This is an alphabetical list of widely used and repeated proverbial phrases. Whenever known, the origin of the phrase or proverb is noted. The majority of these phrases can be found at one of the following sources:

A proverbial phrase

Proverbial phrase

A proverbial phrase or a proverbial expression is type of a conventional saying similar to proverbs and transmitted by oral tradition. The difference is that a proverb is a fixed expression, while a proverbial phrase permits alterations to fit the grammar of the context.Another similar construction...

or a proverbial expression is type of a conventional saying

Saying

A saying is something that is said, notable in one respect or another, to be "a pithy expression of wisdom or truth."There are a number of specific types of saying:...

 similar to proverb

Proverb

A proverb is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated, which expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim...

s and transmitted by oral tradition. The difference is that a proverb is a fixed expression, while a proverbial phrase permits alterations to fit the grammar of the context.

In 1768, John Ray defined a proverbial phrase as:

A

• A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
• A book, a woman, and money once go to other's hands will never come back, even if they come back, a book will be torn, woman becomes unchaste and money comes in bits

• "A cat
  Cat
  The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
  
   may look at a king
  Monarch
  A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
  
  ". Originates from the 16th century, and appeared in a political pamphlet in 1652. It refers to an impertinent comment made by someone of lower status (i.e. the cat looking) to someone with higher status (i.e. the king).
• A chain
  Chain
  A chain is a sequence of connected links.Chain may also refer to:Chain may refer to:* Necklace - a jewelry which is worn around the neck* Mail , a type of armor made of interlocking chain links...
  
   is only as strong as its weakest link
  Weakest Link
  The Weakest Link is a British television quiz show, currently broadcast on BBC Two. It was devised by Mr Wilton and Euan Green and Cathy Dunning, and developed for television by the BBC Entertainment Department. It has since been replicated around the world. The UK version is hosted by Anne...
  
  

• A change is as good as a rest
• "A drowning man will clutch at a straw
  Straw
  Straw is an agricultural by-product, the dry stalks of cereal plants, after the grain and chaff have been removed. Straw makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has many uses, including fuel, livestock bedding and fodder, thatching and...
  
  ". Originates from the 16th century, and refers to a desperate situation (i.e. drowning) and using any chance, even if it is hopeless, to get oneself out of it (i.e. grabbing [clutching] a straw).
• A fool
  Foolishness
  Foolishness is the lack of wisdom. In this sense it differs from stupidity, which is the lack of intelligence. An act of foolishness is sometimes referred to as a folly....
  
   and his money
  Money
  Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...
  
   are soon parted, Thomas Tusser
  Thomas Tusser
  Thomas Tusser was an English poet and farmer, best known for his instructional poem Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry, published in 1557. It contains the lines...
  
   (1524–1580)
• A friend in need is a friend indeed
• A golden key
  Key (lock)
  A key is an instrument that is used to operate a lock. A typical key consists of two parts: the blade, which slides into the keyway of the lock and distinguishes between different keys, and the bow, which is left protruding so that torque can be applied by the user. The blade is usually intended to...
  
   can open any door
  Door
  A door is a movable structure used to open and close off an entrance, typically consisting of a panel that swings on hinges or that slides or rotates inside of a space....
  
  
• A good beginning makes a good ending. Louis L'Amour
  Louis L'Amour
  Louis Dearborn L'Amour was an American author. His books consisted primarily of Western fiction novels , however he also wrote historical fiction , science fiction , nonfiction , as well as poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into movies...
  
  , American author (1908–1988)
• A good man is hard to find
• A house
  House
  A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
  
   divided against itself cannot stand, Abraham Lincoln
  Abraham Lincoln
  Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
  
  , 1858

• A house
  House
  A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
  
   is not a home
  Home
  A home is a place of residence or refuge. When it refers to a building, it is usually a place in which an individual or a family can rest and store personal property. Most modern-day households contain sanitary facilities and a means of preparing food. Animals have their own homes as well, either...
  
  
• A journey
  Travel
  Travel is the movement of people or objects between relatively distant geographical locations. 'Travel' can also include relatively short stays between successive movements.-Etymology:...
  
   of a thousand miles begins with a single step, Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher (604 BC – 531 BC)
• A leopard
  Leopard
  The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
  
   cannot change its spots

• A little knowledge
  Knowledge
  Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
  
   is a dangerous thing

• A little of what you fancy does you good
• A man who is his own lawyer has a fool for his client
• A man with a hammer sees every problem as a nail
• A miss is as good as a mile
• A new broom sweeps clean, but an old one knows where the dirt is.
• A nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse
• A penny saved is a penny earned
• A person is known by the company he keeps
• A picture is worth a thousand words
  A picture is worth a thousand words
  The adage "A picture is worth a thousand words" refers to the idea that a complex idea can be conveyed with just a single still image. It also aptly characterizes one of the main goals of visualization, namely making it possible to absorb large amounts of data quickly.It is believed that the modern...
  
  
• A place for everything and everything in its place
• A poor workman always blames his tools
• A problem shared is a problem halved
• A prophet is not recognized in his own land
• A rising tide lifts all boats
  A rising tide lifts all boats
  The aphorism "a rising tide lifts all boats" is associated with the idea that improvements in the general economy will benefit all participants in that economy, and that economic policy, particularly government economic policy, should therefore focus on the general macroeconomic environment first...
  
  
• A rolling stone gathers no moss
  A rolling stone gathers no moss
  A rolling stone gathers no moss is an old proverb, credited to Publius Syrus, who in his Sententiae states, People who are always moving, with no roots in one place, avoid responsibilities and cares. As such, the proverb is often interpreted as referring to figurative nomads who avoid taking on...
  
  
• A soft answer turneth away wrath
• A stitch in time saves nine, Thomas Fuller, 1732
• A swarm in May is worth a load of hay; a swarm in June is worth a silver spoon; but a swarm in July is not worth a fly. Samuel Hartlib
  Samuel Hartlib
  Samuel Hartlib was a German-British polymath. An active promoter and expert writer in many fields, he was interested in science, medicine, agriculture, politics, and education. He settled in England, where he married and died...
  
  , The reformed common-wealth of bees, 1655
• A thing of beauty is a joy forever, from John Keats
  John Keats
  John Keats was an English Romantic poet. Along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, he was one of the key figures in the second generation of the Romantic movement, despite the fact that his work had been in publication for only four years before his death.Although his poems were not...
  
  ' epic poem, Endymion, 1818
• A trouble shared is a trouble halved
• A volunteer is worth twenty pressed men
• A watched pot never boils. From Mary Barton-A Tale of Manchester Life (1848), by Elizabeth Gaskell
  Elizabeth Gaskell
  Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson , often referred to simply as Mrs Gaskell, was a British novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era...
  
  , English novelist
• A woman's place is in the home
• A woman's work is never done,
• A word to the wise is enough,
• Absence makes the heart grow fonder
• Absolute power corrupts absolutely. John Dalberg-Acton
  John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton
  John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, KCVO, DL , known as Sir John Dalberg-Acton, 8th Bt from 1837 to 1869 and usually referred to simply as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer...
  
  , 1887,
• Accidents will happen (in the best-regulated families).
• Actions speak louder than words.
• Adversity makes strange bedfellows
• All good things come to he who waits
• All good things must come to an end,
• All is grist that comes to the mill
• All roads lead to Rome,
• All that glisters is not gold,
• All the world loves a lover
• All things come to those who wait
• All things must pass
• All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,
• All you need is love
• All is fair in love and war
• All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds
• All is well that ends well
• An apple a day keeps the doctor away
• An army marches on its stomach. Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821), Emperor of France
• An Englishman's home is his castle
• Another day, another dollar.
• An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
• Any port in a storm,
• Any publicity is good publicity
• April showers bring forth May flowers,
• As you make your bed, so you must lie upon it
• As you sow so shall you reap
• Ask a silly question and you will get a silly answer
• Ask my companion if I be a thief
• Ask no questions and hear no lies
• Attack is the best form of defense

B

• Bad news travels fast
• Barking dogs seldom bite,
• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
• Beauty is only skin deep,
• Beggars should not be choosers,
• Behind every great man, there is a great woman
• Better late than never
• Better safe than sorry
• Better the Devil you know than the Devil you do not
• Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all
• Better to light one candle than to curse the darkness
• Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt
• Better wear out than rust out.
• Beware of Greeks bearing gifts Trojan War
  Trojan War
  In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
  
  , Virgil
  Virgil
  Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
  
   in the Aeneid
  Aeneid
  The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter...
  
  
• Big fish eat little fish
• Birds of a feather flock together
• Blood is thicker than water
• Boys will be boys
• Brevity is the soul of wit (Shakespeare),
• Business before pleasure

C

• Caesar's wife must be above suspicion
• Careless talk costs lives
• Charity begins at home
• Cheats never prosper
• Children should be seen and not heard
• Christmas comes but once a year
• Cleanliness is next to godliness
• Clothes make the man
• Cold hands, warm heart
• Comparisons are odious
• Count your blessings
• Courage is the measure of a Man, Beauty is the measure of a Woman
• Cowards may die many times before their death
• Crime does not pay
• Cut your coat to suit your cloth,

D

• Dead men tell no tales
• Devil take the hindmost
• Discretion is the better part of valour
• Do as I say, not as I do
• Do as you would be done by
• Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
• Do not bite the hand that feeds you
• Do not burn your bridges behind you
• Do not cast your pearls before swine
• Do not change horses in midstream
• Do not count your chickens before they are hatched
• Do not cross the bridge until you come to it
• Do not cut off your nose to spite your face
  Cutting off the nose to spite the face
  "Cutting off the nose to spite the face" is an expression used to describe a needlessly self-destructive over-reaction to a problem: "Don't cut off your nose to spite your face" is a warning against acting out of pique, or against pursuing revenge in a way that would damage oneself more than the...
  
  
• Do not keep a dog and bark yourself
• Do not let the bastards grind you down
• Do not look a gift horse in the mouth
• Do not make a mountain of a mole hill
• Do not meet troubles half-way
• Do not put all your eggs in one basket
• Do not put the cart before the horse
• Do not put new wine into old bottles
• Do not rock the boat
• Do not spoil the ship for a ha'pworth of tar
• Do not throw pearls to swine
• Do not teach your Grandmother to suck eggs
• Do not throw the baby out with the bathwater
• Do not try to walk before you can crawl
• Do not upset the apple-cart
• Do not wash your dirty linen in public
• Doubt is the beginning, not the end, of wisdom

E

• Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise,
• East is east, and west is west
• East, west, home is best,
• Easy come, easy go
• Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die
• Empty vessels make the most noise
• Enough is as good as a feast
• Enough is enough
• Even a worm will turn
• Every cloud has a silver lining
• Every dog has his day
• Every Jack has his Jill
• Every little helps
• Every man for himself, and the Devil take the hindmost
• Every man has his price
• Every picture tells a story
• Every stick has two ends
• Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die
• Everything comes to those who wait

F

• Fact is stranger than fiction
• Failing to plan is planning to fail
• Faint heart never won fair lady (Scott),
• Fair exchange is no robbery
• Faith will move mountains
• Familiarity breeds contempt
• Feed a cold and starve a fever
• Fight fire with fire
• Finders keepers, losers weepers
• Fine words butter no parsnips
• First come, first served
• First impressions are the most lasting
• First things first
• Fish always stinks from the head downwards
• Fish and guests smell after three days
• Flattery will get you nowhere
• Fools rush in where angels fear to tread
• For want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the man was lost
• Forewarned is forearmed
• Fortune favours the brave

G

• Genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains
• Give a dog a bad name and hang him
• Give a man rope enough and he will hang himself
• Give credit where credit is due
• Give him an inch and he will take a mile
• God helps those who help themselves
  God helps those who help themselves
  The phrase "God helps those who help themselves" is a popular motto that emphasizes the importance of self-initiative.The phrase originated in ancient Greece, occurring in approximately equivalent form as the moral to one of Aesop's Fables, Hercules and the Waggoner, and later in the great tragedy...
  
  
• Good fences make good neighbours
• Good talk saves the food
• Good things come to those who wait
• Great minds think alike,

H

• Half a loaf is better than no bread
• Handsome is as handsome does
• Hard cases make bad law
• Hard work never did anyone any harm
• Haste makes waste
• He that goes a-borrowing, goes a-sorrowing
• He who can does, he who cannot, teaches
• He who fights and runs away may live to fight another day
• He who hesitates is lost
• He who laughs last laughs longest
• He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword
• He who loves the world as his body may be entrusted with the empire. Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher (604 BC – 531 BC)
• He who makes a beast out of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man
• He who pays the piper calls the tune
• He who knows does not speak. He who speaks does not know. Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher (604 BC – 531 BC)
• He who sups with the Devil should have a long spoon
• Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned
• Hindsight is always twenty-twenty
• History repeats itself
• Home is where the heart is
• Honesty is the best policy
• Hope springs eternal
• Horses for courses
• Hunger never knows the taste, sleep never knows the comfort

I

• If anything can go wrong, it will
• If a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well
• If at first you do not succeed, try, try and try again
• If God had meant us to fly, he would have given us wings
• If ifs and ands were pots and pans, there would be no work for tinkers
• If life deals you lemons, make lemonade
• If the cap fits, wear it
• If the mountain will not come to Mohammed, then Mohammed must go to the mountain
• If we're not back by dawn, call the President.
• If wealth is lost,nothing is lost.If health is lost, something is lost. If character is lost, everything is lost.
• If wishes were horses, beggars would ride
• If you're growing in Age,then you're nearing to the Graveyard
• If you cannot be good, be careful
• If you cannot beat them, join them
• If you cannot stand the heat, get out of the kitchen
• If you give a mouse a cookie, he'll always ask for a glass of milk
• If you think that you know everything, then you're a Jack ass
• If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas
• If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys
• If you steal from one author, it is plagiarism; if you steal from many, it is research. Wilson Mizner
  Wilson Mizner
  Wilson Mizner was an American playwright, raconteur, and entrepreneur. His best-known plays are The Deep Purple, produced in 1910, and The Greyhound, produced in 1912...
  
   (1876–1933)
• If you want a thing done well, do it yourself
• Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
• In for a penny, in for a pound
• In the kingdom of the blind, the one eyed man is king
• In the midst of life, we are in death
• Into every life a little rain must fall
• It goes without saying
• It is all grist to the mill
• It is an ill wind that blows no one any good
• It is best to be on the safe side
• It is better to give than to receive
• It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all
• It is better to cultivate a Land with two Bulls, rather working under Boss

who never gives Wage when asked

• It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness
• It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive
• It is easy to be wise after the event
• It is never too late
• It is no use crying over spilt milk
• It is no use locking the stable door after the horse has bolted
• It is the early bird that gets the worm
• It is the empty can that makes the most noise
• It is the squeaky wheel that gets the grease
• It never rains but it pours
• It takes a thief to catch a thief
• It needs a Hundred Lies to cover a Single Lie
• It takes all sorts to make a world
• It takes one to know one
• It takes two to tango
• I'm going to have to give you the pink slip

J

• Jack of all trades, master of none
  Jack of all trades, master of none
  "Jack of all trades, master of none" is a figure of speech used in reference to a person that is competent with many skills but is not necessarily outstanding in any particular one....
  
  
• Judge not, that ye be not judged. St. Matthew 7:1
  Matthew 7:1
  Matthew 7:1 is the first verse of the seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This well known verse begins the discussion of judgmentalism.In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:...
  
  , King James Bible

K

• Keep your chin up
• Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
• Keep your powder dry
  Trust in God and keep your powder dry
  Trust in God and keep your powder dry is a maxim attributed to Oliver Cromwell, but which first appeared in 1834 in the poem "Oliver's Advice" by Valentine Blacker with the words "Put your trust in God, my boys, and keep your powder dry!" The poem is a dramatic representation of Cromwell addressing...
  
  . Valentine Blacker
  Valentine Blacker
  Valentine Blacker CB , was a lieutenant colonel in the Honourable East India Company and later Surveyor General of India....
  
  , 1834 from Oliver's Advice
• Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love. Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher (604 BC – 531 BC)

L

• Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone
• Laughter is the best medicine
• Least said, soonest mended
• Less is more
• Let bygones be bygones
• Let not the sun go down on your wrath
• Let sleeping dogs lie
• Let the buyer beware
• Let the dead bury the dead (N.T.)
• Let the punishment fit the crime
• Let well alone
• Let your hair down.
• Life begins at forty
• Life is not all beer and skittles
• Life is what you make it
• Lightning never strikes twice in the same place
• Like father, like son,
• Little pitchers have big ears
• Little strokes fell great oaks
• Little things please little minds
• Live for today, for tomorrow never comes
• Look before you leap
• Love is blind The Two Gentlemen of Verona
  The Two Gentlemen of Verona
  The Two Gentlemen of Verona is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1590 or 1591. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as his first tentative steps in laying out some of the themes and tropes with which he would later deal in more...
  
  , Act II, Scene 1 (1591)
• Love makes the world go around
• Love will find a way

M

• Make hay while the sun shines
• Make love not war
• Man does not live by bread alone
• Manners maketh man
• Many a little makes a mickle
• Many a mickle makes a muckle
• Many a true word is spoken in jest
• Many hands make light work
• March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb
• Marriages are made in heaven
• Marry in haste, repent at leisure
• Men get spoiled by staying, Women get spoiled by wandering
• Might is right
• Might makes light
• Mighty oaks from little acorns grow
• Misery loves company
• Moderation in all things
• Monday's child is fair of face, Tuesday's child is full of grace, Wednesday's child is full of woe, Thursday's child has far to go, Friday's child is loving and giving, Saturday's child works hard for its living, and a child that is born on the Sabbath day is fair and wise and good and gay.
• Money does not grow on trees
• Money earned by deceit, goes by deceit
• Money is the root of all evil
• Money is not everything
• Money makes the world go around
• Money talks
• Money makes many things, but also makes devil dance
• More haste, less speed
• Music has charms to soothe the savage breast

N

• Nature abhors a vacuum,
• Neibor's sour curry is tasty
• Never reveal a man's wage, and woman's age
• Necessity is the mother of invention
• Needs must when the devil drives
• Never cast a clout until May be out
• Never give a sucker an even break
• Never judge a book by its cover
• Never let the sun go down on your anger
• Never look a gift horse in the mouth
• Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today
• Never speak ill of the dead
• Never tell tales out of school
• Nine tailors make a man,
• No man can serve two masters
• No man is an island
• No names, no pack-drill
• No news is good news
• No one can make you feel inferior without your consent
• No pain, no gain
• No rest for the wicked
• Nothing is certain but death and taxes
• Nothing succeeds like success,
• Nothing ventured, nothing gained

O

• Oil and water do not mix
• Old soldiers never die; they just fade away
• Once a thief, always a thief
• Once bitten, twice shy
• One good turn deserves another
• One half of the world does not know how the other half lives
• One hand washes the other
• One man's meat is another man's poison
• One might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb
• One law for the rich and another for the poor
• One swallow does not make a summer
• One who believes in Sword, dies by the Sword
• One year's seeding makes seven years weeding
• Only fools and horses work
• Opportunity never knocks twice at any man's door
• Out of sight, out of mind
• Over greedy man, over wrathful woman will never flourish

P

• Paint applied to wall, money given for slut will never come back
• Parsley seed goes nine times to the Devil
• Patience is a virtue
  Patience Is A Virtue
  Patience is a Virtue is a proverbial phrase referring to one of the seven heavenly virtues typically said to date back to "Psychomachia," an epic poem written in the fifth century.In popular culture, "Patience is a Virtue" can refer to:...
  
  
• Pearls of wisdom
• Penny wise and pound foolish
• People who live in glass houses should not throw stones
• Physician, heal thyself
• Possession is nine-tenths of the law
• Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely
• Practice makes perfect
• Practice what you preach
• Prevention is better than cure
• Pride goes before a fall (O.T.),
• Procrastination is the thief of time
• Put your best foot forward

R

• Red sky at night shepherds delight; red sky in the morning, shepherds warning
• Revenge is a dish best served cold
• Revenge is sweet
• Rome was not built in a day,
• Right or wrong, my country

S

• See a pin and pick it up, all the day you will have good luck; see a pin and let it lay, bad luck you will have all day
• See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil
• Seeing is believing
• Seek and ye shall find
• Set a thief to catch a thief
• Shiny are the distant hills
• Shrouds have no pockets
• Silence is golden
• Slow and steady wins the race
• Slow but sure
• Softly, softly, catchee monkey
• Sometimes we are the student. Sometimes we are the master. And sometimes we are merely the lesson – Jacalyn Smith
• Spare the rod and spoil the child
• Speak as you find
• Speak softly and carry a big stick
• Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me
• Still waters run deep
• Strike while the iron is hot
• Stupid is as stupid does
• Success has many fathers, while failure is an orphan

T

• Take care of the pence, and the pounds will take care of themselves
• Talk is cheap
• Talk of the Devil, and he is bound to appear
• Tell me who your friends are, and I'll tell you who you are
• Tell the truth and shame the Devil (Shakespeare, Henry IV),
• That which does not kill us makes us stronger
• The age of miracles is past
• The apple never falls far from the tree
• The best defence is a good offence
• The best-laid schemes of mice and men often go awry
• The best things in life are free
• The bigger they are, the harder they fall
• The boy is father to the man
• The bread never falls but on its buttered side
• The child is the father of the man
• The cobbler always wears the worst shoes
• The course of true love never did run smooth
• The customer is always right
• The darkest hour is just before the dawn
• The Devil finds work for idle hands to do
• The Devil looks after his own
• The early bird catches the worm
• The end justifies the means
• The exception which proves the rule
• The female of the species is more deadly than the male
• The good die young
• The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence
• The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world
• The husband is always the last to know
• The innocent seldom find an uncomfortable pillow. William Cowper
  William Cowper
  William Cowper was an English poet and hymnodist. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. In many ways, he was one of the forerunners of Romantic poetry...
  
  , English poet (1731–1800)
• The labourer is worthy of his hire
• The last of the Mohicans
• The leopard does not change his spots
• The longest day must have an end
• The longest journey starts with a single step
• The more the merrier
• The more things change, the more they stay the same
• The only good Indian is a dead Indian
• The only way to understand a woman is to love her
• The pen is mightier than the sword
• The proof of the pudding is in the eating
• The road to Hell is paved with good intentions
• The shoemaker's son always goes barefoot
• The squeaking wheel gets the grease
• The straw that broke the camel's back
• The way to a man's heart is through his stomach
• There are more ways of killing a cat than choking it with cream
• There are none so blind as those that will not see
• There are two sides to every question
• There but for the grace of God go I
• There is an exception to every rule
• There are always more fish in the sea
• There is honour among thieves
• There is many a good tune played on an old fiddle
• There is many a slip 'twixt cup and lip
• There is more than one way to skin a cat
• There is no accounting for tastes
• There is no fool like an old fool
• There is no place like home
• There is no smoke without fire
• There is no such thing as a free lunch
• There is no such thing as bad publicity
• There is no time like the present
• There is none so blind as those who will not see
• There's none so deaf as those who will not hear
  The Disobedient Child
  The Disobedient Child is a theatrical comic interlude written c.1560 by Thomas Ingelend and first performed in a Tudor hall.-Morality play:...
  
  
• There is nowt so queer as folk
• There is one born every minute
• There is safety in numbers
• They that sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind
• Third time is a charm
• Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it
• Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones
  Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones
  "Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones" is a proverb used in several countries, including England, Italy and Spain.In England it was associated with the Union of the Crowns. After London was overwhelmed with immigrants from Scotland, the Duke of Buckingham organized a campaign...
  
  
• Those who sleep with dogs will rise with fleas
• Time and tide wait for no man
• Time flies
• Time is a great healer
• Time is money
• Time will tell
• ’Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all
• To be worn out is to be renewed. Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher (604 BC – 531 BC)
• To each his own.
• To err is human, to forgive divine
• To the victor go the spoils
• To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive
• Tomorrow is another day
• Tomorrow never comes
• Too many cooks spoil the broth
• Truth is stranger than fiction
• Truth will out
• Two blacks do not make a white
• Two heads are better than one
• Two is company, but three is a crowd,
• Two wrongs do not make a right

V

• Variety is the spice of life. William Cowper
  William Cowper
  William Cowper was an English poet and hymnodist. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. In many ways, he was one of the forerunners of Romantic poetry...
  
  , English poet (1731–1800)
• Very good to meet you, my dear.

W

• Walk softly but carry a big stick. Theodore Roosevelt
  Theodore Roosevelt
  Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
  
   1900 in letter relating an old African proverb
• Walnuts and pears you plant for your heirs
• Waste not, want not
• What cannot be cured must be endured
• What goes around, comes around
• What goes up must come down
• What you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts
• What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander
• When in Rome, do as the Romans do. St. Ambrose
  Ambrose
  Aurelius Ambrosius, better known in English as Saint Ambrose , was a bishop of Milan who became one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the 4th century. He was one of the four original doctors of the Church.-Political career:Ambrose was born into a Roman Christian family between about...
  
  347AD
• When the cat is away, the mice will play
• When the going gets tough, the tough get going
• When the oak is before the ash, then you will only get a splash; when the ash is before the oak, then you may expect a soak
• When three women gather, it becomes noisy.
• What the eye does not see, the heart does not grieve over
• Where there is a will there is a way
• Where there is muck there is brass
• Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.
• While there is life there is hope
• Whom the Gods love die young
• Why keep a dog and bark yourself?
• With a responsibility comes great power
• Woman is the root of both good and evil
• Wonders will never cease
• Work expands so as to fill the time available
• Worrying never did anyone any good

Y

• You are never too old to learn
• You are what you eat
• You can have too much of a good thing
• You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink
• You cannot have your cake and eat it
• You cannot get blood out of a stone
• You cannot make a silk purse from a sow's ear
• You cannot make an omelette without breaking eggs
• You cannot make bricks without straw
• You cannot run with the hare and hunt with the hounds
• You cannot teach an old dog new tricks
• You cannot judge a book by its cover
• You cannot win them all
• You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar
• You pay your money and you take your choice
• Youth is wasted on the young

External links

• http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/proverbs.html, source of many of the proverbs in this article
• http://www.proverbhunter.com, source of many of the proverbs in this article