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1000 English Proverbs




A baby is an alimentary canal with a loud voice at one end and no responsibility at the other 
A bad custom is like a good cake, better broken than kept 
A bad excuse is better than none
A bad penny always turns up
A bad workman blames his tools
A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain 
A barking dog never bites
A best friend is like a four leaf clover, Hard to find and lucky to have 
A bird can sing with a broken wing, but you cant pluck feathers off a frog
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
A black plum is as sweet as a white
A book holds a house of gold 
A book is like a garden carried in the pocket
A bus is a vehicle that runs twice as fast when you are after it as when you are in it
A calm sea does not make a skilled sailor
A camel is a horse designed by a committee 
A cat has nine lives
A cat may look at a king
A cat may look at a Queen 
A celebrity is someone who works hard all his life to become known and then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized 
A chain is no stronger than its weakest link
A change is as good as a rest
A child is a person who can dismantle in 5 minutes the toy it took you 5 hours to put together 
A cold bitter Christmas, a fat churchyard
A constant guest is never welcome 
A creaking door hangs longest
A crowd is not company 
A danger foreseen is half avoided
A day of sorrow is longer than a month of joy 
A Deaf Husband and a Blind Wife are Always a Happy Couple
A diamond among men
A dog who attends a flea circus most likely will steal the whole show
A drop of ink may make a million think
A drowning man will clutch at straws
A fair exchange is no robbery
A faithful friend is a medicine for life 
A fly will not get into a closed mouth 
A fool and his money are soon parted
A fool at forty is a fool indeed
A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions
A fool gives; a wise man takes
A Fool May Give a Wise Man Counsel
A fool will laugh when he is drowning 
A friend in need is a friend indeed
A friend is not so soon gotten as lost
A friend to all is a friend to none 
A gentle heart is tied with an easy thread 
A gentleman without an estate is a pudding without suet 
A gift given in secret soothes anger, and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath
A golden key opens all doors 
A good beginning makes a good ending
A good conscience is the best divinity
A good denial, the best point in law 
A Good Example is the Best Sermon
A good lawyer must be a great liar
A good man is hard to find
A good mate is the road map for the spaghetti junction of life
A good name is better than a good face
A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold
A Good Tongue is a Good Weapon
A good tree brings forth good fruit
A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret
A gossips mouth is the devils postbag
A great dowry is a bed full of brambles 
A Growing Youth Has a Wolf in His Belly
A guilty conscience needs no accuser 
A hairy man is a happy man, a hairy wife is a witch
A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains
A happy heart is better than a full purse 
A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit
A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones 
A heavy purse gives to a light heart
A hedge between keeps friendship green
A helping hand is no farther than at the end of your sleeve 
A house is not a home 
A huge part of real love is constant forgiveness
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step 
A lender nor borrower be 
A leopard cannot change its spots
A little of what you fancy does you good 
A long way to go
A man comes from the dust and in the dust he will end - and in the meantime it is good to drink a sip of vodka 
A man in love is a fool, and an old man in love is the greatest fool of all
A man is at his tallest when he stoops to help a child 
A man is judged by his deeds, not by his words
A man is known by the company he keeps 
A Man of Words and Not of Deeds is Like a Garden Full of Weeds
A man that breaks his word bids other be false to him
A man walks, God places the feet 
A miss is as good as a mile
A miss is as good as a mr
A new broom sweeps clean
A new broom sweeps clean, but the old brush knows all the corners 
A nod is as good as a wink to a blind man
A penny always turns up
A person who can smile when things go wrong has found someone to blame it on 
A picture paints a thousand words
A place for everything and everything in its place
A positive pessimist is better than a negative optimist
A problem is a chance for you to do your best
A problem shared is a problem halved
A proverb is a true word 
A proverb never lies, it is only its meaning which deceives
A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping on a rainy day
A reed before the wind lives on, while might oaks do fall
A rolling stone gathers no moss
A ruler who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain that leaves no crops
A scalded cat fears cold water
A shining example
A short absence quickens love, a long absence kills it 
A slap on the back is only a few inches away from a kick in the butt 
A slip of the tongue is no fault of the mind and he who laughs is very unkind
A sly rabbit will have three openings to its den 
A Small Spark Makes a Great Fire
A soft answer turneth away wrath 
A sprat to catch a mackerel
A spy with flatulence will always blow his cover
A squirrel is just a rat with good PR 
A stitch in time saves nine
A tidy house holds a bored woman 
A volunteer is worth twenty pressed men 
A watched pot never boils
A whistling women and a crowing hen are neither fit for God or men
A wise head keeps a still tongue
A wise son brings joy to his father,but a foolish son grief to his mother 
A wonder lasts but nine days
A worry shared is a worry halved 
Aaah, a man who runs through airport swing-doors is going to Bangkok
Abandon ship
Absence makes the heart grow fonder
Abundance, like want, ruins many
Accidents happen
Accidents will happen in the best regulated families
Actions speak louder than words
Admiration is the daughter of ignorance 
Adversity doesnt build character, it reveals it 
Adversity Makes Strange Bedfellows
After a famine in the stall comes a famine in the hall 
After all is said and done, more is said than done 
After dark all cats are leopards
After dinner rest a while, after supper walk a mile 
After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box
After the storm comes the calm
Age before beauty
Age has no friend but the wrinkles of the mind
Age is a very high price to pay for maturity
Agree, For The Law is Costly
All are not cooks that walk with long knives
All beginning is difficult The first million is the hardest 
All good things come to he who waits 
All good things must come to an end
All in good time
All is for the best in the best of the possible worlds
All lay loads on a willing horse!
All over the place
All roads lead to Rome
All sunshine makes a desert 
All that glisters is not gold 
All the world loves a lover
All things are possible with god
All things come to those who wait
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All you need is love
Although the Sun May Shine, Leave Not Thy Cloak at Home
Always the bridesmaid,never the bride 
An ant may well destroy a whole dam 
An apple a day
An apple a day keeps the doctor at bay
An apple a day keeps the doctor away 
An English Summer, Three Hot Days and a Thunderstorm
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
An old fox is not easily snared
An old Ox makes a straight furrow
An ounce of practice is worth a pound of precept 
Angry Men Make Themselves a Bed of Nettles
Another day, another dollar
Any fool can criticise, condemn and complain and most fools do
Any port in a storm
Anybody can make history Only a great man can write it 
Appearances are deceptive 
April is the cruellest month
Art has no enemy but ignorance
Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity 
As busy as a bee
As delicate as a baby's eye lashes
As dirty as a pig
As dry as chapped lips
As is the gardener, so is the garden 
As safe as houses
As soft as velvet
As strong as love
As useful as a chocolate fireguard (or teapot)
As wrinkled as an elephant's hide
As you make your bed, so must you lie in it
As you sow, so shall you reap
Ask a silly question and you get a silly answer
Ask no questions and hear no lies
At the end of the game, the King and the pawn go back in the same box
Attack is the best form of defence
Back to the future
Bad news travels fast
Barking dogs seldom bite
Be a good sport - wherever you go 
Be first at the feast, and last at the fight
Be just before you are generous
Be kind to people on the way up, you may need them when you are on your way down
Beautiful is not what is beautiful, but what one likes 
Beauty and Honesty Seldom Agree
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Beauty is only skin deep
Beauty without virtue is a flower without perfume
Beer before wine is fine Wine before beer makes you feel queer!
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy 
Bees that have honey in their mouths have stings in their tails
Before enlightenment, I chopped wood and carried water; after enlightenment, I chopped wood and carried water.
Beggars and borrowers cannot be choosers
Believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see 
Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife
Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred 
Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a rich man whose ways are perverse
Better an open enemy, than a false friend
Better bend than break
Better die with honor than live with shame
Better do it than wish it done
Better late than never
Better one house spoiled than two
Better safe than sorry
Better to aim high and miss, than to aim low and reach target!
Better to be alone than in bad company 
Better to be envied than pitied
Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud
Better to be safe than sorry
Better to have loved and lost, than never have loved at all 
Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness
Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife
Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly
Better to remain silent and appear a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt 
Better wed over the mixen than over the moor
Beware of Greeks bearing gifts 
Big bad wolf
Birds of a feather flock together
Bitter pills may have blessed effects
Blessings Are Not Valued Until They Are Gone
Blethers say nought
Blood is thicker than water
Blue are the hills that are far away
Books and friends should be few and good
Borrowed Garments Never Fit Well
Box of tricks

Boxed in
Boys will be boys
Bread is the staff of life
Broken in two
Bus stop
Business before pleasure
Catch not at the shadow and lose the substance
Centre parting
Charity begins at home
Charity covers a multitude of sins
Cheats never prosper
Children Have Wide Ears and Long Tongues
Children should be seen and not heard
Christmas comes but once a year
Christmas comes but once a year, but Hallmark makes sure it lasts three months
Civility costs nothing
Cleanliness is next to Godliness
Clothes make a man
Coin a phrase
Cold hands, warm heart 
Come out to play
Common fame is seldom to blame
Confession is good for the soul
Confidence is a plant of slow growth
Constant dripping wears away the stone
Corporations have neither bodies to be punished nor souls to be damned 
Count your blessings
Cultivate money and you grow rich, Cultivate mind and you raise culture
Curiosity killed the cat
Curses, like chickens, come home to roost
Cut your coat according to your cloth
Daddies know best
Danger can never be overcome without taking risks 
Dead men tell no tales
Death is the great leveller
Death pays all debts
Desperate Diseases Call for Desperate Remedies
Diamonds cut diamonds
Different strokes for different folk 
Diligence is the mother of good fortune
Discretion is the better part of valour
Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow
Distance lends enchantment to the view
Distance makes the heart grow fonder
Divide and rule
Do as I say, and not as I do
Do as you would be done by
Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped 
Do not praise yourself while going into battle; praise yourself coming out of battle
Do not search for a calf under an ox 
Do not use a hatchet to remove a fly from a friends forehead
Do not wear out your welcome
Do right and fear no man 
Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you
Don't answer back
Don't talk back
Dont count the days, make the days count!
Dont make love at the garden gate, love is blind but the neighbours aint
Dont teach your grandmother to suck eggs
Doubt is the beginning not the end of wisdom
Draw a line under
Draw Not Your Bow Till the Arrow is Fixed
Dream of a funeral and you hear of a marriage 
Due to the presence of fools, wise people stand out 
Dump husband in September, you have to get rid of the spiders
Early to bed and early to rise, make a man healthy, wealthy and wise
Easy come, easy go
Easy peasy
Eat well, stay fit, die anyway
Empty sacks will never stand upright
Enough is as good as a feast 
Even a clock that does not work is right twice a day 
Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in grief 
Every Ass Loves to Hear Himself Bray
Every bird loves to hear himself sing
Every body wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die
Every cloud has a silver lining
Every Cook Praises His Own Broth
Every cross has its inscriptions
Every devil has not a cloven hoof
Every dog has his day
Every family has a skeleton in the cupboard
Every flow hath its ebb
Every little helps
Every man has his price
Every picture tells a story
Every Soldier has the Baton of a Field Marshal in his Knapsack
Every step of life is a risk 
Everyday is a fresh slate
Everyone stretches his legs according to the length of his coverlet
Everything comes to him who waits
Everything must have a beginning
Everything under the sun
Excess of ceremony shows want of breeding 
Experience is a great servant
Experience is a wonderful thing It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again 
Experience is better bought than taught
Experience is the best teacher
Face to face
Facts are stubborn things
Faint heart never won fair lady
Fair exchange is no robbery 
Fair without , false within
Faith will move mountains
Fall seven times, stand up eight 
Falling star
Familiarity breeds contempt
Fate leads the willing but drives the stubborn
Fear lends wings
Feed a cold starve a fever
Fight fire with fire
Fight truth decay, read the bible 
Finders keepers, losers weepers
Fine feathers make fine birds
Fine words butter no parsnips 
First come, first served 
First Impressions are the Most Lasting
First in the queue
First things first 
Fish and guests smell in three days
Fish are no respectors of human boredom, so why go angling
Flies Come to Feasts Unasked
Flies never visit an egg that has no crack 
Fogiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the foot that crushed it
Folly grows without watering
Fools and madmen speak the truth
Fools build houses, and wise men live in them
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread
Fools seldom differ 
Football is a game of two halves
For better, for worse
For instance
For sale
Forbidden fruits create many jams
Forewarned is forearmed
Forgive and forget
Fortune favours the brave
Four poster bed
Four things drive a man out of his house: too much smoke, a dripping roof, filthy air and a scolding wife
Friends are made by many acts - and lost by only one 
Friendship is like money,easier made than kept
From clogs to clogs in only three generations
From the sweetest wine the tartest vinegar
Fruit out of season, sorrow out of reason 
Full of hope
Genius is an Infinite Capacity for Taking Pains
Gentle is that gentle does 
Get up and go
Gie yer tongue mair holidays nor yer heid 
Give a clown a finger and he will take your hand 
Give and spend and God will send
Give credit where credit is due
Give Neither Counsel Nor Salt till You Are Asked For It
Gluttony kills more than the sword 
Go along for the ride
Go to heaven for the climate and hell for the company 
God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers 
God defend me from my friends; from my enemies I can defend myself
God gives every bird its food, but does not always drop it into the nest 
God help the poor, for the rich can help themselves 
God helps those who help themselves
God is alive and well and working on something less ambitious
God is Always on the Side of the Big Battalions
God made the country and man made the town!
Golden dishes will never turn black 
Good and quickly seldom meet 
Good broth may be made in an old pot
Good fences make good neighbours!
Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget
Good looking
Good people are scarce
Good talk saves the food
Goodness is better than beauty
Grease is the only cure for a hangover
Great minds think alike
Great minds think alike, simple minds cant think of anything different
Great oaks from little acorns grow
Greedy folks have long arms 
Grow your own dope - plant a man!
Growing pains
Gut No Fish Till You Get Them
Half a loaf is better than no bread 
Handsome is as handsome does
Happiness is not a state of mind, but a manner of travelling 
Happiness is wanting what you have - not having what you want
Happy is the bride the sun shines on
Hard work never did anyone any harm 
Haste makes waste 
Hasty climbers have sudden falls
Hate is like cancer slowly eating us away inside 
Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs
Have you ever noticed? anybody going slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac
He is always right who suspects that he makes mistakes
He is an ill companion that has a good memory 
He is at Ease Who Has Enough
He Is Rich Enough That Wants Nothing
He knows best what good is that has endured evil 
He Lives Long Who Lives Well
He That Brings Good News Knocks Hard
He that is master of himself, will soon be master of others
He that knows nothing, doubts nothing
He that plants a tree plants for posterity
He that stays in the valley shall never get over the hill!
He That Teaches Himself has a Fool for his Master
He That Will Not Be Counselled Cannot Be Helped
He travels fastest who travels alone 
He who awaits much receives little
He who comes with a story to you will bring two away from you
He who dares wins
He who does not honour his wife dishonours himself
He who drinks Australian Thinks Australian
He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day
He who flies high is a short step from a big fall 
He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son 
He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin
He who has once burnt his mouth always blows his soup
He who hesitates is lost
He who is ABSENT is always in the Wrong
He Who Keeps Company with the Wolf Will Learn How to Howl
He who knows better has never tried it
He who laughs last laughs longest
He who laughs last, thinks the slowest!
He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword 
He who makes no mistakes, makes nothing
He who pays the piper calls the tune 
He who plays with fire will get burnt
He who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount
He who sups with the devil should have a long spoon
He who wants to do good, knocks at the gate, he who loves finds the gates open
He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty
Head for cover
Head over heels
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned
History repeats itself
Hole in one
Home is where the heart is
Home is where you hang your hat
Home sweet home
Honesty is the best policy
Hope springs eternal 
Hunger is the best sauce
I had no shoes and complained, until I met a man who had no feet 
I pointed out to you the stars and all you saw was the tip of my finger 
Idle people lack no excuses 
If a son is uneducated, his dad is to blame
If anything can go wrong, it will
If Fortune calls, offer him a seat 
If in doubt, mumble
If life deals you lemons make lemonade 
If the Blind Lead the Blind, Both Shall Fall Into the Ditch
If the cap fits, wear it
If the mountain will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet must go to the mountain
If the wind will not serve, take to the oars
If there were no lossers there could be no winners 
If Wishes Were Horses, Beggars Would Ride
If you are planning for a year - sow rice, if you are planning for a decade - sow trees, if you are planning for a lifetime - educate people
If you believe everything you read, you better not read
If you educate a man you educate an individual but if you educate a woman you educate a family 
If you get a good wife you will be happy, if you get a bad one you will become a philosopher 
If you get it overnight, you can lose it just as quick 
If you lie down with dogs you will come up with fleas 
If you want a place in the sun, you must leave the shade of the family tree
If you wish to be loved, love
If you would enjoy the fruit, pluck not the flower 
Ignorance is bliss
Ill-gotten gains never prosper
Imagination is the highest kite you can fly
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
In a battle between elephants, the ants get squashed
In April,a youg mans thoughts turn to fancy!
In black and white
In for a penny, in for a pound
In the coldest flint there is hot fire
In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has
In the land of hope there is never any winter
In the Land of the Blind the One Eyed Man is King
In vino veritas 
Inverted comma
Is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness
It is nice to be important but it is more important to be nice
It is a long lane that has no turning
It is a silly fish that is caught twice with the same bait 
It is better to love and lost than never to love at all
It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive
It is better to wear out than to rust out
It is easier to get forgiveness than permission 
It is foolish to deal with a fool
It is good to be knowledgeable, but better to be lovable 
It is good to have company in misery
It is in vain to cast your net where there is no fish 
It is never too late to be what you might have been 
It is possible to give without loving but it is impossible to love without giving 
It is what is in the mind when sober, that comes out of the mouth when drunk 
It never rains but it pours
It takes all sorts to make a world
It takes one bad apple to spoil the barrel!
It takes one day to destroy a house but to build a new one will take months, perhaps years 
It takes one to know one
It takes two to make a quarrel
It takes two to tango
It will all come out in the wash
It will all come right in the wash
It's the thought that counts
Its a dogs life
Its a wise child that knows its own father
Its only rock n roll but I like it
Its too late to shut the stable door after the horse has bolted
Jack of all trades, master of none
Judge not that you be not judged 
Just between you and me
Keep your chin up
Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground 
Keep your friends close but your enemies closer
Keep your powder dry 
Kill not the goose that lays the golden egg
Kill two birds with one stone
Kiss and make up
Kiss and tell
Know which side your bread is buttered 
Knowing is not enough; We must Apply Willing is not enough; We must Do
Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone
Laughter is the best medicine
Laughter is the closest distance between two people
Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth 
Lean liberty is better than fat slavery
Lear from the past, Live for today Look for tomorrow, take a nap this afternoon
Learn to say no It will be of more use to you than to be able to read Latin 
Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere 
Least said soonest mended
Lend your money and lose your friend
Let bygones be bygones
Let sleeping dogs lie
Let the buyer beware
Life after death
Life begins at forty
Life is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved
Life is beautiful
Life is just a bowl of cherries
Life is like a box of chocolates, sometimes hard, sometimes soft
Life is like a drawing pin - sharp at one end, and flat at the other
Life is like a good book, the more you get into it the more it makes sense
Life is like a horse race there are winners and losers
Life is not all beer and skittles
Life is one long catwalk
Lightning never strikes twice
Lightning never strikes twice in the same place
Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked man ruling over a helpless people
Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of gifts he does not give
Like father, like son
Like flogging a dead horse

Like music to my ears
Like the measles, love is most dangerous when it comes late in life
Line up in alphabetical order
Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise
Little and large
Little Strokes Fell Great Oaks
Little things please little minds
Little white lie
Live and learn 
Live and let live
Live to the point of tears
Long time no see
Look after number one
Look before you leap
Look both ways
Look good, feel good
Look on the bright side
Look the other way
Lookers on see most of the game
Lost in the post
Lots of people confuse bad management with destiny
Love conquers all
Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing
Love is blind
Love is like a fire, it can either warm your heart or burn your house down
Love is the strangest thing
Love laughs at the locksmiths
Love makes the world go round
Love many, trust few, but always paddle your own canoe
Love nature , live lightly
Love starts with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends with a tear
Love thy neighbour as thy self
Love will find a way
Loving life is living life to the fullest
Lucky at cards, unlucky in love
Make hay while the sun shines
Make love not war
Man cannot live on bread alone
Man in the moon
Man who wants pretty nurse, must be patient
Manners maketh man
Many a mickle makes a muckle
Many a true word is spoken in jest
Many are called but few are chosen
Many hands make light work
Many people know how to say nothing; few know when
Many things are lost for want of asking 
March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb
March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers
Marry in haste, and repent at leisure
Melt the icy fingers of fear with the sunshine of hope 
Men are from earth Women are from earth Deal with it 
Merry Nights Make Sorry Days
Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places 
Might is right
Mind your own business
Mini-skirt
Misery loves company
Money is the root of all evil 
Money makes the world go around
More haste less speed
Mother knows best
Motivation is what gets you started habit is what keeps you going 
Much too much
Murder will out
Necessity is the mother of invention
Needs must when the devil drives
Never be afraid to sit awhile and think 
Never choose bedlinen or a wife by candlelight 
Never eat an oyster unless there is an R in the month
Never go to bed on an argument
Never judge a book by its cover
Never judge by appearences
Never judge someone until you have travelled a mile in their shoes
Never look a gift horse in the mouth
Never make a mountain out of a molehill - The mountain will arrive soon enough 
Never murder a man who is committing suicide
Never play leapfrog with a unicorn 
Never put off til tomorrow what you can do today
Never put your tongue on an iceberg
Never say die
Never speak ill of the dead 
Never stand on the tail of a hedgehog after midnight
Never the twain shall meet 
Never too old to learn
Never trouble trouble till trouble troubles you
Night is the Mother of Counsel
No Good Building Without a Good Foundation
No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness 
No man is a hero to his valet
No man is an island
No man is wise at all times 
No matter how long a log stays in the water it does not become a crocodile 
No news is good news
No one grows old by living; only by losing interest in living
No one is expected to achieve the impossible
No pain, no gain 
No wind, no waves
None but the brave deserve the fair 
None but the wearer knows where the shoe pinches
None so deaf as those who will not hear 
Not to know is bad; not to wish to know is worse 
Nothing is certain but death and taxes
Nothing is interesting if you are not interested 
Nothing seems expensive on credit
Nothing succeeds like success
Nothing that is worth knowing can be taught
Nothing to worry about
Nothing ventured, nothing gained
Nowt so queer as folk!
Old fish and young flesh feed men best
Old friends and wine are best 
Old habits die hard
Old sins cast long shadows 
On cloud nine
On second thoughts
On the crest of a wave
On the Turf all men are equal, and under it 
Once a word leaves your mouth, you cannot chase it back even with the swiftest horse
Once bitten twice shy 
Once in a blue moon
Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale
Once seen never forgotten
One beats the bush, another takes the bird
One cannot quarrel without an opponent 
One foolish sheep will lead the flock
One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy, five for silver, six for gold seven for a secret not to be sold Eight for heaven nine for hell and ten for the devils own cell
One good turn deserves another
One good turn deserves half the blankets
One in a million
One mans loss is another mans gain
One mans meat is another mans poison!
One of these days is none of these days
One thing after another
One volunteer is worth ten pressed men
One who has the reputation of an early riser may safely lie in bed until noon 
One years seeding means seven years weeding
Only fools and horses work 
Only mad dogs and englishmen go out in the midday sun 
Only time will tell
Only when all contribute their firewood can they build up a strong fire
Opportunities always look bigger going than coming 
Opportunity makes a thief
Opportunity seldom knocks twice
Out of sight, out of mind
Out of the blue
Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings
Over the moon
Pain in the neck
Pain is so close to pleasure
Pain is temporary, victory is forever 
Pardon all but theyself
Past cure, past care
Patience is a virtue
Patience is bitter, but it bears sweet fruit 
Penny wise, pound foolish
People who think the world revolves around them have no sense of direction
Perfection is inperfect
Pick your friends like you pick your fruit
Plant the crab tree where you will, it will never bear pippins 
Play with fire
Poor men seek meat for their stomach; rich men stomach for their meat
Possessions dwindle; I mourn their loss But I mourn the loss of time much more, for anyone can save his purse, but none can win back lost time 
Possessions dwindle; I mourn their loss But I mourn the loss of time much more, for anyone can save his purse, but none can win back lost time 
Practice makes perfect
Practice what you preach 
Pretty as a picture
Prevention is better than cure
Pride comes before a fall
Procrastination is the thief of time
Promises are like babies Easy to make, hard to deliver
Put the cat out
Quality is an excuse for lack of quantity 
Quality is better than quantity 
Quickly come, quickly go
Rain before seven, fine before eleven 
Rain, Rain, go away, come back another day
Rained on ground hardens (Japanese Proverb)
Rats desert a sinking ship
Reading between the lines
Red in the face
Red sky at night
Red sky at night shepherds delight,red sky in the morning,shepherds warning
Red, white and blue
Revenge is a dish best served cold
Revenge is sweet
Right between the eyes
Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a disgrace to any people 
Robbing Peter to pay Paul
Saying is one thing; doing another 
Second place is first loser
See Naples and die
Seeing is believing
Seldom seen, soon forgotten
Seven-fifths of all people do not understand fractions
Sex takes up the least amount of time and causes the most amount of trouble 
Share and share alike!
Shopping is a therapy 
Shut up and sit down
Sign on the dotted line
Silence is golden
Silence is the fence around wisdom
Sinking ship
Size matters
Sleep is better than medicine
Small talk
Small time crook
Smile and the world smiles with you, snore and you sleep alone
Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep
Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors
So long as you do your best in life, whatever happens will be for the best
Softly, softly, catchee monkey 
Some are Wise and Some are Otherwise
Some are wise and some are otherwise
Sometimes the majority only means all the fools are on the same side
Spare the rod and spoil the child
Speak when you are spoken to
Split second timing
Spots before the eyes
St Swithins Day, if thou does rain, for forty days it will remain, St Swithins day if thou be fair for forty days twill rain no more
Star turn
Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me
Still waters run deep
Stir With a Knife, Stir Up Strife
Stone is heavy and sand a burden, but provocation by a fool is heavier than both
Strangers are just friends you have not met yet
Strike while the iron is hot
Success has many fathers, while failure is an orphan
Sugar cube
Sunlight penetrates even the thinnest crack
Sweetheart
Swim in the sea
Sympathy without relief is like mustard without beef 
Tailors and writers must mind the fashion
Take a hair of the dog that bit you
Take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves 
Take heed of reconciled enemies and of meat twice boiled 
Take your time and time will take you 
Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice inside the ceiling laugh
Talk is cheap
Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself
Teaching of others teacheth the teacher
The Absent are Always Wrong
The Ass Loaded With Gold Still Eats Thistles
The best advice is found on the pillow
The best doctors are Dr Diet, Dr Quiet and Dr Merryman
The Best Fish Swim Near the Bottom
The best is yet to come
The best of men are but men at best
The best things come in small packages
The best things in life are free
The best throw of the dice is to throw them away 
The Best Wine Comes Out of an Old Vessel
The bigger they are, the harder they fall 
The birds and the bees
The cobra will bite you whether you call it cobra or Mr Cobra 
The company makes the feast
The country is in ruins, and there are still mountains and rivers - japanese proverb
The course of true love never did run smooth
The darkest hour is just before dawn
The devil find work for idle hands to do
The Devil goes shares in gaming 
The Devil rides upon a fiddlestick
The devil tempts all, but the idle man tempts the devil
The difficult we do at once, the impossible takes a little longer 
The early bird catches the worm
The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese
The early worm enjoys a leisurely breakfast 
The end justifies the means
The eyes are the window of the soul
The eyes speak as much as the mouth
The faintest ink is more powerful than the strongest memory 
The Fairest Rose at Last is Withered
The Family That Prays Together Stays Together
The female of the species is more deadly than the male
The first faults are theirs that commit them, the second theirs that permit them
The first step is the hardest
The fish will soon be caught, that nibbles at every bait
The fruit does not fall far from the tree.
The Gods Send Nuts to those who have no Teeth
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence
The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world
The higher the monkey climbs, the more he shows his tail
The higher the tree, the sweeter the plum 
The higher you climb up the ladder, the more people can see your arse 
The horses of hope gallop, but the asses of experience go slowly
The King can make a knight, but not a gentleman 
The last drop makes the cup run over
The longest day must have an end
The longest rope has an end
The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones
The Mills of God Grind Slowly, Yet They Grind Exceedingly Small
The Moon does not heed the barking of dogs 
The more one knows, the less one believes
The more the merrier 
The more you get, the more you want
The most beautiful women are made for lovers who lack imagination
The nearer the bone the sweeter the meat
The nearer to the church, the farther from God
The old believe everything, the middle aged suspect everything, the young know everything
The One who tells the stories rules the world 
The pen is mightier than the sword
The pot calls the kettle black
The price of greatness is responsibility
The price of liberty is eternal vigilance
The proof of the pudding is in the eating
The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him
The road to hell is paved with good intentions
The rotten apple injures its neighbours
The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak
The stick is the surest peacemaker
The tide never goes out so far but it always comes in again 
The tongue ever turns to the aching tooth
The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit 
The trouble with experience is that by the time you have it, you are too old to take advantage of it
The truth will out
The West Wind Always Brings Wet Weather, The East Wind Wet and Cold Together, the South Wind Surely Brings Us Rain, the North Wind Blows It Back Again
The world is full of willing people: some willing to work and some willing to let them 
The young man thinks the old mans stupid but the old man KNOWS the young man is
There are always ears on the other side of the wall 
There Are No Atheists in Foxholes
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 a skeleton in every cupboard 
There is a time and a place for everything
There is a time to speak and a time to be silent
There is always some madness in love But there is also always some reason in madness 
There is always somebody worst of then yourself no matter how bad things seem 
There is an exception to every rule
There is more than one way to skin a cat
There is no accounting for taste 
There is no difference between a wise man and a fool when they fall in love
There is no jollity but hath a smack of folly
There is no physician like a true friend 
There is no such thing as a free lunch
There is no time like the present
There is safety in numbers
There will be rubs in the smoothest road
They Brag Most That Can Do the Least
They that dance must pay the fiddler
They that walk much in the sun will be tanned at last
Things can only get better
Things that come to those who wait may be things left by those who got there first 
Think before you speak
Think Much, Speak Little and Write Less
Third time lucky
Those who cast the votes decide nothing Those who count the votes decide everything 
Those who play the game do not see it as clearly as those who watch
Though the wound be healed, a scar remains 
Three wise men
Time and tide wait for no man
Time is a great healer
Time to spare
Time waits for nobody
Tis better to get things for free, than to work up a sweat 
To deceive oneself is very easy
To err is human, to forgive divine
To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart 
To have is to hold and to hold is to have
To know the road ahead, ask those coming back
To many people in a dustbin means there not much room in side
To say that a man cannot love one woman at a time is ridiculous It is like saying a musician needs more than one violin to play the same piece of music
To the jaundiced eye all things look yellow
To the victor the spoils 
To the world you may be one person but to one person you may be the world 
To thine own self be true
To whom God gives, to him also the people give 
Tomorrow never comes
Too funny for words
Too many chiefs and not enough indians
Too many clicks spoil the browse 
Too many cooks spoil the broth
Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it
True blue will never stain
True love is like a teardrop in Niagra falls 
True love never grows old
Trust is the mother of deceit
Try praying Nothing pleses God more than to hear a strange voice
Turn the other cheek
Two Dogs Fight for a Bone, and a Third Runs Away With it 
Two fools in a house are too many
Two heads are better than one
Two peas in a pod
Two things a man should never be angry at: what he can help and what he cannot help 
Two wrongs do not make a right
Two wrongs may not make a right but three rights make a left
Under the thorn grow the roses 
United we stand, divided we fall 
Unkissed, unkind
Up to a point
Use it or lose it
Use soft words and hard arguments 
Variety is the spice of life
Virtue is its own reward
Virtues all agree, but vices fight one another 
Visit your aunt, but not every day of the year 
Wait and see
Walk before you can run
Walls have ears 



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