Proverbs from Italian Proverbs

Found 1268 related proverbs. Click on any proverb below to view the full analysis and original text.

• A14 Better is one ACCIPE (take) than twice to say, Dabo tibi (I will give you)
• A33 Whom an ADDER bites dreads a lizard
• A46 An ADVOCATE's suit is a suit which never dies
• A56 AFRICA is always producing something new (monsters, serpents)
• A73 Old AGE is sickness of itself
• A78 An ill (lean) AGREEMENT is better than a good (fat) judgment
• A83 AGUES (Sicknesses) come on horseback but go away on foot
• A103 Good ALE is meat, drink, and cloth
• A112 ALL are not friends that speak us fair
• A183 He sups ill who eats ALL at dinner
• A186 He that comes last makes ALL (the door) fast
• A192 He that will have ALL loses all
• A202 Speak not ALL you know, do not all you can, believe not all you hear
• A209 Venture not ALL in one bottom
• A213 Who gives to ALL denies all
• A214 Who has ALL in one place has all in the fire
• A223 ALMS never make poor
• A240 Like an ANCHOR, that is ever in the water and never learns to swim
• A242 There spoke an ANGEL
• A257 The ANVIL fears no blows
• A259 To a hard ANVIL a hammer of feathers
• A261 When you are an ANVIL hold you still, when you are a hammer strike your fill
• A270 Every APE thinks his puppy the fairest
• A285 APPEARANCES are deceitful
• A286 APPETITE comes with eating
• A294 One rotten APPLE corrupts all those apples that lie near it
• A298 APPLES, pears, and nuts spoil the voice
• A313 A good ARCHER is not known by his arrows but his aim
• A333 By ART and deceit men live half the year and by deceit and art the other half
• A334 In every ART it is good to have a master
• A340 Divine ASHES are better than earthly meal
• A346 He will not lose it (Nothing is lost) for ASKING (for want of asking)
• A355 An ASS is known by his ears
• A357 An ASS must be tied where his master will have him
• A360 The ASS though laden with gold still eats thistles
• A361 Better ride on an ASS that carries me than a horse that throws me
• A368 Who drives an ASS and leads a whore has pain and sorrow evermore
• A370 He that washes an ASS's head loses both his soap and labor
• A389 ASTROLOGY is true but the astrologers cannot find it
• A393 No good ATTORNEY will ever go to law
• A396 Dry AUGUST and warm does harvest no harm
• B8 To look BABIES in another's eyes
• B10 BACHELORS' wives and maids' children are well taught
• B11 The BACK of a herring, the poll of a tench, the side of a salmon, the belly of a wench are best
• B21 The BACK DOOR robs the house
• B30 An empty BAG (sack) cannot stand upright
• B34 He is like a BAGPIPE, he never talks till his belly is full
• B50 The BAIT hides the hook
• B58 Every BALANCE¹ has its counterpoise
• B69 A BARBER learns to shave by shaving of fools
• B70 One BARBER shaves not so close but another finds work
• B71 One BARBER trims (shaves) another
• B72 A young BARBER and an old physician
• B79 On a good BARGAIN (pennyworth) think twice (pause a while)
• B85 Great BARKERS are no biters
• B92 BARNABY BRIGHT, the longest day and the shortest night
• B104 BASTARDS by chance are good, by nature bad
• B114 A BEAN in liberty is better than a comfit in prison
• B130 Like a BEAR to a honeypot
• B139 He that is BORN to be hanged (drowned) shall never be drowned (hanged)
• B142 Who is BORN fair is born married
• B156 Who goes a BEAST to Rome a beast returns
• B163 BEAUTY and chastity (honesty) seldom meet
• B164 BEAUTY and folly are often matched together
• B178 A poor BEAUTY finds more lovers (sweethearts) than husbands
• B182 To be at BECK and bay
• B196 Who goes to BED supperless all night tumbles and tosses
• B206 A dead BEE makes no honey
• B254 Well BEGUN is half done
• B256 Every BEGINNING is hard
• B257 Everything has (All things have) a BEGINNING
• B259 A good BEGINNING makes a good ending
• B261 An ill (bad) BEGINNING has an ill (bad) ending
• B269 We soon BELIEVE what we desire
• B273 A BELL is known by the sound
• B287 The BELLY is not filled (fed) with fair words
• B294 A full BELLY gives good counsel
• B296 He whose BELLY is full believes not him that is fasting (empty)
• B319 The BEST is best cheap
• B323 The BEST of the sport is to do the deed and say nothing
• B325 I see the BEST but follow the worst
• B328 We must hope for the BEST and fear the worst
• B335 To be no BETTER than one (it) should be
• B352 Fast (Sure) BIND fast (sure) find
• B360 Better a BIRD in hand than a vulture flying
• B361 Better to be a BIRD of the wood than of the cage
• B363 A BIRD in the hand is better than (is worth) two in the bush (ten in the wood)
• B365 A BIRD is known by its note and a man by his talk
• B373 He that will take the BIRD must not scare it
• B376 An ill (evil) BIRD (crow) lays an ill (evil) egg
• B380 The more the BIRD caught in lime strives the faster he sticks
• B381 Such BIRD such nest (egg)
• B385 To every BIRD his own nest is best
• B396 Old BIRDS are not caught with chaff
• B425 The hasty BITCH brings forth blind whelps
• B432 Who has BITTER in his mouth spits not all sweet
• B436 BLACK will take no other hue
• B445 He that BLAMES would buy
• B451 The BLIND eat many a fly
• B466 There is no BLOOD to be got out of a turnip
• B486 At the BOARD be a maid but a clown in bed
• B492 You must trim the BOAT
• B519 He that gives thee a BONE would not have thee die
• B520 The nearer the BONE the sweeter the flesh
• B544 Who will BORROW when he has not, let him borrow when he has
• B566 Better BOW than break
• B611 BREAD and cheese is good to eat when men can get no other meat (are physic to such as are in health)
• B614 BREAD of one day, an egg of one hour, wine of one year, fish of ten, a woman of fifteen, and a friend of a hundred
• B615 BREAD with eyes, cheese without eyes, and wine that leaps up to the eyes
• B618 Dry BREAD at home is better than roast meat abroad
• B665 Make a BRIDGE of gold (silver) for a flying enemy
• B699 To agree as BUCKLE and thong
• B705 BUILDING is a sweet impoverishing
• B711 He may bear (carry) a BULL that hath borne (carried) a calf
• B746 Everybody's BUSINESS is nobody's business
• B750 If you would have your BUSINESS done, go; if not, send
• B775 It is not all BUTTER that comes from the cow
• B778 No BUTTER will stick on his bread
• C12 His CAKE is dough
• C24 After a CALM comes a storm
• C29 A CAMEL when he means to drink troubles the water
• C34 The more CAMOMILE is trodden down the more it spreads
• C37 As true as that the CANDLE ate the cat
• C39 A CANDLE (torch) lights others and consumes itself
• C50 When CANDLES be out (At night) all cats be gray
• C85 Hang CARE (sorrow)
• C106 To be cast at CART's ass
• C117 To give one a CAST of his office
• C151 How (What) can the CAT help it if the maid be a fool?
• C157 A muffled (muzzled, cuffed) CAT was never good mouser (hunter)
• C159 Never was CAT or dog drowned that could but see the shore
• C163 A scalded CAT (dog) fears cold water
• C168 That that comes of a CAT will catch mice
• C175 When the CAT's away the mice will play
• C202 Remove the CAUSE and the effect will cease
• C204 You must not starve a CAUSE
• C213 He is not free that draws his CHAIN
• C228 CHANGE (Exchange) is no robbery
• C239 The first CHAPTER of fools is to hold themselves wise
• C245 Thou dost not bear my CHARGES that thou shouldst command me
• C251 CHARITY begins at home
• C270 CHEESE is good that comes from a niggard (miser)
• C279 Eat not CHERRIES (prunes) with your lord
• C284 To take the CHESTNUTS (nuts) out of the fire with the cat's paw (dog's foot)
• C289 The CHICKEN is the country's but the city eats it
• C297 The burnt CHILD dreads the fire
• C327 CHILDREN and chickens must be always picking
• C336 CHILDREN when little make parents fools, when great, mad
• C339 He that has CHILDREN, all his morsels are not his own
• C341 He that has no CHILDREN knows not what love is
• C345 When CHILDREN stand quiet they have done some ill
• C369 CHRISTMAS comes but once a year
• C373 They talk of CHRISTMAS so long that it comes
• C386 Claw a CHURL by (Grease a fat sow in) the tail and he (she) will beray your hand
• C397 Far from CITY far from health
• C429 The finest CLOTH is eaten by moths
• C443 All CLOUDS bring not rain (storms)
• C460 Let them that be acold blow at the COAL
• C461 Punch COAL, cut candle, set brand on end, neither good housewife nor good housewife's friend
• C476 Under a ragged (threadbare) COAT lies wisdom
• C486 Every COCK is proud on his own dunghill
• C522 Of a ragged COLT comes a good horse
• C523 There is no COLT but will break some halter
• C530 First COME first served
• C534 To COME off bluely
• C536a He is welcome who COMES well laden
• C545 The COMFORTER's (counselor's) head never aches
• C552 He is not fit to COMMAND (govern) others that cannot command (govern) himself.
• C554 Who COMMENDS himself berays himself
• C557 Rate thy COMMODITIES at home but sell them abroad
• C558 Evil COMMUNICATIONS (words) corrupt good manners
• C559 A merry COMPANION is a wagon in the way (is as good as a nag)
• C569 Ill (Evil) COMPANY brings a man to the gallows
• C574 Who keeps COMPANY with the wolf will learn to howl
• C582 He that is wise in his own CONCEIT is a fool
• C584 CONDITION makes and condition breaks law
• C590 CONFESSION of a fault pardons it
• C597 A clear CONSCIENCE laughs at (fears not) false accusations
• C606 A guilty CONSCIENCE is a self-accuser (feels continual fear)
• C624 CONTENT is happiness
• C642 Too many COOKS spoil the broth
• C665 He is CORN-FED
• C683 Good COUNSEL cannot be bought too dear
• C695 Neither COUNSEL nor salt is presented unless demanded
• C708 Every COUNTRY has its law (fashion)
• C709 In every COUNTRY dogs bite
• C710 In every COUNTRY the sun rises in the morning
• C711 So many COUNTRIES so many laws (customs)
• C723 He that lives in COURT dies upon straw
• C729 The COURTESAN weeps with one eye, the wife with two, and the nun with four
• C744 COVETOUSNESS (Too much) breaks the bag (sack)
• C792 Foul (Fair) in the CRADLE, fair (foul) in the saddle
• C827 He that mocks a CRIPPLE ought to be whole
• C828 If one dwell by (next door to) a CRIPPLE he will learn to halt
• C846 Breed up a CROW and she will peck out your eyes
• C856 One CROW never pulls out another's eyes
• C859 A white CROW (raven)
• C862 The royal CROWN cures not the headache
• C899 CUNNING (Knowledge, Skill) is no burden
• C924 CURSES return upon the heads of those that CURSE
• C932 CUSTOM (Use) is another (a second) nature
• D19 He that will not be ruled by his own DAME (father) must be ruled by his stepdame (stepfather)
• D30 DANGER itself the best remedy for danger
• D31 The DANGER (river) past and God forgotten
• D35 The more DANGER the more honor
• D58 As the DAY lengthens so the cold strengthens
• D68 Every DAY is not holiday (Sunday)
• D70 Every DAY the night comes
• D79 He that fights and runs away may live to fight another DAY
• D90 The longest DAY has an end
• D100 Praise a fair DAY at night
• D121 Thirty DAYS have November, April, June, and September; February has twenty-eight alone and all the rest have thirty-one
• D124 Speak well of the DEAD
• D125 To lament the DEAD avails not and revenge vents hatred
• D126 To lament the DEAD avails not and to the living it is hurtful
• D144 DEATH keeps no calendar
• D146 The DEATH of the wolves is the safety of the sheep
• D147 The DEATH of wives and the life (standing) of sheep make men rich
• D164 He that gets out of DEBT grows rich
• D179 He that DECEIVES (beguiles) another is oft deceived (beguiled) himself
• D182 To deceive the DECEIVER is no deceit
• D187 DEEDS are male (men), words are female (women)
• D204 It is easier to DESCEND than ascend
• D244 The DEVIL is dead
• D246 The DEVIL is full of knowledge (is nought) because he is old
• D247 The DEVIL is God's ape
• D255 The DEVIL is not so black as he is painted
• D258 The DEVIL makes his Christmas pie of lawyers' tongues and clerks' fingers
• D262 The DEVIL rebukes sin
• D269 The DEVIL turns his back at a door shut
• D270 The DEVIL was sick, the devil a monk would be; the devil was well, the devil a monk was he
• D271 The DEVIL wipes his tail with the poor man's pride
• D294 Speak of the DEVIL and he will appear
• D323 DIAMONDS cut diamonds
• D324 DICING, drabbing, and drinking are the three D's to destruction
• D333 There is a great DIFFERENCE between word and deed
• D340 After DINNER sit a while, after supper walk a mile
• D343 He that would eat a good DINNER let him eat a good breakfast
• D383 DISPRAISE by evil men is praise
• D384 In too much DISPUTE truth is lost
• D386 He that cannot DISSEMBLE knows not how to live (rule)
• D397 Do not DO it if thou wilt not have it known
• D402 It is better to DO well than to say well
• D405 Self DO self have
• D407 What we DO willingly is easy
• D412 He that DOES (seeks) that he ought not, that happens to him he thinks not (finds what he would not)
• D418 Everything is easy after it has been DONE
• D424 If the DOCTOR (physician) cures, the sun sees it, but if he kills, the earth hides it
• D427 The best DOCTORS (physicians) are Dr. Diet, Dr. Quiet, and Dr. Merryman
• D447 A curst DOG (cur) must be tied short
• D457 The DOG (cat) that licks ashes trust not with meal
• D459 The DOG wags his tail not for love of you but of your bread
• D465 Every DOG is stout at his own door (is a lion at home)
• D472 A good DOG seldom meets with a good bone
• D477 He that would hang his DOG gives out first that he's mad
• D480 The hindmost DOG may catch the hare
• D495 A living DOG is better than a dead lion
• D498 An old DOG barks not in vain
• D519 The worst DOG that is wags his tail
• D537 He that lies down (goes to bed, sleeps) with DOGS must rise with fleas
• D542 Silly DOGS are more angry with the stone than with the hand that had flung it
• D544 Two DOGS never agree about one bone
• D547 By DOING nothing we learn to do ill
• D548 In DOING we learn
• D554 Every DOOR may be shut but death's door
• D561 Sweep before your own DOOR
• D563 When one DOOR is shut another is open
• D588 DREAMS go by contraries
• D609 It is best DRINKING at the fountain (wellhead, spring)
• D610 It is good DRINKING of wine at another man's cost
• D618 Constant DROPPING will wear the stone
• D630 There are more old DRUNKARDS than old physicians
• D657 DUTCHMEN (Hollanders) be wise (have their wits) in their hands
• E1 The EAGLE does not catch flies
• E2 An EAGLE does not hatch a dove
• E14 When your EAR tingles (burns) people are talking about you
• E25 Who has EARS let him hear
• E29 The EARTH makes not the gold the worse
• E50 EAT to live, not live to eat
• E53 Great EATERS (Gluttons) dig their graves with their teeth
• E70 An EGG today is better than a hen tomorrow
• E75 I will warrant you for an EGG at Easter
• E77 Neither good EGG nor bird
• E78 One EGG is none, two somewhat, three enough, four be too much, five give a deadly blow
• E82 Who means to have the EGG must endure the cackling of the hen
• E86 I have EGGS on the spit
• E116 The END crowns (tries) all
• E122 He knows no END of his good (goods)
• E130 He cares not which END goes forward
• E145 He that has no ENEMIES has no friends
• E147 ENGLAND is the paradise of women, the hell of horses, and the purgatory of servants
• E158 ENOUGH is as good as a feast
• E162 He has ENOUGH that is pleased (content)
• E177 Better be ENVIED than pitied
• E190 The EVENING crowns (praises) the day
• E193 EVERYTHING new is fine
• E194 He that is EVERYWHERE is nowhere
• E200 He that helps the EVIL hurts the good
• E203 Never do EVIL (ill) that good may come of it
• E207 Of two EVILS (ills) choose the least
• E209 The gentle EWE (sheep) is sucked by many lambs (every lamb)
• E213 EXAMPLES teach more than precepts
• E213a The EXCEPTION proves the rule
• E214 A bad EXCUSE (shift) is better than none at all
• E215 To EXCUSE is to accuse
• E217 One ought to make the EXPENSE according to the income (means)
• E220 EXPERIENCE is the mistress of fools
• E221 EXPERIENCE is the mother of wisdom (knowledge)
• E224 Every EXTREMITY (extreme) is a vice (fault)
• E231 The EYE is the window of the heart (mind)
• E233 The EYE will be where the love is
• E240 He that has one EYE is a king among the blind
• E242 Jest (Bourd¹) not with the EYE or with religion (honor)
• E247 That the EYE sees not, the heart rues not
• E264 Neither EYES on letters nor hands in coffers (purses)
• E268 Two (Four) EYES can see more (are better) than one (two)
• E274 One EYEWITNESS is better than ten earwitnesses
• F1 The FACE is the index of the heart (mind)
• F20 He carries (bears) two FACES under one hood
• F24 FAIR is not fair but that which pleases
• F40 The FALLING-OUT of lovers is a renewing of love
• F44 FAME (Report) is a liar
• F65 Everyone thinks his own FART smells sweet
• F83 It is impossible to avoid (undo) FATE (destiny)
• F91 A sparing FATHER and a spending (prodigal) son
• F98 The FATHERS have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge
• F102 The FAULT is as great as he that is faulty
• F116 Where no FAULT is there needs no pardon
• F117 Who is in FAULT (guilty) suspects everybody
• F121 The first FAULTS are theirs that commit them, the second theirs that permit them
• F133 FEAR gives wings
• F135 FEAR (Suspicion) is one part of prudence
• F136 FEAR keeps and looks to the vineyard, and not the owner
• F139 He that lives ill, FEAR follows him
• F151 FEATHER by feather the goose is plucked
• F187 A FENCER has one trick in his budget more than ever he taught his scholar (A fencer reserves his masterpiece)
• F256 FIRE descends not
• F270 He that makes a FIRE of straw has store of smoke and nothing else
• F278 Put not FIRE to tow (flax)
• F279 The same FIRE which purifies gold burns straw
• F282 There is no FIRE without some smoke
• F310 Fresh FISH and newcome guests smell by that time they be three days old
• F311 The great FISH eat the small
• F318 Like a FISH out of water
• F321 Old FISH, old oil, and an old friend are the best
• F335 It is ill FISHING (Fish not) before the net
• F351 Keep FLAX from fire and youth from gaming
• F369 Young FLESH and old fish are best
• F372 To break a FLINT (blade) on a feather bed
• F383 All FLOUR has its bran
• F393 The FLY has her spleen and the ant her gall
• F401 The FLIES go to lean horses
• F408 How can the FOAL amble when the horse and mare trot?
• F433 FOLLY it is to spurn (kick) against a prick
• F441 More die by FOOD than famine
• F449 Even a FOOL sometimes speaks a wise word (to the purpose)
• F451 Everyone has a FOOL in his sleeve
• F452 A FOOL and his money are soon parted
• F462 A FOOL is ever laughing
• F465 A FOOL is known by much babbling
• F467 A FOOL knows more in his own house than a wise man in another's
• F468 A FOOL may ask more questions in an hour than a wise man can answer in seven years
• F470 A FOOL may throw a stone into a well which a hundred wise men cannot get out
• F478 He had been wiser if he had not been a FOOL
• F479 He is a FOOL that cuts himself with his own knife
• F482 He is a FOOL that makes a wedge (mallet) of his fist
• F483 He is a FOOL that makes his physician his heir
• F484 He is a FOOL that thinks not that another thinks
• F488 He that sends a FOOL expects one
• F501 One FOOL makes a hundred (many)
• F505 Set a FOOL upon the bench and he will play with his feet or sing
• F506 There is no FOOL to¹ the old fool
• F512 What the FOOL does in the end the wise man does in the beginning
• F531 FOOLS are wise as long as silent
• F575 Better the FEET slip than the tongue
• F582 Six FEET of earth make all men equal
• F585 What is FORBIDDEN (baneful) is desired
• F599 FORTUNE can take from us nothing but what she gave us (our goods but not our virtue)
• F604 FORTUNE (Justice) is blind
• F611 He dances well to whom FORTUNE pipes
• F620 Count not FOUR except you have them in a wallet (bag)
• F626 The FOWLER is caught (taken) in his own net (snare)
• F632 The FOX fares best (well) when he is cursed (banned)
• F639 The FOX (wolf) preys farthest from his hole (den)
• F642 The FOX when he cannot reach the grapes says that they are not ripe (are sour)
• F656 When the FOX preaches beware the geese
• F672 FRENZY, heresy, and jealousy seldom cured
• F675 The FRIAR preached against stealing and had a goose (when he had a pudding) in his sleeve
• F681 A FRIDAY's feast (face, reason)
• F698 A FRIEND to all is a friend to none
• F703 He is a FRIEND at a sneeze, the most you can get of him is a God-bless-you (God-help-you)
• F710 Love a FRIEND together with his fault
• F716 One good FRIEND watches for another
• F725 Who lends to a FRIEND loses double
• F739 From my FRIENDS God defend me, from my enemies I can keep myself
• F752 Keep well thy FRIENDS when thou hast gotten them
• F755 Old FRIENDS and old wine are best
• F759 A broken FRIENDSHIP may be soldered but will never be sound
• F761 Perfect FRIENDSHIP (love) cannot be without equality
• F769 Farewell FROST
• F772 They must hunger in FROST that will not work in heat
• G2 Everyone fastens where there is GAIN
• G7 Light GAINS make heavy purses
• G16 The GALLOWS is the cutpurse's pulpit
• G59 In GENOA there are mountains without wood, sea without fish, women without shame, and men without conscience
• G86 The GERMAN drinks away sorrow, the Frenchman sings it away, the Spaniard weeps it away, and the Italian sleeps it away
• G97 A GIFT is valued by the mind of the giver
• G98 A GIFT much expected is paid, not given
• G100 A small GIFT brings often a great reward
• G104 Who receives a GIFT sells his liberty
• G108 GIFTS enter without knocking
• G127 GIVING is dead nowadays and restoring very sick
• G146 Better fill a GLUTTON's belly than his eye
• G172 Above GOD there is no lord, above black there is no color, and above salt there is no savor
• G177 Beware of him whom GOD has marked
• G184 GOD defend me from the still water and I'll keep myself from the rough
• G196 GOD is a potter and we are the clay
• G207 GOD never sends mouth but he sends meat
• G218 GOD sends cold after (according to) clothes
• G224 GOD stays long but strikes at last
• G235 He that serves GOD serves a good master
• G236 Help thyself and GOD will help thee
• G257 When GOD will punish he will first take away the understanding
• G259 Where GOD has (builds) his church the devil has (builds) his chapel
• G270 GOD's mill grinds slow but sure
• G281 GOLD expounds the law and the gloss
• G284 GOLD is tried in the fire
• G285a GOLD speaks
• G292 That is GOLD which is worth gold
• G295 You may speak with your GOLD and make other tongues dumb (Where gold speaks every tongue is silent)
• G305 Ill-gotten GOODS thrive not to the third heir
• G308 Who gives away his GOODS before he is dead take a beetle¹ and knock him on the head
• G322 To requite GOOD for evil is charity, evil for good is cruelty
• G377 The GOSLINGS lead the geese to water
• G380 The GOSPEL makes heretics
• G386 To the GOUT all physicians are blind
• G390 Divine GRACE was never slow
• G411 One cannot gather GRAPES of thorns or figs of thistles
• G413 GRASS and hay, we are all mortal
• G447 GRIEF is lessened when imparted to others
• G449 GRIEF pent up will break the heart
• G464 He that lies upon the GROUND can fall no lower
• G470 Who builds upon another's GROUND loses both mortar and stones
• H23 Take a HAIR of the dog that bit you
• H25 There is no HAIR so small but has its shadow
• H34 Believe HALF of what you hear of money and health (wisdom) and good faith
• H35 Believe HALF of what you see and nothing of what you see not
• H39 HALF a word (tale) to a wise man (a good understander) is enough
• H54 HALF-WARNED (Forewarned) is half-armed (fore-armed)
• H59 Mention not a HALTER (rope) in the house of him that was hanged (that hanged himself)
• H60 It is hard (ill) HALTING before a cripple
• H84 The left HAND is the hand of the heart
• H85 Many kiss the HAND they wish cut off
• H87 One HAND washes another and both (both wash) the face
• H88 Put not your HAND between the bark and the tree
• H140 It is better to be HAPPY (fortunate) than wise
• H141 HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
• H145 HARD with hard never made good wall
• H151 HARE is melancholy meat
• H153 A HARE sleeps with his eyes open
• H159 Who eats a HARE laughs seven days after (will look fair)
• H160 You shall as soon catch a HARE with a tabor
• H163 He that hunts two HARES loses both
• H165 So HARES may pull dead lions by the beard
• H198 The more HASTE the less (worse) speed
• H201 NO HASTE to hang true men
• H210 The greatest HATE proceeds from the greatest love
• H211 No HATE like to brothers' if they fall at debate
• H212 HATRED with friends is succor to foes
• H219 To shipwreck in the HAVEN (harbor)
• H235 Make HAY while the sun shines
• H249 He that has a HEAD of wax must not walk in the sun
• H259 It is better to be the HEAD of a pike than the tail of a sturgeon
• H275 When the HEAD aches all the body is the worse
• H279 So many HEADS so many wits
• H290 HEALTH is not valued till sickness comes
• H302 Faint HEART ne'er won fair lady
• H329 That which comes from the HEART returns to the heart
• H356 Who spits against HEAVEN, it falls in his face
• H364 Where the HEDGE is lowest men may soonest over
• H385 Take HEED you find not that you do not seek
• H404 HELL is full of good meanings and wishings (intentions)
• H415 As busy as a HEN with one (two, ten) chicken (chickens)
• H420 He that comes of a HEN must scrape
• H436 HERCULES himself cannot deal with two
• H438 It is neither HERE nor there
• H466 Praise a HILL but keep below (on the plain)
• H467 There is no HILL without its valley
• H490 He that has one HOG makes him fat and he that has one son makes him a fool
• H493 A HOG of a month, a goose of three, are food for a king
• H515 Who can HOLD that will away?
• H534 HOME is home be it never so homely
• H535 I come from HOME, I have neither gained nor lost
• H545 Cover yourself with HONEY and the flies will have you
• H547 He has HONEY in his mouth and the razor at his girdle
• H556 No HONEY without gall
• H576 It is better to die with HONOR than to live with shame
• H624 He that has HORNS in his bosom let him not put them on his head
• H636 Choose a HORSE made and a wife to make
• H641 A four white-foot HORSE is a horse for a fool, a three white-foot horse is a horse for a king, and if he has but one I'll give him to none
• H656 He that cannot beat the HORSE (ass) beats the saddle (packsaddle)
• H657 He that has a white HORSE and a fair wife never wants trouble
• H667 The HORSE (ass) thinks one thing and he that saddles him another
• H670 It is a good HORSE that never stumbles
• H674 Lend not HORSE nor wife nor sword
• H679 My HORSE pisses whey, my man pisses amber, my horse is for my way, my man is for my chamber
• H681 An old HORSE to a young soldier
• H683 A proud HORSE that will not carry (bear) his own provender
• H685 Ride a HORSE and mare on the shoulders, an ass and mule on the buttocks
• H687 A running HORSE is an open grave
• H691 A short HORSE is soon curried
• H692 Some may better steal a HORSE than others look on (look over the hedge)
• H700 Touch (Rub) a galled HORSE on the back and he will wince (kick)
• H725 Ask mine HOST whether he have good wine
• H726 He that reckons without his (Reckoners without their) HOST must reckon twice
• H746 Five HOURS sleeps a traveler, seven a scholar, eight a merchant, and eleven every knave
• H749 Before thou marry be sure of a HOUSE wherein to tarry
• H756 He pulls an old HOUSE on his head
• H760 He that has no HOUSE must lie in the yard
• H766 A HOUSE built by the wayside is either too high or too low
• H773 A HOUSE well-furnished makes a good housewife
• H781 A smoking HOUSE and a chiding wife make a man run out of doors (Smoke, rain, and a cursed wife drive a man out of his house)
• H789 Whose HOUSE (head) is of glass must not throw stones at another
• H803 To be in HUCKSTERS' handling (hands)
• H811 HUNGER breaks down (pierces) stone walls
• H812 HUNGER drives the wolf out of the wood
• H831 A good HUSBAND makes a good wife
• H834 A HUSBAND must be deaf and the wife blind to have quietness
• I10 IDLENESS is the devil's cushion
• I13 IDLENESS is the mother (nurse, root) of all evil (vice, sin)
• I18 IGNORANCE is the mother of impudence
• I27 He that speaks ILL of another let him first think of himself
• I32 It is a good ILL that comes alone
• I33 Say no ILL of the year till it be past
• I45 The first IMPRESSION is hard to cancel
• I49 Give an INCH and he will take an ell
• I66 INGRATITUDE comprehends (is the worst of) all faults (vices)
• I68 He invites a new INJURY who bears the old patiently
• I69 An INJURY which thou dost intend to revenge never divulge
• I71 INJURIES are written in brass
• I72 INJURIES slighted become none at all
• I81 INNOCENCE bears its defense with it
• I82 INNOCENCE is bold
• I95 Laden with IRON laden with fear
• I103 The ITALIANS are wise before the deed (fact), the Germans in the deed (fact), the French after the deed (fact)
• J6 There is not so bad a JACK (Jill) but there is as bad a Jill (Jack)
• J25 JACK SPRAT he loved no fat and his wife she loved no lean, and yet betwixt them both they licked the platters clean
• J42 Who is nettled at a JEST seems to be touched in earnest
• J43 True JESTS are the worst
• J46 Leave JESTING while it pleases lest it turn to earnest
• J54 The JEWS spend at Easter, the Moors at marriages, and the Christians in suits of law
• J57 JOAN is as good as my lady in the dark
• J66 JOHN-A-NOKES and John-a-Stiles
• J81 Far from JOVE (Jupiter) far from thunder (lightning)
• J97 He that passes a JUDGMENT as he runs overtakes repentance
• J102 JUNE, July, and August, wife, I know thee not
• J103 JUPITER himself cannot please all
• J105 JUSTICE comprises all other (is the most commendable of all) virtues
• K12 A wary KEEPER is better than a careful getter
• K21 The KETTLE calls the pot black ass
• K29 The KEYS hang not all at one man's girdle
• K30 The KICK of the dam (mare) hurts not the colt
• K47 KINDNESS is lost that is done to an old man and young child
• K64 A KING (prince) loves the treason but hates the traitor
• K70 Like KING (prince) like people
• K72 What the KING wills, that the law wills
• K87 KINGS have long arms (ears, hands)
• K89 Every KINGDOM divided soon falls
• K111 A little KITCHEN makes a large house
• K112 Who frequents the KITCHEN will smell of smoke
• K152 There is KNAVERY in all trades
• K156 One KNIFE whets another
• K170 He that would KNOW what shall be must consider what has been
• K175 KNOW thyself
• K182 He is not happy that KNOWS not himself happy
• K188 In KNOWING nothing is the sweetest life
• L10 He that will not LABOR must not eat
• L11 LABOR as long-lived, pray as even dying
• L14 If you go into a LABYRINTH take a clew with you
• L28 The LADY kisses her man for his master's sake
• L31 LAG puts all in his bag
• L35 The humble (meek) LAMB sucks its own dam and others also
• L39 As soon goes the young LAMBSKIN (lamb) to the market as the old ewe's (sheep)
• L59 He that has LANDS has quarrels (war)
• L89 With LATIN, a good nag (horse), and money you may travel the world
• L91 LAUGH and be fat
• L97 Agree, for the LAW is costly
• L101 LAW cannot persuade where it cannot punish
• L102 The LAW grows of sin and chastises it
• L104 The LAW is made a nose of wax
• L116 LAWS catch flies (little flies) but let the hornets (great flies) go free
• L118 They that make LAWS must not break them
• L143 He that is afraid of the LEAVES must not go to the wood
• L177 Like a LEEK, he has a white head and a green tail
• L186 A LEG (pestle) of a lark is better than the body of a kite
• L200 At LENGTH the fox is brought to the furrier
• L204 Who intends to have a short LENT let him take up money to pay at Easter
• L205 In a LEOPARD the spots are not observed
• L213 Let the LETTER stay for the post, not the post for the letter
• L217 A LIAR is not believed when he tells truth
• L219 A LIAR should have a good memory
• L220 Show me a LIAR and I'll show you a thief
• L241 LIES have no (short) feet (legs, wings)
• L263 Such a LIFE such a death (an end)
• L269 While there's LIFE there's hope
• L277 A LIGHTENING (lightning) before death
• L297 The LILY is fair in show but foul in smell
• L302 LINCOLNSHIRE, where hogs shit soap and cows shit fire
• L315 A LION may come to be beholden to a mouse
• L319 If the LION's skin cannot the fox's shall
• L333 With what LIQUOR a vessel is first seasoned, it will long keep the scent of it
• L346 He is not poor that has LITTLE but he that desires much
• L350 It is better to enjoy a LITTLE with quietness than to possess much with trouble
• L362 Many a LITTLE (Every little) makes a mickle (a great)
• L365 That LITTLE which is good fills the trencher
• L369 We must recoil a LITTLE to the end we leap the better
• L372 LITTLE AND OFTEN fills the purse
• L378 It is not how long but how well we LIVE
• L379 LIVE and learn
• L380 LIVE and let live
• L390 He that LIVES well is learned enough
• L397 LIVING WELL is the best revenge
• L406 No LOCK will hold against the power of gold
• L414 LOMBARDY is the garden of the world (Italy)
• L429 LOOK ere (before) you leap
• L433 He that LOOKS not before finds himself behind
• L458 Give LOSERS leave to speak (talk)
• L461 He that is not sensible of his LOSS has lost nothing
• L479 Follow LOVE (pleasure, glory) and it will flee, flee love (pleasure, glory) and it will follow thee
• L481 He that has LOVE in his breast has spurs in his sides
• L490 LOVE and a cough (smoke, itch) cannot be hid
• L494 LOVE and knowledge live not together
• L495 LOVE and lordship like no fellowship
• L504 LOVE does much but money does all (more)
• L510 LOVE is never without jealousy
• L514 LOVE is the loadstone of love
• L515 LOVE is the reward of love
• L517 LOVE is without reason
• L525 The LOVE of a harlot (whore) and wine of a flagon is good in the morning (evening) and nought in the evening (morning)
• L528 LOVE rules his kingdom without a sword
• L530 LOVE will cool 'twixt a pair of sheets if there be not wherewithal to keep them warm
• L538 One LOVE drives out (expels) another
• L542 Sound LOVE is not soon forgotten
• L552 Who marries for LOVE without money has good nights and sorry days
• L554 In LOVE's wars he who flies is conqueror
• L559 LOVE me little love me long
• L565 The LOVER is not where he lives but where he loves
• L567 A LOVER's purse must be tied with a cobweb or a leek's leaf
• M8 He that buys MAGISTRACY must sell justice
• M24 The MAID which takes, sells herself; the maid which gives, forsakes herself
• M29 While the tall MAID (a tall Meg of Westminster¹) is stooping the little one (a short wench) sweeps the house
• M75 As the MAN is so is his talk
• M80 A blind MAN can (should) judge no colors
• M82 A blind MAN might see that
• M84 Command your MAN and do it yourself
• M85 A covetous MAN does nothing good until he dies
• M94 A drunken MAN (Drunken folk) seldom catches (take) harm
• M97 An envious MAN will pluck out one of his own eyes to pull out both of his neighbor's
• M113 Every MAN for himself and God for us all
• M116 Every MAN has (No man is without) his faults
• M146 Give a MAN luck (fortune) and throw him into the sea
• M158 Happy MAN happy dole (be his dole)
• M160 He commands enough that obeys a wise MAN
• M173 He that is a wise MAN by day is no fool by night
• M182 The healthful MAN can give good counsel to the sick
• M195 If a MAN will have his business well done he must do it himself
• M196 If every MAN mend one all shall be mended
• M197 If the young MAN knew and the old man could there is nothing but would be done
• M212 A little (low) MAN can fell a great oak
• M229 A MAN condemned is half beheaded
• M230 A MAN dies of the ill he fears
• M238 MAN honors the place, not the place the man
• M243 A MAN is a man
• M244 A MAN is a man though he have but a hose on his head
• M257 A MAN may buy gold too dear
• M294 A MAN of straw is worth a woman of gold
• M298 MAN proposes, God disposes
• M315 No living MAN all things can
• M317 No MAN better knows what is good than he who has endured evil
• M327 No MAN has a lease of his life
• M329 No MAN is a prophet in his own country
• M330 No MAN is a prophet in his own country
• M333 No MAN is happy before his death
• M335 No MAN is wise at all times
• M337 No MAN loses (wins) but another wins (loses)
• M341 No MAN ought to be judge in his own cause
• M348 An old MAN in love hugs death
• M365 The rich MAN may dine when he will, the poor man when he may
• M374 Show a good MAN his error and he turns it to a virtue; but an ill, it doubles his fault
• M376 The singing MAN keeps his shop in his throat
• M380 A solitary MAN is either a beast (brute, devil) or an angel (saint, god)
• M381 Speak not of a dead MAN at the table
• M393 To a crafty MAN a crafty and a half
• M403 Today a MAN tomorrow a mouse
• M410 When an old MAN will not drink go to see him in another world
• M424 The wise MAN is deceived but once, the fool twice
• M426 A wise (valiant) MAN makes every country his own
• M428 A wise MAN may sometimes (He is not wise who cannot) play the fool
• M430 The wise MAN must carry the fool upon his shoulders
• M465 A jealous MAN's horns hang in his eyes
• M468 A MAN's country is where he does well
• M529 Honest MEN marry soon, wise men not at all
• M533 In young MEN to err is less shame
• M544 MEN are not angels
• M548 MEN get wealth and women keep it
• M550 MEN know when they were born but not where they shall die
• M553 MEN (Women) may blush to hear what they were not ashamed to act (do)
• M554 MEN must do as they may (can), not as they would
• M555 MEN (Men's love), not walls, make the city (prince) safe
• M566 Of young MEN die many, of old men scape not any
• M571 Old MeN carry an almanac in their bones
• M583 So many MEN so many minds
• M602 Wise MEN have their mouth (tongue) in their heart, fools their heart in their mouth (tongue)
• M612 Happy is he whom other MEN's harms make beware
• M613 He fares well of other MEN's cost
• M615 It is good to (He is wise who can) beware by other MEN's harms
• M616 Old MEN's counsel and young men's actions
• M625 Ill MANNERS (lives) produce good laws
• M626 It is not good MANNERS to offer salt or brains
• M637 Between MAN OF WAR and man of war there's nothing got but dry blows
• M680 MARRIAGE and magistrate be destinies of heaven
• M687 At MARRIAGES and burials friends and kinsfolk be known
• M697 He that MARRIES late marries ill
• M698 Who MARRIES does well, who marries not does better
• M701 MARRYING is marring
• M703 It is better to be a MARTYR (confessor) than a confessor (martyr)
• M715 He is MASTER of another man's life who contemns his own
• M723 Like (Such a) MASTER like (such a) man (ser-vant)
• M727 Most MASTER wears no breech
• M728 None is born a MASTER
• M733 The MASTER's eye makes the horse fat
• M734 The MASTER's footsteps fatten the soil
• M737 MASTERS should be sometimes blind and sometimes deaf
• M784 The MEAL of the devil turns half to bran
• M787 He fasts enough that has a bad MEAL
• M807 MEASURE thrice what thou buyest and cut it but once
• M819 He loves roast MEAT well that licks the spit
• M825 MEAT (Oats) and mass (matins) never hindered man (hinder no man's journey)
• M835 Quick at MEAT quick at work
• M836 Salt MEAT draws down drink apace
• M839 Sweet MEAT must have sour sauce
• M847 The wholesomest MEAT is at another man's cost
• M851 Every MEDAL has its reverse
• M872 The MENDS¹ is in his own hands
• M888 He that loses is MERCHANT as well as he that gains
• M905 MESSENGERS should neither be headed nor hanged
• M932 Bristol MILK
• M941 He that comes first to the MILL grinding first
• M944 The MILL cannot grind with the water that is past
• M952 Every MILLER draws water to his own mill
• M990 The best MIRROR is an old friend
• M996 He that MISCHIEF hatches mischief catches
• M998 MISCHIEF comes by pounds and goes away by ounces
• M999 MISCHIEF comes without calling for
• M999a One must not bemoan (wail) a MISCHIEF but find out a remedy for it
• M1012 MISFORTUNE (Evil) never (seldom) comes alone
• M1013 One MISFORTUNE comes on the neck of another
• M1029 The MOB has many heads but no brains
• M1033 She that loses her MODESTY and honesty has nothing else worth losing (never finds them again)
• M1043 He that has no MONEY needs no purse
• M1050 If MONEY go before all ways lie open
• M1053 MONEY begets money
• M1055 MONEY does either serve as a slave (servant) or command as a master
• M1063 MONEY is round and so quickly rolls away
• M1091 Ready MONEY is a ready medicine
• M1103 When the MONEY is paid the arms are broken
• M1104 Would you know what MONEY is? Go borrow some
• M1107 Who intends to have a good MONTH, let him to the bath; a good year, let him marry; a good week, let him kill a hog; who will be happy always, let him turn priest
• M1119 The MOON does not heed the barking dog
• M1144 The MORE a man has the more he desires
• M1149 The MORE one drinks (eats) the more one may
• M1150 The MORE one spends the less one puts in one's will
• M1151 MORE spends the niggard than the liberal
• M1163 We can have no MORE of the fox but the skin
• M1167 You can have no MORE of a cat than her skin
• M1169 By the MORNING one knows the day
• M1175 A red MORNING foretells a stormy day
• M1187 Who knows MOST speaks least
• M1195 The good MOTHER says not, Will you? but gives
• M1199 Like MOTHER like daughter
• M1206 Four good MOTHERS beget four bad daughters: great familiarity, contempt; truth, hatred; virtue, envy; riches, ignorance
• M1215 The MOUNTAIN was in labor and brought forth a mouse
• M1235 A MOUSE in time may bite in two a cable
• M1236 The MOUSE that has but one hole is quickly taken
• M1243 MICE (Rats) quit a falling house (sinking ship)
• M1277 Hear MUCH but speak little
• M1288 One must live long to learn MUCH
• M1292 To offer MUCH is a kind of denial
• M1295 Who too MUCH grips (grasps, embraces) the less he holds (holds nothing fast)
• M1306 One MULE (ass, horse) does scrub (scratch, claw) another
• M1315 MURDER will out
• M1316 He that lives with the MUSES shall die in the straw (Learning ever dies in beggary)
• M1317 Nought (Ill, Sad) is that MUSE that finds no excuse
• M1319 A MUSHROOM grows in a night
• M1331 What MUST (shall, will) be must (shall, will) be
• M1339 He loves MUTTON (sheep's flesh) well that dips (wets) his bread in the wool
• M1341 MUTTON is meat for a glutton
• M1342 To put on MUTTON-TAFFETY (beggar's velvet)
• N26 He that has the NAME (fame¹) to be an early riser may sleep till noon
• N27 He who but once a good NAME gets may piss abed and say he sweats
• N28 If one's NAME be up he may lie in bed
• N31 I name no NAMES (nobody)
• N45 NATURE is content with a little
• N47 NATURE passes nurture
• N61 NECESSITY is the mother of invention
• N68 To break one's NECK going upstairs
• N76 NEED (Necessity) has no law
• N84 To give and keep there is NEED of wit
• N85 Who buys has NEED of a hundred eyes, who sells has enough of one
• N106 He that has a good NEIGHBOR has a good morrow
• N110 A near NEIGHBOR is better than a far friend (kinsman)
• N116 When thy NEIGHBOR's house does burn be careful of thine own
• N140 He that brings good NEWS knocks boldly
• N147 Ill NEWS flies faster than good
• N148 Ill NEWS has wings (comes apace)
• N164 After NIGHT comes the day
• N174 NIGHT is the mother of counsels
• N179 What is done by NIGHT appears by day
• N251 Do NOTHING hastily but catching of fleas
• N256 He cares for NOTHING
• N268 He that knows NOTHING doubts nothing
• N274 He who still keeps home knows NOTHING
• N281 It is better to be idle than to work for NOTHING
• N288 NOTHING dries sooner than tears
• N290 NOTHING has no savor
• N299 NOTHING is impossible (hard, difficult) to a willing heart (mind)
• N317 NOTHING so good but it (The best things, Everything) may be abused
• N321 NOTHING violent can be permanent
• N326 There came NOTHING (nought) out of the sack but what was in it (there)
• N327 There is NOTHING but is good for something
• N331 They that have NOTHING need fear to lose nothing
• N338 Where NOTHING (nought) is (is to be had) the king must lose his right¹
• N357 NURTURE is above (passes) nature
• N359 Crack me that NUT, quoth Bumstead
• O6 To sow his wild OATS
• O7 An unlawful OATH is better broken than kept
• O12 ODDS will beat anybody
• O15 The OFFENDER never pardons
• O34 He that would be OLD long (well old) must be old betimes (Old young and old long)
• O54 ONE is no number
• O70 OPPORTUNITY (Night, Midnight) is woredom's bawd
• O71 OPPORTUNITY makes the thief
• O85 An OUNCE of fortune (good fortune) is worth a pound of forecast (wit)
• O88a No OUT is good but out of prison
• O91 All OVERS¹ are ill but OVER the water (ferry)
• O99 May we not do with our OWN what we list?
• O102 As much dungs one OX as a thousand flies
• O105 An old OX makes a straight furrow
• O107 An OX is taken by the horns and a man by the tongue (word)
• P11 Make a PAGE of your own age
• P28 PAINTERS (Travelers) and poets have leave to lie
• P37 The straighter (higher) grows the PALM the heavier the weight it bears
• P47 He that will enter into PARADISE must have a good key
• P53 A mad PARISH must have a mad priest
• P81 One PARTICULARITY concludes no generality
• P88 It is hard to please all PARTIES (men)
• P103 He that has no PATIENCE has nothing
• P104 He that has PATIENCE has fat thrushes for a farthing
• P117 PATIENCE is a flower that grows not in every garden
• P123 Fat PAUNCHES make lean pates
• P140 He that will live in PEACE and rest must hear and see and say the best
• P146 He that knows not how to hold his PEACE (tongue) knows not how to speak (talk)
• P147 He that speaks, sows, and he that holds his PEACE, gathers
• P151 A disarmed PEACE is weak
• P162 The ripest PEARS fall to swine
• P171 For my PECK of malt, set the kiln on fire
• P183 PENS may blot but they cannot blush
• P194 He thinks his PENNY (farthing, halfpenny) good silver
• P206 A PENNY saved is a penny got
• P207 A PENNY spared (saved) is twice (twopence) got
• P225 He that builds on the PEOPLE builds on the mud (dirt)
• P226 He that serves the PEOPLE (commonalty) serves nothing
• P237 He is not PEPPER-PROOF
• P238 Hate not the PERSON but the vice
• P250 Near is my PETTICOAT (kirtle, coat) but nearer is my smock (sark)
• P256 As rare as the PHOENIX
• P261 Deceive not your PHYSICIAN, confessor, or lawyer
• P262 He is a good PHYSICIAN who cures himself
• P273 A young PHYSICIAN fattens the churchyard
• P289 A knotty PIECE of timber must have sharp wedges
• P305 A PIG of your (my) own sow
• P315 Here is a PIGEON (goose, pig) so finely roasted it cries, Come eat me
• P325 To sugar (gild) the PILL
• P334 Not worth a PIN
• P337 Hang PINCHING
• P341 The first PINT is the dearest
• P353 One PIRATE gets nothing of another but his cask
• P366 Foolish (Peevish) PITY mars a city
• P397 PLAY, women, and wine undo men laughing
• P408 After PLEASURE (joy) comes pain (sorrow)
• P410 Fly the PLEASURE that bites (brings sorrow) to-morrow
• P414 PLEASURE and joy soon come and soon go
• P416 A PLEASURE long expected is dear enough sold (bought)
• P447 Where POCKETS are full men will borrow
• P456 Not worth a POINT
• P462 POLICY goes beyond strength
• P464 All our POMP the earth covers
• P466 Everyone is weary: the POOR in seeking, the rich in keeping, the good in learning
• P474 POOR and proud, fie, fie
• P483 The PORPOISE (dolphin) plays before a storm
• P487 POSSESSION is eleven (nine) points of the law
• P501 So long goes the POT (pitcher) to the water (well) that at length it comes home broken
• P502 There is no POT so ugly that a cover cannot be found for it
• P518 A POUND of care will not pay an ounce of debt
• P526 POVERTY is no sin (vice), but an inconvenience
• P527 POVERTY is the mother of all arts
• P528 POVERTY is the mother of health
• P529 POVERTY parts fellowship (good company, friends)
• P537a PRACTICE what you preach
• P555 A short PRAYER penetrates heaven
• P561 He PREACHES well that lives well
• P585 Such as the PRIEST such is the clerk
• P588 PRIESTS and pigeons (doves) make foul houses
• P596 It is an evil (ill) PROCESSION where the devil bears (carries, holds) the cross (colors, candle)
• P598 More PROFIT and less honor
• P602 Great PROMISE small performance
• P603 PROMISE is debt
• P607 PROMISING is the eve (vigil) of giving
• P608 The PROOF of the pudding is in the eating
• P611 PROSPERITY gets friends but adversity tries them
• P631 Who is dull let him eat no PUDDING
• P639 PUNISHMENT is lame but it comes
• P669 Ill PUTTING (Put not) a naked sword in a mad-man's hand
• R9 February RAIN fills the barn
• R16 Small (Little) RAIN lays (allays) great winds
• R20 The evening RAINBOW portends fair weather
• R31 I smell a RAT
• R50 The REASONS of the poor weigh not
• R52 The RECEIVER is as bad as the thief
• R54 Even RECKONING makes long friends
• R69 There is a REMEDY for all things but death
• R70 There is a REMEDY for everything could men find it
• R73 The REMEMBRANCE of past sorrow (dangers) is joyful
• R80 REPENTANCE never comes too late
• R92 To pardon is a divine REVENGE
• R118 Ill for the RIDER good for the abider
• R138 In a great RIVER great fish are found but take heed lest thou be drowned
• R140 All RIVERS (waters) run into the sea
• R148 Many speak (talk) of ROBIN HOOD that never shot in his bow
• R155 Spare the ROD and spoil (spill) the child (He that spares the rod hates the child)
• R163 ROME was not built in one day
• R165 When you are at ROME do as they do at Rome
• R170 He pulls with a long ROPE that waits for another's death
• R182 No ROSE without a thorn (prickle)
• R205 There is no general RULE without some exception
• S29 Every SAINT will have his candle (feast, shrine)
• S32 Such a SAINT such an offering (shrine)
• S74 SALMON and sermon have their season in Lent
• S86 SAMPSON was a strong man and Solomon was a wise man but neither of them both could pay money before they had it
• S88 To build on SAND
• S115 He who SAYS (does) what he would he would not
• S116 It is sooner (easier, better) SAID than done
• S117 No sooner SAID than done (So said so done)
• S119 SAYING and doing are two things
• S123 SAY WELL is good but do well is better
• S153 Those that are stung by the SCORPION are healed by the scorpion
• S166 SCRATCHING and eating wants but a beginning
• S171 Being on the SEA, sail; being on land, settle
• S172 He complains wrongfully on the SEA that twice suffers shipwreck
• S173 He that will learn to pray let him go to SEA
• S185 Who goes not by SEA knows not what the fear of God is
• S192 He that tells his SECRET is another's servant (slave)
• S199 He that means to pay gives good SECURITY
• S212 SEEING is believing
• S214 Be what thou would SEEM to be
• S228 A SERPENT must eat another serpent before he can become a dragon
• S233 A good SERVANT should have the back of an ass, the tongue of a sheep, and the snout of a swine
• S234 He that has one SERVANT has two, he that has two has but half a one, and he that has three has none at all
• S235 An ill SERVANT will never be a good master
• S236 Never keep a SERVANT against his will, nor kinsman, nor friend, if you intend to be well served
• S238 A SERVANT is known in the absence of his master
• S242 So many SERVANTS so many enemies (foes)
• S246 He that has not SERVED knows not how to command
• S248 If you would be well SERVED serve yourself
• S252 Proffered SERVICE (ware) stinks
• S267 He that deceives me once SHAME fall him, if he deceives me twice shame fall me
• S277 SHAME take (Evil to) him that shame (evil) thinks
• S281 Where no SHAME is there is no fear
• S297 A bleating SHEEP loses her bit
• S300 He that makes himself a SHEEP shall be eaten by the wolf
• S302 If you cannot tell,¹ you are nought to keep SHEEP
• S309 One SHEEP follows another
• S328 As the SHEPHERD is such is the flock (sheep)
• S349 A SHIP, a man, a bird, and a snake go an uncertain way
• S350 A SHIP and a woman are ever repairing
• S357 If my SHIRT knew my secrets I would burn it
• S370 Like SHOE like soles (last)
• S402 One SHOULDER of mutton draws (drives) down another
• S423 The SICKNESS of the body is the health of the soul
• S430 To laugh but of one SIDE (on the other side, on the wrong side) of the mouth
• S438 Out of SIGHT out of mind
• S446 SILENCE is (gives) consent
• S471 Old SIN breeds (makes) new shame (repentance)
• S472 A SIN unseen is half pardoned
• S476 Our SINS and our debts (years) are often more than we think
• S479 When all SINS grow old covetousness grows young
• S491 Better (As good) SIT still than (as) rise and fall
• S495 It is as cheap SITTING as standing
• S514 Who has SKIRTS of straw needs fear the fire
• S515 A red SKY in the evening is a sign of a fair day
• S526 SLEEP is the brother (kinsman, cousin) of death
• S530 It is good SLEEPING in a whole skin
• S555 The best SMELL is bread, the best savor salt, the best love that of children
• S563 Like the SMITH's dog, that sleeps at the noise of the hammers and wakes at the crashing of teeth
• S569 No SMOKE without some fire
• S570 Shunning the SMOKE he fell into the fire
• S585 SNAKE in the grass
• S592 The SNOW for eight days is a mother to the earth, but after a stepmother
• S595 Like a SNOWBALL, that rolling becomes bigger
• S601 SOFT AND FAIR goes far
• S608 She is chaste whom no one has SOLICITED (who has withstood temptation)
• S626 Marry your SON when you will, your daughter when you can
• S640 SOON enough if well enough
• S644 Good SOPS may be made in an old pot
• S645 Good SOPS may be made in an old pot
• S676 Little knows the fat SOW (man) what the lean does mean
• S694 Forbear not SOWING because of birds
• S709 SPARE to speak spare to speed
• S712 SPARING is the first gaining (getting)
• S713 Any small SPARK shines in the dark
• S714 Of a little SPARK a great fire
• S718 Many Sᴘᴇᴀᴋ much who cannot SPEAK well
• S724 To SPEAK as one finds
• S760 The SPIRIT is willing but the flesh is weak
• S811 An ill (poor) STAKE that cannot stand one year in a hedge (the ground)
• S822 STANDERS-BY (Lookers-on) see more than gamesters (players)
• S841 As true STEEL as Ripon rowels
• S847 STEP after step goes far
• S849 Dress up a STICK and it does not seem to be a stick
• S862 The more you STIR the more (worse) you stink
• S889 The STONE you throw will fall on your own head
• S932 STRETCHING and yawning lead to bed
• S951 Lose not the SUBSTANCE for the shadow
• S973 If it rains when the SUN is shining the devil is beating his wife
• S982 The SUN is never the worse for shining on a dunghill
• S987 To get the SUN of one
• S999 Who SUPS well sleeps well
• S1002 If I were abed I would not rise for my SUPPER
• S1013 A good SURGEON (chirurgeon) must have an eagle's eye, a lion's heart, and a lady's hand
• S1026 SWALLOWS, like false friends, fly away upon the approach of winter
• S1028 Like a SWAN, he sings before his death
• S1041 Good SWIMMERS at length are drowned
• S1043 A SWINE overfat is cause of his own bane
• S1047 He that strikes with the SWORD shall be beaten (stricken) with the scabbard
• S1049 One SWORD keeps another in the sheath (scabbard)
• S1055 Who draws his SWORD against his prince must throw away the scabbard
• T1 At a round TABLE there is no dispute of place
• T15 The TAIL does often catch the fox
• T42 One TALE is good until another be told (heard)
• T58 Least TALK most work
• T64 The greatest TALKERS are the least (not the greatest) doers
• T80 We learn by TEACHING
• T87 TELL me with whom thou goest and I will tell thee what thou dost (who thou art)
• T99 THEY SAY SO is half a lie
• T104 Give a THIEF rope enough and he will hang himself
• T109 Save a THIEF from the gallows and he will cut your throat
• T110 Set a THIEF (fool) to catch a thief (fool)
• T116 The THIEF thinks all are of his condition
• T118 When it thunders the THIEF becomes honest
• T119 The great THIEVES hang the little ones
• T122 When THIEVES fall out true men come by their goods (to their own)
• T128 Give a THING and take a thing, that is the devil's gold ring
• T138 It is an easy THING to find a staff to beat a dog
• T140 It is an ill THING to be wicked (wretched) but a worse to be known so (to boast of it)
• T145 That THING which is rare is dear
• T149 The THING done has an end (is not to do)
• T170 All THINGS in their being are good for something
• T188 Little THINGS are pretty
• T200 THINGS done cannot be undone
• T213 Two good THINGS (shirts) are better than one
• T217 Who begins many THINGS finishes but few
• T221 They that THINK none ill are soonest beguiled (They that do no harm suspect none)
• T229 He cuts large THONGS of other men's leather
• T233 Of a THORN springs not a rose
• T234 The THORN comes forth with his point forwards
• T235 He that goes barefoot (sows thorns) must not plant THORNs (go barefoot)
• T243 The THOUGHT has good legs and the quill a good tongue
• T244 THOUGHT is free
• T251 The THREAD breaks where it is weakest
• T275 After THUNDER (wind) comes rain
• T279 THURSDAY come and the week has gone
• T292 He that has TIME and looks for time loses time
• T309 Love as in TIME to come you should hate and hate as you should in time to come love
• T314 There is a TIME for all things (Everything has its time)
• T319 The third TIME pays for all
• T321 TIME and straw make medlars ripe
• T326 TIME devours (consumes, wears out) all things
• T328 TIME is a still file
• T329a TIME is the father of truth and experience is the mother of things (science¹)
• T330 TIME is the rider that breaks youth
• T333 TIME reveals (discloses) all things
• T343 TIMES change and we with them
• T371 TODAY for me tomorrow for thee
• T391 A honey TONGUE a heart of gall (poison)
• T400 That TONGUE does lie that speaks in haste
• T403 The TONGUE breaks bone though itself has none
• T404 The TONGUE is ever turning to the aching tooth
• T405 The TONGUE is not steel yet it cuts
• T406 The TONGUE is the rudder of our ship
• T408 The TONGUE talks at the head's cost
• T419 Better TOOTH out than always ache
• T461 He who has a TRADE has a share everywhere
• T465 TRADESMEN live upon lack
• T476 A TRAVELER may lie with authority
• T481 Between TREASURE buried under the ground and wisdom kept hidden in the heart there is no difference
• T488 He that loves the TREE loves the branch
• T490 The most fruitful TREE (The ripest fruit) is eaten by worms (the caterpillar)
• T496 The TREE (oak) falls not at the first stroke (blow)
• T497 The TREE (fruit) is known by the fruit (tree)
• T499 A TREE often transplanted bears not much fruit
• T502 When the TREE is fallen every man goes to it with his hatchet
• T504 You ask an elm TREE for pears
• T506 Great TREES bring forth more shade than fruit
• T508 He is doubly wet that shrouds himself under TREES
• T525 TRIMTRAM, like master like man
• T532 He that seeks TROUBLE never misses it
• T548 He that sells upon TRUST loses many friends and always wants money
• T554 TRUST is dead, ill payment killed it
• T565 It is as true as TRUTH itself
• T566 Speak the TRUTH and shame the devil
• T568 TRUTH and oil are ever above
• T569 TRUTH begets hatred
• T574 TRUTH has no answer
• T594 All TRUTHS must not be told
• T603 The more you stir a TURD (it) the more (worse) it stinks
• T628 At TWELFTH-DAY the days are lengthened a cock's stride
• T631 He that is not handsome at TWENTY, nor strong at thirty, nor rich at forty, nor wise at fifty, will never be handsome, strong, rich, or wise
• U1 Better (A child is better) UNBORN than untaught
• U6 Who UNDERSTANDS ill answers ill
• U12 UNITY (Union) is the strongest building (bulwark) of cities
• U24 USE (Practice) makes mastery (perfectness)
• U26 Who USES me better than he was used (was wont), by him I am or shall be abused (betrayed)
• V3 In VAIN the net is spread in the sight of the birds
• V14 VALOR (A castle, A city) that parleys is near yielding
• V20 Raw VEAL and chickens make fat churchyards
• V26 VENICE, he that does not see thee does not esteem thee
• V36 Empty VESSELS sound most
• V39 Old VESSELS must leak
• V49 VICES are learned without a master
• V51 He gets a double VICTORY who conquers himself
• V52 It is a great VICTORY that comes without blood
• V59 Plant your VINE in a good soil and take a wife of a good race
• V60 The VINE brings forth three grapes: the first of pleasure, the second of drunkenness, the third of sorrow
• V67 No VIPER so little but has its venom
• V73 Make a VIRTUE of necessity
• V80 VIRTUE is found in the middle (mean)
• V81 VIRTUE is its own reward
• V85 VIRTUE is the true nobility
• W10 It is good WALKING with a horse in one's hand
• W17 A white WALL is a fool's paper
• W20 We see not what is in the WALLET behind
• W29 For WANT of a nail the shoe is lost, for want of a shoe the horse is lost, for want of a horse the rider is lost
• W42 He that makes a good WAR makes a good peace
• W49 WAR makes thieves and peace hangs them
• W51 When WAR begins hell opens
• W66 Pleasing WARE is half sold
• W85 All the WATER in the sea cannot wash out this stain
• W99 Much WATER goes by the mill that the miller knows not of
• W115 Under WATER famine, under snow bread
• W116 WATER afar off quenches not fire
• W117 WATER after figs and wine after pears
• W119 WATER, fire, and soldiers (war) quickly make room
• W120 WATER in May, bread for all the year
• W122 WATER makes one ill, wine makes one sing
• W123 WATER runs smoothest where it is deepest
• W157 To him that wills WAYS are not wanting
• W158 The farthest WAY about is the nearest way home
• W161 He that for the new leaves the old WAY oftentimes is found to go astray
• W165 This is the WAY (He is brought) to Beggar's Bush
• W194 The greatest WEALTH is contentment with a little
• W200 WEALTH is not his who has it but his who enjoys it
• W205 All the WEAPONS (arms) of war (Brescia, England) cannot arm fear
• W220 There is no WEATHER ill when the wind is still
• W238 An ill WEED grows apace (fast, well)
• W248 To come home by WEEPING CROSS¹
• W250 WEIGH justly and sell dearly
• W258 WELCOME is the best cheer
• W287 The worst WHEEL of the cart makes most noise
• W288 He who greases his WHEELS helps his oxen
• W296 A WHET is no let
• W331 There is never a WHY but there is a wherefore
• W333 The WICKED flee when no man pursues
• W344 Choose a WIFE rather by your ear than your eye
• W345 Commend not your WIFE, wine, nor horse (house)
• W348 A fair WIFE and a frontier castle breed quarrels
• W350 The first WIFE is matrimony, the second company, the third heresy
• W351 A good WIFE makes a good husband
• W357 He that has no WIFE beats her often
• W358 He that kisses his WIFE in the market place shall have many teachers
• W359 He that lets his WIFE go to every feast and his horse drink at every water shall neither have good wife nor good horse
• W360 He that loses his WIFE and sixpence (a farthing) has lost a tester¹
• W382 A WIFE brings but two good days, her wedding day and death day
• W388 Old WIVES' tales
• W395 WILL buys and money pays
• W421 It is an ill (evil) WIND that blows no man good (to good)
• W424 A little WIND kindles, much puts out the fire
• W427 Piss not against the WIND
• W447 The WIND in one's face makes one wise
• W461 Good WINE makes good blood
• W464 He that drinks not WINE after salad is in danger to be sick
• W466 No WINE without lees
• W467 Of WINE the middle, of oil the top, and of honey the bottom is best
• W470 The sweetest WINE makes the sharpest vinegar
• W471 When WINE (ale) is in wit is out
• W475 WINE by the savor, bread (cloth) by the color
• W478 WINE has no stern
• W479 WINE in the bottle does not quench thirst
• W483 WINE is the old man's milk
• W494 A great WINEBIBBER will buy no land
• W516 To WINTER one and to summer one for to know him perfectly
• W522 Who weens himself wise, WISDOM wots him a fool
• W524 WISDOM consists not in a beard
• W531 To the WISE it is no shame to enter (come out of) a bawdyhouse, but not to know the way out on it (but to go in)
• W532 He is not WISE that is not wise for himself
• W534 He is WISE that is rich
• W579 Great WITS (Poets) to madness sure are near allied
• W606 One WOLF (bear) will not eat (bite, prey upon) another
• W607 Speak of the WOLF and he will appear
• W612 The WOLF eats oft of the sheep that have been told¹
• W616 A WOLF (fox) may change his hair but not his heart (nature, malice)
• W620 WOLVES lose their teeth but not their memory
• W623 A dishonest WOMAN cannot be kept in and an honest one will not
• W626 Give a WOMAN her will and she will live the longer
• W644 A WOMAN, a spaniel (an ass), and a walnut tree (nut), the more they're beaten the better they be
• W645 A WOMAN and a cherry paint themselves for their hurt
• W646 A WOMAN and a glass are ever in danger
• W647 A WOMAN at a window as grapes on the highway
• W651 A WOMAN either loves or hates to extremes
• W652 A WOMAN has nine lives, like a cat
• W654 A WOMAN is never without an excuse
• W663 A WOMAN that paints puts up a bill that she is to be let
• W668 Take a WOMAN's first counsel and not her second
• W682 Choose neither WOMEN nor linen by candle-light (candle)
• W690 Three WOMEN (Three women and a goose) make a market
• W691 Where there are WOMEN and geese there wants no noise
• W694 WOMEN and dogs set men together by the ears
• W695 WOMEN and hens are lost by gadding
• W701 WOMEN are great talkers
• W702 WOMEN are in church saints, abroad angels, at home devils
• W713 WOMEN laugh when they can and weep when they will
• W720 WOMEN weep and sicken when they list
• W727 WONDER (Marvel, Admiration) is the daughter of ignorance
• W742 WOOD half-burned is easily kindled
• W772 There is many a true WORD spoken in jest
• W777 A WORD and a stone let go (A word spoken) cannot be called back
• W779 A WORD is the shade (shadow) of an action
• W781 A WORD to a wise man is enough (Few words to the wise suffice)
• W788 Fair WORDS and ill deeds deceive both wise and fools
• W797 Few WORDS and many deeds
• W802 From WORDS to deeds is a great space (distance)
• W803 Good WORDS anoint us and ill do unjoint us
• W806 Good WORDS cool (quench) more than cold (a bucket of, a cauldron of) water
• W839 WORDS hurt (cut) more than swords
• W845 He that pays beforehand has his WORK ill done
• W860 The WORKMAN is known by his work
• W888 To traverse (travel through) the WORLD safely one must have the eye of a falcon, the ears of an ass, the countenance of an ape, the tongue of a mountebank, the shoulders of a camel, the mouth of a hog, and the feet of a hind
• W889 We weeping come into the WORLD and weeping hence we go
• W897 The WORLD is like a ladder, one goes up, the other down
• W923 The WORTH of a thing is as it is esteemed (valued)
• W924 The WORTH of a thing is best known by the want
• W934 Where WRATH is joined with power there are thunderbolts
• W946 To forget a WRONG is best revenge (remedy)
• Y10 An ill YEAR and a wife do never fail
• Y13 None so old that he hopes not for a YEAR of life
• Y18 A snow YEAR a rich year
• Y24 Once in ten YEARS one man has need of another
• Y38 An idle YOUTH a needy age
• Y49 A growing YOUTH has a wolf in his belly