a cap rather than a shoe.
Silence is
Saying nothing is often the better choice.
Where it comes fromUsually traced to the Victorian writer Thomas Carlyle, who was translating a German saying.
Slow and steady
Consistency beats bursts of effort.
Where it comes fromThe moral of Aesop's tortoise and hare, which is around 2,500 years old.
Time and tide
The world does not pause while you make up your mind.
Where it comes fromIn English since at least the 1300s, when "tide" still meant a season or a time rather than the sea.
Waste not
Use things carefully and you will not go short.
Where it comes fromRecorded in the 1700s, and it became a wartime slogan twice over.
All's well
A good outcome makes up for the trouble along the way.
Where it comes fromThe title of a Shakespeare play, though the saying was already in circulation before he used it.
The proof of the pudding
You judge something by how it actually turns out, not by how it sounds.
Where it comes fromIn English since the 1600s, and almost always quoted in a shortened form that loses the sense.
Absence makes the heart
Being apart from someone can increase your affection for them.
Where it comes fromFrom a poem by Thomas Haynes Bayly, published in 1844, though the sentiment appears in Roman poetry.
Beauty is in the eye
What counts as beautiful depends entirely on who is looking.
Where it comes fromThe thought is ancient; this exact phrasing is from the novelist Margaret Wolfe Hungerford, in 1878.
Get your ducks
Get organized before you begin.
Where it comes fromAmerican, and much newer — the 1900s. Nobody is sure whether the ducks are real ones, bowling pins, or something else.
An eye
Punishment matched to the offense — usually quoted to argue against it.
Where it comes fromFrom the Code of Hammurabi, nearly four thousand years ago, and later the Book of Exodus. It was written to LIMIT revenge, not to license it.
The best fences
Clear boundaries keep relationships good.
Where it comes fromBest known from Robert Frost's poem "Mending Wall," 1914, where the narrator is actually questioning it.
Don't look a gift horse
Do not inspect a present for faults.
Where it comes fromRecorded in English by the 1500s. It is about checking a horse's teeth to judge its age — which you would do when buying one, and should not when given one.
If you can't stand the heat
If you cannot cope with the pressure, step away from the job.
Where it comes fromPopularised by President Truman, though he credited it to a colleague rather than claiming it.
Don't cut off your nose
Do not damage yourself in the course of getting back at someone.
Where it comes fromRecorded in the 1500s, and traced to a story about medieval nuns, though that story is probably a later invention.
You never step
Everything is always changing, including you.
Where it comes fromAttributed to the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, around 500 BC.
What's sauce for the goose
The same rule should apply to everyone.
Where it comes fromFirst recorded in 1670, and it was about fairness between husbands and wives.
Leave no stone
Search absolutely everywhere.
Where it comes fromTraced to a Greek story about searching for treasure buried beneath a stone, and in English by the 1500s.
Make hay
Act while the conditions are right — they will not last.
Where it comes fromRecorded in English by the mid-1500s, when it was literal advice: cut hay in dry weather or lose the crop.
If at first you don't succeed
Persistence is the answer to early failure.
Where it comes fromFrom an 1840 schoolbook, and it caught on because it was written for children learning to copy their letters.
Anything worth doing
If a job is worth your time, give it proper attention.
Where it comes fromUsually traced to a letter written by Lord Chesterfield to his son in 1746.
Still in the Sheet, just not dealt. Flip a row's status back to "published" to bring one back.
The early bird
Being first, or simply starting sooner, gives you the advantage.
Where it comes fromRecorded in English as early as 1636, already as a saying rather than a new thought.
People who live in glass houses
Do not criticize others for a fault you share.
Where it comes fromThe glass-house wording appears in a 1651 collection. Chaucer had made much the same point some 250 years earlier.
Don't count your chickens
Do not depend on something good until it has actually happened.
Where it comes fromUsually traced to Aesop, though the familiar English wording only turns up in the 1500s.
Too many cooks
When too many people take charge of one thing, the result suffers.
Where it comes fromRecorded in English by the 1500s, from a time when a household really did share one pot over one fire.
Don't judge a book
Appearance is a poor guide to what something or someone is really like.
Where it comes fromMuch younger than it sounds — mid-1800s, and only common in the 20th century.
Where there's smoke
Signs of a problem usually mean a real problem behind them.
Where it comes fromThe idea is Roman: the playwright Plautus wrote that flame is never far from smoke.
Actions speak
What people do tells you more than what they say.
Where it comes fromRecorded in English by the 1600s, and the older form was blunter still, calling deeds more precious than speech.
Beggars can't
When you are dependent on someone's help, you take what is offered.
Where it comes fromFirst written down around 1546, in John Heywood's collection of English proverbs.
Better late
Doing something eventually still beats not doing it at all.
Where it comes fromThe idea is Roman — the historian Livy used it — and it reached English by the 1500s.
Blood is thicker
Family loyalty tends to outweigh other ties.
Where it comes fromIn English since the 1400s. Often said to be a shortening of a longer saying with the opposite meaning, but there is no good evidence for that.
Don't put the cart
Do things in the right order.
Where it comes fromIn English by the 1500s, though the image is older — Cicero used the same idea in Latin.
Charity begins
Look after your own family first.
Where it comes fromIn English since the 1300s, and originally a religious instruction rather than an excuse.
Don't cross that bridge
Do not worry about a problem before it arrives.
Where it comes fromRecorded in the 1800s, and it appears in Longfellow, who may have helped popularise it.
Early to bed and early to rise
Regular hours are the foundation of everything else.
Where it comes fromFranklin did print this one in Poor Richard's Almanack, though the saying was already old by then.
A fool and his money
People without judgment do not keep what they have.
Where it comes fromFirst recorded in 1587, and it was already being quoted as an old saying then.
One hand
People who help each other both come out better.
Where it comes fromRoman. The Stoic writer Seneca used it, so it is at least two thousand years old.
Haste
Rushing costs you more than it saves.
Where it comes fromFirst written down in John Heywood's 1546 collection of English proverbs, in the old spelling with "maketh."
Make hay
Act while conditions are in your favor.
Where it comes fromA farming saying recorded in English by the 1540s, and meant exactly as it sounds.
Home is where
What makes a home is the people, not the building.
Where it comes fromUsually traced to the Roman writer Pliny the Elder, and in English by the 1800s.
Honesty is
Telling the truth works out better in the long run.
Where it comes fromIn English by the 1500s, and Shakespeare has a version of it.
Strike while
Act at the moment when action will work.
Where it comes fromFrom the blacksmith's forge, and in English since Chaucer's time.
He who laughs last
The one who comes out ahead at the end is the one who really won.
Where it comes fromRecorded in English by the 1500s, in a form that praised whoever had the last laugh as laughing "best."
Look before
Think it through before committing.
Where it comes fromIn English since the 1300s, and it appears in Heywood's 1546 collection.
Measure twice
Check carefully before doing the thing you cannot undo.
Where it comes fromRecorded in English by the 1800s. It was a carpenter's rule before it was a proverb, and it means exactly what it says.
Out of sight
People forget what they do not see.
Where it comes fromWritten down around 1450, which makes it older than most people expect of such a plain phrase.
Money doesn't
There is a limit, and it arrives sooner than you would like.
Where it comes fromIn English by the 1700s, and almost always said to somebody younger.
Necessity is the mother
People work things out when they have to.
Where it comes fromThe idea is in Plato; the English wording appears in the 1500s.
Practice makes
Skill comes from repetition.
Where it comes fromIn English by the 1500s. The Romans had the same thought, and put it more usefully: practice is the best teacher.
Pride comes
Overconfidence tends to be followed by trouble.
Where it comes fromFrom the Book of Proverbs, usually quoted rather more neatly than the original reads.
A rolling stone
Someone who keeps moving does not put down roots — said as a warning or a compliment, depending who is speaking.
Where it comes fromLatin before it was English — usually traced to Publilius Syrus in the first century BC, and in English collections by the 1500s.
It's the thought
The intention behind a gesture matters more than the gesture.
Where it comes fromRecorded in the 1700s, and it has been used to excuse a disappointing present ever since.
Time heals
Distance makes painful things easier to carry.
Where it comes fromChaucer had the thought in the 1300s. The modern wording is Victorian.
Two heads
Two people thinking about a problem beat one.
Where it comes fromIn English by 1546, and it appears in Heywood's collection alongside a great many others still in use.
Still waters
Quiet people often have a great deal going on underneath.
Where it comes fromIn English since the 1400s, usually as a compliment to someone quiet.
The squeaky wheel
The person who complains loudest gets attention first.
Where it comes fromAmerican, and much newer than most on this list — popularised in the early 1900s.
Where there's a will
Determination finds a route.
Where it comes fromYounger than it sounds — this wording dates from the early 1800s. George Herbert made the same point in 1640: “to him that will, ways are not wanting.”
You're only as old
Age is partly a matter of attitude — and, the research would add, of what you do each day.
Where it comes fromAmerican, and 20th century — it appears in print in the 1870s and became common much later.
His bark is worse
Someone who sounds fierce may not act on it.
Where it comes fromIn English by the 1500s, and it is about dogs in the plainest possible way.
You've made your bed
You must live with the consequences of your own choices.
Where it comes fromRecorded in the 1500s, and it was already being used as a reproach.
Birds of a feather
Similar people find each other.
Where it comes fromIn English by the 1500s, and it appears in a 1545 book of proverbs.
We're all
Everyone here faces the same situation.
Where it comes fromThought to come from the days when everyone aboard a small ship shared its fate exactly.
Half a loaf
Something is better than nothing, even if it falls short.
Where it comes fromRecorded in 1546, in Heywood again — a remarkable number of everyday English sayings were first written down in that one book.
The chickens
The consequences of past actions have arrived.
Where it comes fromIn English by the 1300s, in a much longer form about curses coming back at dusk the way birds do.
Better the devil you know
A familiar problem is safer than an unknown one.
Where it comes fromRecorded in the 1500s, and it is a piece of advice about risk rather than about devils.
Out of the frying pan
Escaping one difficulty straight into a worse one.
Where it comes fromIn English by the 1500s, and it appears in Thomas More.
There are plenty more fish
This was not the only opportunity.
Where it comes fromRecorded in the 1500s, and it has been said to the recently disappointed ever since.
Many hands
A job shared is a job halved.
Where it comes fromIn English by the 1300s, and one of the plainest statements of why anything gets done together.
Fortune favors
Taking a chance is often what makes the difference.
Where it comes fromA Latin saying — fortis fortuna adiuvat — used by Roman writers well before it reached English.
A new broom
Someone new to a job makes changes with enthusiasm.
Where it comes fromIn English by the 1500s, and it is usually said about a new manager.
The apple doesn't fall
Children resemble their parents.
Where it comes fromIn English by the 1800s, borrowed from a German saying.
Don't cry
Raise a false alarm often enough and nobody comes when it is real.
Where it comes fromThe moral of one of Aesop's fables, and one of the few where the boy does not get away with it.