Below is an alphabetical list of widely used and repeated proverbial phrases. If known, their origins are noted.
A proverbial phrase or expression is a type of conventional saying similar to a proverb 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.Arvo Krikmann "the Great Chain Metaphor: An Open Sezame for Proverb Semantics?", Proverbium:Yearbook of International Scholarship, 11 (1994), pp. 117–124.
In 1768, John Ray defined a proverbial phrase as:
A A bad excuse is better than none A bad penny always turns up A bad workman blames his tools A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush A cat may look at a king A chain is only as strong as its weakest link A dog is a man's best friend A drowning man will clutch at a straw A fool and his money are soon parted A friend in need (is a friend indeed) A friend to everyone is a friend to no one A hungry man thinks of bread A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step A little learning is a dangerous thing A leopard cannot change its spots A man can do what he wills but he cannot will what he wills A man with no pants fears no pickpocket. A mill cannot grind with the water that is past A miss is as good as a mile A new language is a new life (Persian proverb) A penny saved is a penny earned A picture is worth a thousand words A rising tide lifts all boats A rolling stone gathers no moss A ship in harbour is safe, but that's not what a ship is for A stitch in time saves nine A stopped clock is right twice a day A tiger can't change its stripes A watched man never plays A watched pot/kettle never boils Absence makes the heart grow fonder Absolute power corrupts absolutely (John Dalberg-Acton, 1887) Accidents will happen (in the best-regulated families) Actions speak louder than words Adversity makes strange bedfellows All good things come to him who waits All good things must come to an end All hands on deck/to the pump All is grist that comes to the mill All roads lead to Rome All that glitters/glistens is not gold All the world loves a lover All things come to those who wait All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare (Spinoza) 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 An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind (Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948), leader of the Indian independence movement) An Englishman's home is his castle/A man's home is his castle Another day, another dollar An honest man doesn't need to remember much 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 Anything worth doing is hard As a tree bends, so shall it grow As queer as a three dollar bill As the twig is bent, so is the tree inclined 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 At the end of my rope
B Bad news travels fast Bad money drives out good Barking dogs seldom bite Beauty is in the eye of the beholder Beauty is only skin deep Before setting out on a mission of vengeance, dig two graves Beggars cannot be choosers Behind every great man, there is a great woman Better late than never Better safe than sorry Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven (John Milton, in Paradise Lost)Milton, J., & Leonard, J. (2003). Paradise lost. Penguin Books. Book 1, line 263 Be yourself 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, Virgil in the Aeneid) Big fish eat little fish Birds of a feather (flock together) Blood is thicker than water Born with a silver spoon in one's mouth Boys will be boys Brevity is the soul of wit (William Shakespeare) Business before pleasure Buy once, cry once Buy cheap, buy twice
C Caesar's wife must be above suspicion Calm seas never made a good sailor Careless talk costs lives Charity begins at home Cheats never prosper Cheese, wine, and friends must be old to be good. Children should be seen and not heard Christmas comes but once a year Civility costs nothing and buys everything (Mary Wortley Montagu) Cleanliness is next to godliness Clothes don't make the man Clothes make the man Coffee and love taste best when hot (Ethiopian proverb) Cold hands, warm heart Comedy equals tragedy plus time 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 Cream rises to the top Criss-cross, applesauce Cross the stream where it is shallowest Cut your coat according to your cloth Cut the head off the snake (see Lernaean Hydra myth) Curiosity killed the cat
D Dead men tell no tales Denial is not a river in Egypt 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 not bite the hand that feeds you Do not burn your bridges behind you Do not carry coals to Newcastle Do not cast your pearls before swine Do not cry over spilled milk Do not change horses in midstream Do not count your chickens before they are hatched Do not cross the bridge till you come to it Do not cut off your nose to spite your face Do not dish it if you can't take it Do not judge a book by its cover Do not keep a dog and bark yourself Do not let the bastards grind you down Do not let the grass grow beneath (one's) feet Do not look a gift horse in the mouth Do not make a mountain out 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 too many irons in the fire Do not put new wine into old bottles Do not rock the boat Do not shut/lock the stable door after the horse has bolted Do not spend it all in one place Do not spoil the ship for a ha'porth 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 Do not sympathize with those who can not empathize Do unto others as you would have them do unto you ( the Golden Rule) Doubt is the beginning, not the end, of wisdom Don't take any wooden nickels
E Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise (Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), polymath and Founding Father of the United States) Easier said than done East is east, and west is west (and never the twain shall meet) East, west, home is best Easy come, easy go Easy, times easy, is still easy Early marriage, earlier pregnant Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper Eat, drink and be merry, (for tomorrow we die) Empty vessels make the most noise Enough is as good as a feast Even a worm will turn Even from a foe a man may learn wisdom Every cloud has a silver lining Every dog has his day Every Jack has his Jill Every little bit 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 Everyone has their price Everything comes to those who wait Every tide has its ebb
F Failing to plan is planning to fail Faint heart never won fair lady Fair exchange is no robbery Faith will move mountains Fall seven times, stand up eight False friends are worse than open enemies Fake it till you make it Familiarity breeds contempt Feed a cold, starve a fever Fight fire with fire Fine feathers make fine birds Finders keepers (losers weepers) Fine words butter no parsnips First come, first served First impressions are the most lasting First things first Fish always rots from the head downwards (The fish rots from the head down) Fish and guests smell after three days Flattery will get you nowhere Follow the money 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 bold/brave Free is for me From the sublime to the ridiculous there is but a step From its fruit the tree is knownLuke 6:43–45 NKJV
G Genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains Give a dog a bad name and hang him Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime 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 Give the devil his/her due God helps those who help themselves Good fences make good neighbours Good talk saves the food Good things come to those who wait
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 hesitates is lost He who laughs last laughs longest He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword He who loves the world as his body may be entrusted with the empire – Laozi, Chinese philosopher (604 BC – c. 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 – Laozi, Chinese philosopher (604 BC – c. 531 BC) He who sups with the Devil should have a long spoon Health is wealth Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned; Heav'n has no Rage, like Love to Hatred turn'd, Nor Hell a Fury, like a Woman scorn'd – William Congreve, The Mourning Bride, Act III scene viii Hindsight is always twenty-twenty History repeats itself Home is where the heart is Honesty is the best policy Hope for the best, and prepare for the worst Hope springs eternal Horses for courses How long is a piece of string? Hunger never knows the taste, sleep never knows the comfort
I Idle hands are the devil's workshop If anything can go wrong, it will (Also referred to as Murphy's law) If a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well If all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. If at first you do not succeed, try, 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 ifs and buts were candies and nuts, we'd all have a merry Christmas If it ain't broke, don't fix it If it were not for hope the heart would break If it were a snake, it would have bit you If the shoe fits, wear it If the mountain will not come to Mohammed, then Mohammed must go to the mountain 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 can't be good, be careful If you can't beat them, join them If you can't live longer, live deeper If you can't run with the horses, get off the track If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen If you give a mouse a cookie, he'll always ask for a glass of milk