Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2
101 American
English Proverbs
Understanding Language
and Culture Through Commonly Used Sayings
Harry Collis
3
Published by Passport Books,
a division of NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, Inc.,
4255 West Touhy Avenue,
Lincolnwood (Chicago), Illinois 60712-1975 U.S.A.
© 1992 by NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without
prior written permission of NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, Inc.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 91-60823
International Standard Book Number. 0-8442-5412-6
0123456789 VP1918171615 14 13121110
4
Contents
Foreword ix Too many chiefs, not enough Indians
Section One: You can lead a horse to water, but you can't
All Together Now 7-16 make him drink
Birds of a feather flock together You can't have your cake and eat it too
In unity there is strength You can't teach an old dog new tricks
It takes two to tango Section Six:
7
Birds of a Feather Flock Together
8
In Unity There Is Strength
10
10
A Man Is Known by the Company He
Keeps
11
11
Misery Loves Company
12
12
There's No Place like Home
13
13
Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth
14
14
Two Heads Are Better Than One
16
16
Section Two
Try This
17
17
An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
18
18
Do As I Say, Not As I Do
19
19
If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them
(if you can't defeat your opponents, join forces with them)
Mrs. Kowalski had never been much of a sports fan— unlike her husband and two children. On
weekends the others would take in either a baseball or a football game, while she stayed home
alone. After a while the situation became a source of great annoyance to her. One weekend, to
the utter amazement of her husband and children, she announced that she wanted to attend the
football game with them. She thought, If you can't beat them, join them. Mrs. Kowalski
realized that since she could not talk her family out of attending the games, she might as
well join them in one of their favorite pastimes. By joining her family on the weekends she
would alleviate her loneliness, and in time she might even come to like sports as much as her
husband and children did.
20
If You Can't Stand the Heat, Get Out of
the Kitchen
23
Make Hay While the Sun Shines
24
Strike While the Iron Is Hot
25
The Way to a Man's Heart Is through His
Stomach
Watch Out!
All That Glitters Is Not Gold
30
30
Don't Bite Off More Than You Can Chew
31
31
Don't Bite the Hand That Feeds You
32
32
Don't Count Your Chickens Before
They're Hatched
33
33
Don't Judge a Man until You've Walked
in His Boots
35
Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket
37
37
Don't Put the Cart before the Horse
38
38
A Miss Is As Good As a Mile
39
39
The Road to Hell Is Paved with Good
Intentions
41
41
Section Four
Getting Ahead
42
42
The First Step Is Always the Hardest
43
43
Forewarned Is Forearmed
44
44
He Who Hesitates Is Lost
45
45
No Pain, No Gain
47
47
The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword
48
48
Practice Makes Perfect
49
49
Rome Wasn't Built in a Day
50
The Squeaking Wheel Gets the Oil
It Never Works
Beggars Can't Be Choosers
58
58
One Swallow Does Not a Summer Make
59
59
Too Many Chiefs, Not Enough Indians
60
You Can Lead a Horse to Water,
but You Can't Make Him Drink
66
Better a Live Coward Than a Dead Hero
67
A Fool and His Money Are Soon Parted
68
He Who Laughs Last, Laughs Best
70
One Man's Gravy Is Another Man's
Poison
76
When the Cat's Away the Mice Will Play
77
Section Seven
Friend or Foe?
Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
80
80
Blood Is Thicker Than Water
81
81
Familiarity Breeds Contempt
82
82
A Friend in Need Is a Friend Indeed
83
83
A Friend Who Shares Is a Friend Who
Cares
84
84
Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of
Flattery
Words to Live By
87
87
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
88
88
Better Late Than Never
89
89
Better Safe Than Sorry
90
90
A Bird in the Hand Is Worth Two in the
Bush
91
91
Charity Begins at Home
92
92
Haste Makes Waste
93
93
Love Makes the World Go Round
94
94
One Good Turn Deserves Another
95
95
You Have to Take the Good with the Bad
96
96
You Reap What You Sow
97
97
Section Nine
98
98
After the Feast Comes the Reckoning
100
100
100
The Best Things in Life Are Free
101
101
101
The Bigger They Are, the Harder They
Fall
102
102
102
Good Things Come in Small Packages
104
104
104
Hindsight Is Better Than Foresight
105
105
105
It Never Rains but It Pours
107
107
107
Might Makes Right
108
108
108
No News Is Good News
109
109
109
Nothing Hurts like the Truth
110
110
110
Possession Is Nine-Tenths of the Law
111
111
111
The Proof of the Pudding Is in the Eating
112
112
112
Index of Proverbs
A
Absence makes the heart grow fonder (people Do as I say, not as I do (follow my advice, but don't
follow my example) _
often feel more affectionate toward each other when
Don't bite off more than you can chew (don't
they are apart)
Actions speak louder than words (people's actions assume more responsibility than you can handle;
are more convincing than their words are) don't be overconfident)
After the feast comes the reckoning (people must Don't bite the hand that feeds you (don't hurt
someone who takes care of you)
always pay the price of their excesses)
All that glitters is not gold (some things are not as Don't count your chickens before they're hatched
valuable as they appear to be) (don't plan on the successful results of something
An apple a day keeps the doctor away (eating an until those results actually occur)
Don't cry over spilt milk (don't grieve about having
apple every day helps a person to stay healthy)
done something that cannot be undone)
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree (children Don't judge a book by its cover (don't form an
take after their parents) opinion about something based on appearance
alone)
Don't judge a man until you've walked in his
B boots (don't criticize a person until you've tried to do
the things he does)
Bad news travels fast (reports of problems and Don't look a gift horse in the mouth (don't
misfortune spread quickly) complain about something that is given to you)
Barking dogs seldom bite (people who threaten
others usually do not hurt them) Don't put all your eggs in one basket (don't risk
Beauty is in the eye of tbe beholder (what seems losing everything at once)
ordinary or ugly to one person might seem beautiful Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today
to another) (don't unnecessarily postpone doing something)
C
Charity begins at home (one should take care of
one's own family, friends, or fellow citizens before
helping other people)
Clothes do not make the man (a person should not
be judged by the clothes he or she wears)
Curiosity killed the cat (it is dangerous to be
curious)
113
113
113
Don't put the cart before the horse (don't do
things in the wrong order)
F
Familiarity breeds contempt (when you know
people well you will discover their weaknesses
and you may come to scorn them)
Xhe first step is always the hardest (the most
difficult part of accomplishing something is
getting started)
A fool and his money are soon parted (a foolish
person quickly spends his or her money on
worthless things)
Forewarned is forearmed (being warned about
something before it happens allows a person
to prepare for it) _
A friend in need is a friend indeed (a true friend will
help you in a time of trouble)
A friend who shares is a friend who cares (a true
friend unselfishly shares what he or she has)
G
Good things come in small packages
(small containers can hold objects of great
value)
The grass is always greener on the other side of
the fence (another place or situation always
appears to be better than your own)
H
Haste makes waste (when one hurries too much,
one is likely to do a poor job and have to waste
time doing it over)
114
114
114
He who hesitates is lost (a person who doesn't act A miss is as good as a mile (losing by a narrow
decisively is unlikely to succeed) margin is no different than losing by a wide margin)
116
116
116
116