- 1000 English Proverbs and Sayings
Courtesy: www.keralites.net
01. A bad beginning makes a
bad ending.
02. A bad corn promise is
better than a good lawsuit.
03. A bad workman quarrels
with his tools.
04. A bargain is a bargain.
05. A beggar can never be
bankrupt.
06. A bird in the hand is
worth two in the bush.
07. A bird may be known by
its song.
08. A black hen lays a white
egg.
09. A blind leader of the
blind.
10. A blind man would be glad
to see.
11. A broken friendship may
be soldered, but will never be sound.
12. A burden of one's own
choice is not felt.
13. A burnt child dreads the
fire.
14. A cat in gloves catches
no mice.
15. A city that parleys is
half gotten.
16. A civil denial is better
than a rude grant.
17. A clean fast is better
than a dirty breakfast.
18. A clean hand wants no
washing.
19. A clear conscience laughs
at false accusations.
20. A close mouth catches no
flies.
21. A cock is valiant on his
own dunghill.
22. A cracked bell can never
sound well.
23. A creaking door hangs
long on its hinges.
24. A curst cow has short
horns.
25. A danger foreseen is half
avoided.
26. A drop in the bucket.
27. A drowning man will catch
at a straw.
28. A fair face may hide a
foul heart.
29. A fault confessed is half
redressed.
30. A fly in the ointment.
31. A fool always rushes to
the fore.
32. A fool and his money are
soon parted.
33. A fool at forty is a fool
indeed.
34. A fool may ask more
questions in an hour than a wise man can answer in seven years.
35. A fool may throw a stone
into a well which a hundred wise men cannot pull out.
36. A fool's tongue runs
before his wit.
37. A forced kindness
deserves no thanks.
38. A foul morn may turn to a
fair day.
39. A fox is not taken twice
in the same snare.
40. A friend in need is a
friend indeed.
43. A friend is never known
till needed.
42. A friend to all is a
friend to none.
43. A friend's frown is
better than a foe's smile.
44. A good anvil does not
fear the hammer.
45. A good beginning is half
the battle.
46. A good beginning makes a
good ending.
47. A good deed is never
lost.
48. A good dog deserves a
good bone.
49. A good example is the
best sermon.
50. A good face is a letter
of recommendation.
51. A good Jack makes a good
Jill.
52. A good marksman may miss.
53. A good name is better
than riches.
54. A good name is sooner
lost than won.
55. A good name keeps its lustre in the dark.
56. A good wife makes a good
husband.
57. A great dowry is a bed
full of brambles.
58. A great fortune is a
great slavery.
59. A great ship asks deep
waters.
60. A guilty conscience needs
no accuser.
61. A hard nut to crack.
62. A heavy purse makes a
light heart.
63. A hedge between keeps
friendship green.
64. A honey tongue, a heart
of gall.
65. A hungry belly has no
ears.
66. A hungry man is an angry
man.
67. A Jack of all trades is
master of none.
68. A Joke never gains an
enemy but often loses a friend.
69. A lawyer never goes to
law himself.
70. A lazy sheep thinks its
wool heavy.
71. A liar is not believed
when he speaks the truth.
72. A lie begets a lie.
73. A light purse is a heavy
curse.
74. A light purse makes a
heavy heart.
75. A little body often
harbors a great soul.
76. A little fire is quickly
trodden out.
77. A man can die but once.
78. A man can do no more than
he can.
79. A man is known by the
company he keeps.
80. A man of words and not of
deeds is like a garden full of weeds.
81. A miserly father makes a
prodigal son.
82. A miss is as good as a
mile.
83. A new broom sweeps clean.
84. A nod from a lord is a
breakfast for a fool.
85. A penny saved is a penny
gained.
86. A penny soul never came
to twopence.
87. A quiet conscience sleeps
in thunder.
88. A rolling stone gathers
no moss.
89. A round peg in a square
hole.
90. A shy cat makes a proud
mouse.
91. A silent fool is counted
wise.
92. A small leak will sink a
great ship.
93. A soft answer turns away
wrath.
94. A sound mind in a sound
body.
95. A stitch in time saves
nine.
96. A storm in a teacup.
97. A tattler is worse than a
thief.
98. A thief knows a thief as
a wolf knows a wolf.
99. A thief passes for a
gentleman when stealing has made him rich.
100. A threatened blow is
seldom given.
101. A tree is known by its
fruit.
102. A wager is a fool's
argument.
103. A watched pot never
boils.
104. A wise man changes his
mind, a fool never will.
105. A wolf in sheep's
clothing.
106. A wonder lasts but nine
days.
107. A word is enough to the
wise.
108. A word spoken is past
recalling.
109. Actions speak louder
than words.
110. Adversity is a great
schoolmaster.
111. Adversity makes strange
bedfellows.
112. After a storm comes a calm.
113. After dinner comes the
reckoning.
114. After dinner sit (sleep)
a while, after supper walk a mile.
115. After rain comes fair
weather.
116. After us the deluge.
117. Agues come on horseback,
but go away on foot.
118. All are good lasses, but
whence come the bad wives?
119. All are not friends that
speak us fair.
120. All are not hunters that
blow the horn.
121. All are not merry that
dance lightly.
122. All are not saints that
go to church.
123. All asses wag their
ears.
124. All bread is not baked
in one oven.
125. All cats are grey in the
dark (in the night).
126. All covet, all lose.
127. All doors open to
courtesy.
128. All is fish that comes
to his net.
129. All is not lost that is
in peril.
130. All is well that ends
well.
131. All lay load on the
willing horse.
132. All men can't be first.
133. All men can't be
masters.
134. All promises are either
broken or kept.
135. All roads lead to
136. All sugar and honey.
137. All that glitters is not
gold.
138. All things are difficult
before they are easy.
139. All truths are not to be
told.
140. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
141. "Almost" never
killed a fly (was never hanged).
142. Among the blind the
one-eyed man is king.
143. An apple a day keeps the
doctor away.
144. An ass in a lion's skin.
145. An ass is but an ass,
though laden with gold.
146. An ass loaded with gold
climbs to the top of the castle.
147. An empty hand is no lure
for a hawk.
148. An empty sack cannot
stand upright.
149. An empty vessel gives a
greater sound than a full barrel.
150. An evil chance seldom
comes alone.
151. An honest tale speeds
best, being plainly told.
152. An hour in the morning
is worth two in the evening.
153. An idle brain is the
devil's workshop.
154. An ill wound is cured,
not an ill name.
155. An oak is not felled at
one stroke.
156. An old dog barks not in
vain.
157. An open door may tempt a
saint.
158. An ounce of discretion
is worth a pound of learning.
159. An ox is taken by the horns, and a man by the tongue.
160. An unfortunate man would
be drowned in a teacup.
161. Anger and haste hinder
good counsel.
162. Any port in a storm.
163..
Appearances are deceitful.
164. Appetite comes with
eating.
165. As drunk as a lord.
166. As innocent as a babe
unborn.
167. As like as an apple to
an oyster.
168. As like as two peas.
169. As old as the hills.
170. As plain as the nose on
a man's face.
171. As plain as two and two
make four.
172. As snug as a bug in a rug .
173. As sure as eggs is eggs.
174. As the call, so the
echo.
175. As
the fool thinks, so the bell clinks.
176. As the old cock crows,
so does the young.
177. As the tree falls, so
shall it lie.
178. As the tree, so the
fruit.
179. As welcome as flowers in
May.
180. As welcome as water in
one's shoes.
181. As well be hanged for a
sheep as for a lamb.
182. As you brew, so must you
drink.
183. As you make your bed, so
must you lie on it.
184. As you sow, so shall you
reap.
185. Ask no questions and you
will be told no lies.
186. At
the ends of the earth.
187. Bacchus has drowned more
men than
188. Bad news has wings.
189. Barking does seldom
bite.
190. Be
slow to promise and quick to perform.
191. Be
swift to hear, slow to speak.
192. Beauty is but skin-deep.
193. Beauty lies in lover's
eyes.
194. Before one can say Jack
Robinson.
195. Before you make a friend
eat a bushel of salt with him.
196. Beggars cannot be
choosers.
197. Believe not all that you
see nor half what you hear..
198. Best defence
is offence.
199. Better a glorious death
than a shameful life.
200. Better a lean peace than
a fat victory.
201. Better a little fire to
warm us, than a great one to burn us.
202. Better an egg today than
a hen tomorrow.
203. Better an open enemy
than a false friend.
204. Better be alone than in
bad company.
205. Better be born lucky
than rich.
206. Better be envied than
pitied.
207. Better be the head of a
dog than the tail of a lion.
208. Better deny at once than
promise long.
209. Better die standing than
live kneeling.
210. Better early than late.
211. Better give a shilling
than lend a half-crown.
212. Better go to bed supperless than rise in debt.
213. Better late than never.
214. Better lose a jest than
a friend.
215. Better one-eyed than
stone-blind.
216..
Better the devil you know than the devil you don't.
217. Better the foot slip
than the tongue.
218. Better to do well than
to say well.
219. Better to reign in hell,
than serve in heaven.
220. Better unborn than
untaught.
221. Better untaught than
ill-taught.
222. Between the cup and the
lip a morsel may slip.
223. Between
the devil and the deep (blue) sea.
224. Between
two evils 'tis not worth choosing.
225. Between
two stools one goes (falls) to the ground.
226. Between
the upper and nether millstone.
227. Betwixt
and between.
228. Beware of a silent dog
and still water.
229. Bind the sack before it
be full.
230. Birds of a feather flock
together.
231. Blind men can judge no colours.
232. Blood is thicker than
water.
233. Borrowed garments never
fit well.
234. Brevity is the soul of
wit..
235. Burn not your house to
rid it of the mouse.
236. Business before
pleasure.
237. By
doing nothing we learn to do ill.
238. By hook or by crook.
239. By the street of
'by-and-bye' one arrives at the house of 'Never'.
240. Calamity is man's true
touchstone.
241. Care killed the cat.
242. Catch the bear before
you sell his skin.
243. Caution is the parent of
safety.
244. Charity begins at home.
245. Cheapest is the dearest.
246. Cheek brings success.
247. Children and fools must
not play with edged tools.
248. Children are poor men's
riches.
249. Choose an author as you
choose a friend..
250. Christmas comes but once
a year, (but when it comes it brings good cheer).
251. Circumstances alter
cases.
252. Claw me, and I will claw
thee.
253. Cleanliness is next to
godliness.
254. Company in distress
makes trouble less.
255. Confession is the first
step to repentance.
256. Counsel is no command.
257. Creditors have better
memories than debtors.
258. Cross the stream where
it is shallowest.
259. Crows do not pick crow's
eyes.
260. Curiosity killed a cat.
261. Curses like chickens
come home to roost.
262. Custom is a second
nature.
263. Custom is the plague of
wise men and the idol of fools.
264. Cut your coat according
to your cloth.
265. Death is the grand leveller.
266. Death pays all debts.
267. Death when it comes will
have no denial.
268. Debt is the worst
poverty.
269. Deeds, not words.
270. Delays are dangerous.
271. Desperate diseases must
have desperate remedies.
272. Diligence is the mother
of success (good luck).
273. Diseases are the
interests of pleasures.
274. Divide and rule.
275. Do as you would be done
by.
276. Dog does not eat dog.
277. Dog eats dog.
278. Dogs that put up many
hares kill none.
279. Doing is better than
saying.
280. Don't count your
chickens before they are hatched.
281. Don't cross the bridges
before you come to them.
282. Don't have thy cloak to
make when it begins to rain.
283. Don't keep a dog and
bark yourself.
284. Don't look a gift horse
in the mouth.
285. Don't put all your eggs
in one basket.
286. Don't sell the bear's
skin before you've caught it.
287. Don't trouble trouble until trouble troubles you.
288. Don't whistle (halloo)
until you are out of the wood.
289. Dot your
i's and cross your t's.
290. Draw not your bow till
your arrow is fixed.
291. Drive the nail that will
go.
292. Drunken days have all
their tomorrow.
293. Drunkenness reveals what
soberness conceals.
294. Dumb dogs are dangerous.
295. Each bird loves to hear himself sing.
296. Early to bed and early
to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
297. Easier said than done.
298. East or West ? home is best.
299. Easy come, easy go.
300. Eat at pleasure, drink
with measure.
301. Empty vessels make the
greatest (the most) sound.
302. Enough is as good as a
feast.
303. Envy shoots at others
and wounds herself.
304. Even reckoning makes
long friends.
305. Every ass loves to hear himself bray.
306. Every barber knows that.
307. Every bean has its
black.
308. Every bird likes its own
nest.
309. Every bullet has its
billet.
310. Every country has its
customs.
311. Every dark cloud has a
silver lining.
312. Every day is not Sunday.
313. Every dog has his day.
314. Every dog is a lion at
home.
315. Every dog is valiant at
his own door.
316. Every Jack has his Jill.
317. Every man has a fool in
his sleeve.
318. Every man has his faults.
319. Every man has his
hobby-horse.
320. Every man is the
architect of his own fortunes.
321. Every man to his taste.
322. Every miller draws water
to his own mill.
323. Every mother thinks her
own gosling a swan.
324. Every one's faults are
not written in their foreheads.
325. Every tub must stand on
its own bottom.
326. Every white has its
black, and every sweet its sour.
327. Every why has a
wherefore.
328. Everybody's business is
nobody's business.
329..
Everything comes to him who waits.
330. Everything is good in
its season.
331. Evil communications
corrupt good manners.
332. Experience is the mother
of wisdom.
333. Experience keeps a dear
school, but fools learn in no other.
334. Experience keeps no
school, she teaches her pupils singly.
335. Extremes meet.
336. Facts are stubborn
things.
337. Faint heart never won
fair lady.
338. Fair without, foul
(false) within.
339. Fair words break no
bones.
340. False friends are worse
than open enemies.
341. Familiarity breeds
contempt.
342. Far from eye, far from
heart.
343. Fasting comes after
feasting.
344. Faults are thick where
love is thin.
345. Feast today and fast
tomorrow.
346. Fine feathers make fine
birds.
347. Fine words butter no
parsnips.
348. First catch your hare.
349..
First come, first served.
350. First deserve and then
desire.
351. First think, then speak.
352. Fish and company stink
in three days.
353. Fish begins to stink at
the head.
354. Follow the river and
you'll get to the sea.
355. Fool's haste is no
speed.
356. Fools and madmen speak
the truth.
357. Fools grow without
watering.
358. Fools may sometimes
speak to the purpose.
359. Fools never know when
they are well.
360. Fools rush in where
angels fear to tread.
361. For
the love of the game.
362. Forbearance is no acquittance.
363. Forbidden fruit is
sweet.
364. Forewarned is forearmed.
365. Fortune favours the brave (the bold).
366. Fortune is easily found,
but hard to be kept.
367. Four eyes see more
(better) than two.
368. Friends are thieves of
time.
369. From
bad to worse.
370. From
pillar to post.
371. Gentility without
ability is worse than plain beggary.
372. Get a name to rise
early, and you may lie all day.
373. Gifts from enemies are
dangerous.
374. Give a fool rope enough,
and he will hang himself.
375. Give every man thy ear,
but few thy voice.
376. Give him an inch and
he'll take an ell.
377. Give never the wolf the wether to keep.
378. Gluttony kills more men
than the sword.
379. Go to bed with the lamb
and rise with the lark.
380. Good clothes open all
doors.
381. Good counsel does no
harm.
382. Good health is above
wealth.
383. Good masters make good
servants.
384. Good words and no deeds.
385. Good words without deeds
are rushes and reeds.
386. Gossiping and lying go
hand in hand.
387. Grasp all, lose all.
388. Great barkers are no
biters.
389. Great boast, small
roast.
390. Great cry and little
wool.
391. Great spenders are bad
lenders.
392. Great talkers are great
liars.
393. Great talkers are little
doers.
394. Greedy folk have long
arms.
395. Habit cures habit.
396. Half a loaf is better
than no bread.
397. "Hamlet"
without the Prince of
398. Handsome is that
handsome does.
399. Happiness takes no
account of time.
400. Happy is he that is
happy in his children.
401. Hard words break no
bones.
402. Hares may pull dead
lions by the beard.
403. Harm watch, harm catch.
404. Haste makes waste.
405. Hasty climbers have
sudden falls.
406. Hate not at the first
harm.
407. Hatred is blind, as well
as love.
408..
Hawks will not pick hawks' eyes.
409. He begins to die that
quits his desires.
410. He cannot speak well
that cannot hold his tongue.
411. He carries fire in one
hand and water in the other.
412. He dances well to whom
fortune pipes.
413. He gives twice who gives
in a trice..
414. He goes long barefoot
that waits for dead man's shoes.
415. He is a fool that
forgets himself.
416. He is a good friend that
speaks well of us behind our backs.
417. He is happy that thinks
himself so.
418. He is lifeless that is
faultless.
419. He is not fit to command
others that cannot command himself.
420. He is not laughed at
that laughs at himself first.
421. He is not poor that has
little, but he that desires much.
422. He jests at scars that
never felt a wound.
423. He knows best what good
is that has endured evil.
424. He knows how many beans
make five.
425. He knows much who knows
how to hold his tongue.
426. He laughs best who
laughs last.
427. He lives long that lives
well.
428. He must needs swim that is held up by the chin.
429. He should have a long
spoon that sups with the devil.
430. He smells best that
smells of nothing.
431. He that comes first to
the hill may sit where he will.
432. He that commits a fault
thinks everyone speaks of it.
433. He that does you an i!i turn will never forgive you.
434. He that fears every bush
must never go a-birding.
435. He that fears you
present wiil hate you
absent.
436. He that goes a borrowing, goes a sorrowing.
437. He that goes barefoot
must not plant thorns.
438. He that has a full purse
never wanted a friend.
439. He that has a great nose
thinks everybody is speaking of it.
440. He that has an ill name
is half hanged.
441. He that has no children
knows not what love is.
442. He that has He head needs no hat.
443. He that has no money
needs no purse.
444. He that is born to be
hanged shall never be drowned.
445. He that is full of
himself is very empty.
446. He that is ill to
himself will be good to nobody.
447. He that is warm thinks
all so.
448. He that knows nothing
doubts nothing.
449. He that lies down with
dogs must rise up with fleas.
450. He that lives with
cripples learns to limp.
451. He that mischief
hatches, mischief catches.
452. He that
never climbed never fell.
453. He that once deceives is
ever suspected.
454. He that promises too
much means nothing.
455. He that respects not is
not respected.
456. He that seeks trouble
never misses.
457. He that serves everybody
is paid by nobody.
458. He that serves God for
money will serve the devil for better wages.
459. He that spares the bad
injures the good.
460. He that talks much errs
much.
461. He that talks much lies
much.
462. He that will eat the
kernel must crack the nut.
463. He that will not when he
may, when he will he shall have nay.
464. He that will steal an
egg will steal an ox.
465. He that will thrive, must rise at five.
466. He that would eat the
fruit must climb the tree.
467. He that would have eggs
must endure the cackling of hens.
468. He who is born a fool is
never cured.
469. He who hesitates is
lost.
470. He who likes borrowing
dislikes paying.
471. He who makes no mistakes, makes nothing.
472. He who pleased everybody
died before he was born.
473. He who says what he likes, shall hear what he doesn't like.
474. He who would catch fish
must not mind getting wet.
475. He who would eat the nut
must first crack the shell.
476. He who would search for
pearls must dive below.
477. He will never set the
478. He works best who knows
his trade.
479. Head cook and
bottle-washer.
480. Health is not valued
till sickness comes.
481. His money burns a hole
in his pocket.
482. Honesty is the best
policy.
483. Honey is not for the
ass's mouth.
484. Honey is sweet, but the
bee stings.
485. Honour
and profit lie not in one sack.
486. Honours
change manners.
487. Hope is a good
breakfast, but a bad supper.
488. Hope is the poor man's
bread.
489. Hunger breaks stone
walls.
490. Hunger finds no fault
with cookery.
491. Hunger is the best
sauce.
492. Hungry bellies have no
ears.
493. Idle folks lack no
excuses.
494. Idleness is the mother
of all evil.
495. Idleness rusts the mind.
496. If an
ass (donkey) bray at you, don't bray at him.
497. If ifs and ans were pots and pans...
498. If my aunt had been a
man, she'd have been my uncle.
499. If the blind lead the
blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
500. If the sky falls, we
shall catch larks.
501. If there were no clouds,
we should not enjoy the sun.
502. If things were to be
done twice all would be wise.
503. If we can't as we would,
we must do as we can.
504. If wishes were horses,
beggars might ride.
505. If you agree to carry
the calf, they'll make you carry the cow.
506. If you cannot bite,
never show your teeth.
507. If you cannot have the
best, make the best of what you have.
508. If you dance you must
pay the fiddler.
509. If you laugh before
breakfast you'll cry before supper.
510. If you run after two
hares, you will catch neither.
511. If you sell the cow, you
sell her milk too.
512. If you throw mud enough,
some of it will stick.
513. If you try to please all
you will please none.
514. If you want a thing well
done, do it yourself.
515. Ill-gotten gains never
prosper.
516. Ill-gotten, ill-spent.
517. In
every beginning think of the end.
518. In for a penny, in for a
pound.
519. In the country of the
blind one-eyed man is a king.
520. In the end things will mend.
521. In the evening one may
praise the day.
522. Iron hand (fist) in a
velvet glove.
523. It is a good horse that
never stumbles.
524. It is a long lane that
has no turning.
525. It is a poor mouse that
has only one hole.
526. It is an ill bird that fouls
its own nest.
527. It is an ill wind that
blows nobody good.
528. It is a silly fish, that is caught twice with the same bait.
529. It is easy to swim if
another hoids up your chin (head).
530. It is enough to make a
cat laugh.
531. It is good fishing in
troubled waters.
532. It is never too late to
learn.
533. It is no use crying over
spilt milk.
534. It is the first step
that costs.
535. It never rains but it
pours.
536. It's
as broad as it's long.
537. It's
no use pumping a dry well.
538. It's
one thing to flourish and another to fight.
539. It takes all sorts to
make a world.
540. Jackdaw in peacock's
feathers..
541. Jest with an ass and he
will flap you in the face with his tail.
542. Judge not of men and
things at first sight.
543. Just as the twig is
bent, the tree is inclined.
544. Keep a thing seven years
and you will find a use for it.
545. Keep your mouth shut and
your ears open.
546. Keep your mouth shut and
your eyes open.
547. Last, but not least.
548. Laws catch flies, but
let hornets go free.
549..
Learn to creep before you leap.
550. Learn to say before you
sing.
551. Learn wisdom by the
follies of others.
552. Least said, soonest
mended.
553. Leaves without figs.
554. Let bygones be bygones.
555. Let every man praise the
bridge he goes over.
556. Let sleeping dogs lie.
557. Let well (enough) alone.
558. Liars need good
memories.
559. Lies have short legs.
560. Life is but a span.
561. Life is not a bed of
roses.
562. Life is not all cakes
and ale (beer and skittles).
563. Like
a cat on hot bricks.
564. Like
a needle in a haystack.
565. Like begets like.
566. Like cures like.
567. Like
father, like son.
568. Like draws to like.
569. Like
master, like man.
570. Like
mother, like daughter.
571. Like
parents, like children.
572. Like
priest, like people.
573. Like
teacher, like pupil.
574. Little chips light great
fires.
575. Little knowledge is a
dangerous thing.
576. Little pigeons can carry
great messages.
577. Little pitchers have
long ears.
578. Little strokes fell great oaks.
579. Little thieves are
hanged, but great ones escape.
580. Little things amuse
little minds.
581. Live and learn.
582. Live and let live.
583. Live not to eat, but eat
to live.
584. Long absent, soon
forgotten.
585. Look before you leap.
586. Look before you leap, but
having leapt never look back.
587. Lookers-on see more than
players.
588. Lord (God, Heaven) helps
those (them) who help themselves.
589. Lost time is never found
again.
590. Love cannot be forced.
591. Love in a cottage.
592. Love is blind, as well
as hatred.
593. Love me, love my dog.
594. Love will creep where it
may not go.
595. Make haste slowly.
596. Make hay while the sun
shines.
597. Make or mar.
598. Man proposes but God
disposes.
599. Many a fine dish has
nothing on it.
600. Many a good cow has a
bad calf.
601. Many a good father has
but a bad son.
602. Many a little makes a mickle.
603. Many a true word is
spoken in jest.
604. Many hands make light
work.
605. Many men, many minds.
606. Many words hurt more
than swords.
607. Many words will not fill
a bushel.
608. Marriages are made in
heaven.
609. Measure for measure.
610. Measure thrice and cut
once.
611. Men may meet but
mountains never.
612. Mend or end (end or
mend).
613. Might goes
before right.
614. Misfortunes never come
alone (singly).
615. Misfortunes tell us what
fortune is.
616. Money begets money.
617. Money has no smell.
618..
Money is a good servant but a bad master.
619. Money often unmakes the
men who make it.
620. Money spent on the brain
is never spent in vain.
621. More haste, less speed.
622. Much ado about nothing.
623. Much will have more.
624. Muck and money go
together.
625. Murder will out.
626. My house is my castle.
627. Name not a rope in his
house that was hanged.
628. Necessity is the mother
of invention.
629. Necessity knows no law.
630. Neck or nothing.
631. Need makes the old wife
trot.
632. Needs must when the
devil drives.
633. Neither fish nor flesh.
634. Neither here nor there.
635. Neither rhyme nor
reason.
636. Never cackle till your
egg is laid.
637. Never cast dirt into
that fountain of which you have sometime drunk.
638. Never do things by
halves.
639. Never fry a fish till
it's caught.
640. Never offer to teach
fish to swim.
641. Never put off till
tomorrow what you can do (can be done) today.
642. Never quit certainty for
hope.
643. Never too much of a good
thing.
644. Never try to prove what
nobody doubts.
645. Never write what you
dare not sign.
646. New brooms sweep clean.
647. New lords, new laws.
648. Nightingales will not
sing in a cage.
649. No flying from fate.
650. No garden without its
weeds.
651. No great loss without
some small gain.
652. No herb will cure love.
653. No joy without alloy.
654. No living man all things
can.
655. No longer pipe, no longer dance.
656. No man is wise at all
times.
657. No man loves his
fetters, be they made of gold.
658. No news (is) good news.
659. No pains, no gains.
660. No song, no supper.
661. No sweet without (some)
sweat.
662. No wisdom like silence.
663. None but the brave
deserve the fair.
664. None so
blind as those who won't see.
665. None so
deaf as those that won't hear.
666. Nothing comes out of the
sack but what was in it.
667. Nothing is impossible to
a willing heart.
668. Nothing must be done
hastily but killing of fleas.
669. Nothing so bad, as not
to be good for something.
670. Nothing succeeds like
success.
671. Nothing venture, nothing
have.
672. Oaks may fall when reeds
stand the storm.
673. Of two evils choose the
least.
674. Old birds are not caught
with chaff..
675. Old friends and old wine
are best.
676. On Shank's mare.
677. Once bitten, twice shy.
678. Once is no rule
(custom).
679. One beats the bush, and
another catches the bird.
680. One chick keeps a hen
busy.
681. One drop of poison
infects the whole tun of wine.
682. One fire drives out another.
683. One good turn deserves
another.
684. One law for the rich,
and another for the poor.
685. One lie makes many.
686. One link broken, the
whole chain is broken.
687. One man, no man.
688. One man's meat is
another man's poison.
689. One scabby sheep will
mar a whole flock.
690. One swallow does not
make a summer.
691. One today is worth two
tomorrow.
692. Open not your door when
the devil knocks.
693. Opinions differ.
694.
695. Out of sight, out of
mind.
696. Out of the frying-pan
into the fire.
697. Packed like herrings.
698. Patience is a plaster
for all sores.
699. Penny-wise and
pound-foolish.
700. Pleasure has a sting in
its tail.
701. Plenty is no plague.
702. Politeness costs little
(nothing), but yields much.
703. Poverty is no sin.
704. Poverty is not a shame,
but the being ashamed of it is..
705. Practise
what you preach.
706. Praise is not pudding.
707. Pride goes before a
fall.
708. Procrastination is the
thief of time.
709. Promise is debt.
710. Promise little, but do
much.
711. Prosperity makes
friends, and adversity tries them.
712. Put not your hand
between the bark and the tree.
713. Rain at seven, fine at
eleven.
714. Rats desert a sinking
ship.
715. Repentance is good, but
innocence is better.
716. Respect yourself, or no
one else will respect you.
717. Roll my log and I will
roll yours.
718.
719. Salt water and absence
wash away love.
720. Saying and doing are two
things.
721. Score twice before you
cut once.
722. Scornful dogs will eat
dirty puddings.
723. Scratch my back and I'll
scratch yours.
724. Self done is soon done.
725..
Self done is well done.
726. Self is a bad counsellor.
727. Self-praise is no
recommendation.
728. Set a beggar on
horseback and he'll ride to the devil.
729. Set a thief to catch a
thief.
730. Shallow streams make
most din.
731. Short debts (accounts)
make long friends.
732. Silence gives consent.
733. Since Adam was a boy.
734. Sink or swim!
735. Six of one and half a
dozen of the other.
736. Slow and steady wins the
race.
737. Slow but sure.
738. Small rain lays great
dust.
739. So many countries, so
many customs.
740. So many men, so many
minds.
741. Soft fire makes sweet
malt.
742. Something is rotten in
the state of
743. Soon learnt, soon
forgotten.
744. Soon ripe, soon rotten.
745. Speak (talk) of the
devil and he will appear (is sure to appear).
746. Speech is silver but
silence is gold.
747. Standers-by see more
than gamesters.
748. Still waters run deep.
749. Stolen pleasures are sweetest.
750. Stretch your arm no
further than your sleeve will reach.
751. Stretch your legs
according to the coverlet.
752. Strike while the iron is
hot.
753. Stuff today and starve
tomorrow.
754. Success is never blamed.
755. Such carpenters, such
chips.
756. Sweep before your own
door.
757. Take care of the pence
and the pounds will take care of themselves.
758. Take us as you find us.
759. Tarred with the same
brush.
760. Tastes differ.
761. Tell that to the
marines.
762. That cock won't fight.
763. That which one least
anticipates soonest comes to pass.
764. That's a horse of
another colour.
765. That's where the shoe
pinches!
766. The beggar may sing
before the thief (before a footpad).
767. The best fish smell when
they are three days old.
768..
The best fish swim near the bottom.
769. The best is oftentimes
the enemy of the good.
770. The busiest man finds
the most leisure.
771. The camel going to seek
horns lost his ears.
772. The cap fits.
773. The cask savours of the first fill.
774. The cat shuts its eyes
when stealing cream.
775. The cat would eat fish
and would not wet her paws.
776. The chain is no stronger
than its weakest link.
777. The cobbler should stick
to his last.
778. The cobbler's wife is
the worst shod.
779. The darkest hour is that
before the dawn.
780. The darkest place is
under the candlestick.
781. The devil is not so black as he is painted.
782. The devil knows many
things because he is old.
783. The devil lurks behind
the cross.
784. The devil rebuking sin.
785. The dogs bark, but the
caravan goes on.
786..
The Dutch have taken
787. The early bird catches
the worm.
788. The end crowns the work.
789. The end justifies the
means.
790. The evils we bring on
ourselves are hardest to bear.
791. The exception proves the
rule.
792. The face is the index of
the mind.
793. The falling out of
lovers is the renewing of love.
794. The fat is in the fire.
795. The first blow is half
the battle.
796. The furthest way about
is the nearest way home.
797. The game is not worth
the candle.
798. The heart that once
truly loves never forgets.
799. The higher the ape goes,
the more he shows his tail.
800. The last drop makes the
cup run over.
801. The last straw breaks
the camel's back.
802. The leopard cannot
change its spots.
803. The longest day has an
end.
804. The mill cannot grind
with the water that is past.
805. The moon does not heed
the barking of dogs.
806. The more haste, the less
speed.
807. The more the merrier.
808. The morning sun never
lasts a day.
809. The mountain has brought
forth a mouse.
810. The nearer the bone, the
sweeter the flesh.
811. The pitcher goes often
to the well but is broken at last.
812. The pot calls the kettle
black.
813. The proof of the pudding
is in the eating.
814. The receiver is as bad
as the thief.
815. The remedy is worse than
the disease.
816. The rotten apple injures
its neighbours.
817. The scalded dog fears
cold water.
818. The tailor makes the
man.
819. The tongue of idle
persons is never idle.
820. The voice of one man is
the voice of no one.
821. The way (the road) to
hell is paved with good intentions.
822. The wind cannot be
caught in a net.
823. The work shows the
workman.
824. There are lees to every
wine.
825. There are more ways to
the wood than one.
826. There is a place for
everything, and everything in its place.
827. There is more than one
way to kill a cat.
828. There is no fire without
smoke.
829. There is no place like
home.
830. There is no rose without
a thorn.
831. There is no rule without
an exception.
832. There is no smoke without
fire.
833. There's many a slip 'tween (== between) the cup and the lip.
834. There's no use crying
over spilt milk.
835. They are hand and glove.
836. They must hunger in
winter that will not work in summer.
837. Things past cannot be
recalled.
838. Think today and speak
tomorrow.
839. Those who live in glass
houses should not throw stones.
840. Time and tide wait for
no man.
841. Time cures all things.
842. Time is money.
843. Time is the great
healer.
844. Time works wonders.
845. To add fuel (oil) to the
fire (flames).
846. To
angle with a silver hook.
847. To be born with a silver
spoon in one's mouth.
848. To be head over ears in
debt.
849. To be in one's birthday
suit.
850. To be up to the ears in
love.
851. To be wise behind the
hand.
852. To beat about the bush.
853. To beat the air.
854. To bring grist to
somebody's mill.
855. To build a fire under
oneself.
856. To buy a pig in a poke.
857. To call a spade a spade.
858. To call off the dogs.
859. To carry coals to
860. To cast pearls before
swine.
861. To cast prudence to the
winds.
862. To come away none the
wiser.
863. To come off cheap.
864. To come off with a whole
skin.
865. To come off with flying colours.
866. To come out dry.
867. To come out with clean
hands.
868. To cook a hare before
catching him.
869. To cry with one eye and
laugh with the other.
870. To cut one's throat with
a feather.
871. To draw (pull) in one's
horns.
872. To drop a bucket into an
empty well.
873. To draw water in a sieve..
874. To eat the calf in the cow's
belly.
875. To err is human.
876. To fiddle while
877. To fight with one's own
shadow.
878. To find a mare's nest.
879. To
fish in troubled waters.
880. To fit like a glove.
881. To flog a dead horse.
882. To get out of bed on the
wrong side.
883. To give a lark to catch
a kite.
884. To go for wool and come
home shorn.
885. To go through fire and
water (through thick and thin).
886. To have a finger in the
pie.
887. To have rats in the
attic.
888. To hit the nail on the
head.
889. To kick against the
pricks.
890. To kill two birds with
one stone.
891. To know everything is to
know nothing.
892. To know on which side
one's bread is buttered.
893. To know what's what.
894. To lay
by for a rainy day.
895. To live from hand to
mouth.
896. To lock the stable-door
after the horse is stolen.
897. To look for a needle in
a haystack.
898. To love somebody
(something) as the devil loves holy water.
899. To make a mountain out
of a molehill.
900. To make both ends meet.
901. To make the cup run over.
902. To make (to turn) the
air blue.
903. To measure another man's
foot by one's own last.
904. To measure other
people's corn by one's own bushel.
905. To pay one back in one's
own coin.
906. To plough the sand.
907. To pour water into a
sieve.
908. To pull the chestnuts
out of the fire for somebody.
909. To pull the devil by the
tail.
910. To put a spoke in
somebody's wheel.
911. To put off till
Doomsday.
912. To put (set) the cart
before the horse.
913. To rob one's belly to
cover one's back.
914. To roll in money.
915. To run with the hare and
hunt with the hounds.
916. To save one's bacon.
917. To send (carry) owls to
918. To set the wolf to keep
the sheep.
919. To stick to somebody
like a leech.
920. To strain at a gnat and
swallow a camel.
921. To take counsel of one's
pillow.
922. To take the bull by the
horns.
923. To teach the dog to
bark.
924. To tell tales out of
school.
925. To throw a stone in
one's own garden.
926. To throw dust in
somebody's eyes..
927. To throw straws against
the wind.
928. To treat somebody with a
dose of his own medicine.
929. To use a steam-hammer to
crack nuts.
930. To wash one's dirty linen in public.
931. To wear one's heart upon
one's sleeve.
932. To weep over an onion.
933. To work with the left
hand.
934. Tomorrow come never.
935. Too many cooks spoil the
broth.
936. Too much knowledge makes
the head bald.
937. Too much of a good thing
is good for nothing.
938. Too much water drowned
the miller .
939. Too swift arrives as
tardy as too slow.
940. True blue will never
stain.
941. True coral needs no
painter's brush.
942. Truth comes out of the
mouths of babes and sucklings..
943. Truth is stranger than
fiction.
944. Truth lies at the bottom
of a well.
945. Two blacks do not make a
white.
946. Two heads are better
than one.
947. Two is company, but
three is none.
948. Velvet paws hide sharp
claws.
949. Virtue is its own
reward.
950. Wait for the cat to
jump.
951. Walls have ears.
952. Wash your dirty linen at
home.
953. Waste not, want not.
954. We know not what is good
until we have lost it.
955. We never know the value
of water till the well is dry.
956. We shall see what we
shall see.
957. We soon believe what we
desire.
958. Wealth is nothing
without health.
959. Well begun is half done.
960. What can't be cured, must be endured.
961. What is bred in the bone
will not go out of the flesh.
962. What is done by night
appears by day.
963. What is done cannot be
undone.
964. What is got over the
devil's back is spent under his belly.
965. What is lost is lost.
966. What is sauce for the
goose is sauce for the gander.
967. What is worth doing at
alt is worth doing well.
968. What must be, must be.
969. What the heart thinks
the tongue speaks.
970. What we do willingly is
easy.
971. When angry, count a
hundred.
972. When at
973. When children stand
quiet, they have done some harm.
974. When flatterers meet,
the devil goes to dinner.
975. When guns speak it is
too late to argue.
976. When pigs fly.
977. When Queen Anne was
alive.
978. When the cat is away,
the mice will play.
979. When the devil is blind.
980. When the fox preaches,
take care of your geese.
981. When the pinch comes,
you remember the old shoe.
982. When three know it, alt know it.
983. When wine is in wit is
out.
984. Where there's a will,
there's a way.
985. While the grass grows
the horse starves.
986. While there is life
there is hope.
987. Who breaks,
pays.
988. Who has never tasted
bitter, knows not what is sweet.
989. Who keeps company with
the wolf, will learn to howl.
990. Wise after the event.
991. With time and patience
the leaf of the mulberry becomes satin.
992. Words pay no debts.
993. You can take a horse to
the water but you cannot make him drink.
994. You cannot eat your cake
and have it.
995. You cannot flay the same
ox twice.
996. You cannot judge a tree
by it bark.
997. You cannot teach old
dogs new tricks.
998. You cannot wash charcoal
white.
999. You made your bed, now
lie in it.
1000. Zeal without knowledge
is a runaway horse.
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