Chapter M: Mad dogs get their coats torn, 369 (1)
Mad love—I for you, and you for another, 199, 265
Maidens say no, and mean yes (Maids say nay, and take), 159
Make a silver bridge for a flying enemy, 196, 266
Make good flour and you need no trumpet (_So_: Good wine needs no
bush), 224, 277
Make hay while the sun shines, 160, 174
Make me a prophet, and I will make you rich, 98
Make the night night, and the day day, and you will live pleasantly,
277
Make use of the sun while it shines, 388
Make way for a madman and a bull, 197
Make your son your heir and not your steward, 277
Make yourself a sheep and the wolves will eat you, 52, 86, 186
Make yourself an ass and every one will lay his sack on you, 186
Make yourself honey and the flies will eat you, 98, 277, 294
Man is fire, woman is tow, and the devil comes and blows (or with a
bellows), 37, 217, 288
Man loves but once, 139
Man proposes and God disposes, 37, 139, 217, 226, 230, 279, 306, 390
Man without woman is head without body; woman without man is body
without head, 161
Manual jokes are clowns’ jokes, 28, 206, 225
Many a cow stands in the meadow and looks wistfully at the common, 387
Many a good cow has a bad calf, 161
Many a man is a good friend but a bad neighbour, 387
Many a man labours for the day he will never live to see, 387
Many a one is good because he can do no mischief, 37
Many a one leaves the roast who afterwards longs for the smoke ofit,
127
Many a one suffers for what he can’t help, 58
Many a one threatens while he quakes for fear, 127, 161
Many a one would like to lay his own shame on another man’s back, 387
Many a sheep goes out woolly and comes home shorn, 387
Many a thing whispered into one ear is heard over the whole town, 387
Many a true word is spoken in jest, 123
Many are brave when the enemy flies, 110
Many can help one, 173
Many cooks spoil the broth, 173
Many desire the tree who pretend to refuse the fruit, 110
Many dogs are the death of the hare, 387
Many friends, and few helpers in need, 173
Many go out for wool and come home shorn, 161
Many grains of sand will sink a ship, 387
Many hands make quick work, 173, 340
Many have good intentions, but something comes across them, 161
Many have too much, but none have enough, 386
Many heads, many minds, 341
Many heirs make small portions, 173
Many hounds are the death of the hare, 173, 341
Many kiss the child for the nurse’s sake, 387 (_See_ He who kisses)
Many kiss the hand they would fain see chopped off, 233, 284
Many little rivulets make a great river, 386
Many littles make a mickle, 341
Many love to praise right and do wrong, 387
Many open a door to shut a window, 341
Many return from the war who cannot give an account of the battle, 124
Many scruple to spit in church, and afterwards defile the altar, 110
Many see more with one eye than others with two, 161
Many seek good nights and lose good days, 332
Many shun the brook and fall into the river, 161
Many shun the sword and come to the gallows, 161
Many stop their noses at ambergris, 71
Many take by the bushel and give with the spoon, 161
Many trades, begging the best, 173
Many words don’t fill the sack (_Scoticé_: Meikle crack fills nae
sack), 340
Many words go to a sackful (Many words will not fill a bushel), 302
Marriage is heaven and hell, 140
Marriages are not as they are made, but as they turn out, 104
Marriages are written in heaven, 35
Married to-day, marred to-morrow, 6
Marry and grow tame, 208, 272
Marry in haste and repent at leisure, 52, 86, 152, 321
Marry, marry, and what about the housekeeping, 272
Marry, marry, sounds well but tastes ill, 272
Marry me without delay, mother, for my face is growing wrinkled, 280
Marry your son when you please, your daughter when you can, 38, 77,
208, 272, 370
Marrying in the blood is never good, 152
Marrying is easy, but housekeeping is hard, 152
Martha sings well when she has had her fill, 268, 271
Mary Busybody never wants a bad day, and Mary Drone has God to give
and bring to her, 198
Master’s hints are commands, 101
Mastiff never liked greyhound (A churl never liked a gentleman), 41
May God not so prosper our friends that they forget us, 235
Measure thrice before you cut once, 110, 332
Meddle not with what you don’t understand, 286
Meddle with dirt and some of it will stick to you, 386 (_See_ He who
touches pitch)
Men after the modern fashion, and asses after the ancient, 100
Men are as old as they feel, and women as they look, 100
Men are rare, 35
Men can bear all things except good days, 297
Men go not laughing to heaven, 333
Men make wealth, and women preserve it, 100
Men must sail while the wind serveth, 333
Men’s ignorance makes the pot boil for priests, 37
Merchant to-day, beggar to-morrow, 152
Merchants’ goods are ebb and flood, 331
Michael is quits; he lost a ducat and gained a rabbit, 213
Michael, Michael, you have no bees, and yet you sell honey!, 232, 283
Might and courage require wit in their suite, 386
Might is not right, 19, 319
Milk the cow, but don’t pull off the udder, 333
Millers and bakers do not steal, people bring to them, 162
Millers, tailors, and weavers are not hanged, or the trade would soon
be extinct, 162
Mischief comes soon enough, 402
Misers’ money goes twice to market, 214, 288
Misfortune comes on horseback and goes away on foot, 32
Misfortune seldom comes alone to the house, 397
Misfortune upon misfortune is not wholesome, 37
Misfortune, wood, and hair, grow throughout the year, 172
Misfortunes never come single, 62, 108, 315
Misreckoning is no payment, 161
Money advances meacocks, 15
Money and friendship break the arms of justice, 123
Money borrowed is soon sorrowed, 5
Money burns many, 5
Money gets money, 214
Money in the purse dispels melancholy, 149
Money is a good servant but a bad master, 31
Money is an epitome of human power, 101
Money is lost only for want of money, 31
Money is money’s brother, 101
Money is more eloquent than a dozen members of parliament, 395
Money is not gained by losing time, 291
Money is power, 319
Money is round, and rolls, 5,101
Money is the measure of all things, 275
Money is the sinew of war, 322
Money lent, an enemy made, 275
Money makes dogs dance, 46
Money makes the man, 149
Money rules the world, 319
Money saved is money got (or as good as money gained), 354
Money soothes more than the words of a cavalier (or a gentleman’s
words), 231, 281
Money taken, freedom forsaken, 149
Money turns bad into good, 217
Money wins the battle, not the long arm, 275
Monks, mice, rats, and vermin, seldom sunder without harming, 162
More are drowned in the bowl than in the sea, 153
More belongs to dancing than a pair of dancing-shoes, 302
More belongs to riding than a pair of boots, 191
More flies are caught with a spoonful of syrup (or drop of honey)
than with a cask of vinegar, 333, 386
More grows in a garden than the gardener sows there, 286
More is done with words than with hands, 162
More luck than wit, 332
More people are slain by suppers than by the sword, 368
More unlucky than a dog in church, 121
Moses (_i.e._ a Jew) does not play because he has not the means, 236
Mother, I must have a husband, or I shall set fire to the house, 162
Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, storm and hail, 127
Mother, marry me, marry me, or the gull will fly away with me, 230
Mother, what is marrying? Spinning, bearing children, and crying,
daughter, 230
Mother’s love is ever in its spring, 58
Mother’s truth keeps constant youth, 162
Mouth and heart are wide apart, 162
Mouth of honey, heart of gall, 269
Month shut and eyes open, 75
Much broth is sometimes made with little meat, 387
Much caution does no harm, 266
Much chatter, little wit, 284
Much kindred, much trouble, 5
Much laughter, little wit, 289
Much memory and little judgment, 7
Much money, many friends (Where money, there friends), 173
Much never cost little, 237, 287
Much noise and little wool, said the devil, when he was shearing the
sow, 364 (_See_ Great cry and little wool)
Much smoke and little roast, 110
Much straw and little corn, 284
Much talk little work, 341
Much talking, much erring, 199
Much water passes by the mill that the miller perceives not, 73
Much water runs by while the miller sleeps, 357
Much wisdom is lost in poor men’s mouths, 154
Much wisdom is smothered in a poor man’s head, 329
Much wit is lost in a poor man’s purse, 147
Much worship, much cost, 35
Muddy water won’t do for a mirror, 67
Mules make a great fuss about their ancestors having been horses, 161
Must is a hard nut, 162
My chest locked, my soul safe, 283
My daughter-in-law tucked up her sleeves and upset the kettle into
the fire, 202
My friend’s enemy is often my best friend, 161
My gossips don’t like me because I tell them truths, 230, 282
My life and soul at your service, but not the pack-saddle, 228, 274
My money your money, let us go to the tavern, 283
My neighbour’s goat gives more milk than mine, 225, 263
My neighbour’s hen lays more eggs than mine, 226
My No is as good as your Yes, 128
My shirt is nearer than my cloak, 322
My sister’s son is a kinsman beyond dispute, 239
My teeth are nearer than my kindred, 231, 242
N.
National customs are national honours, 384
Nature and love cannot be hid, 163 (_See_ Love)
Nature draws stronger than seven oxen, 163
Nature requires little, fancy much, 163
Near is my petticoat, but nearer is my smock, 120
Near the church far from God, 132
Necessity becomes will, 106
Necessity breaks iron, 164
Necessity is the mother of invention (or teaches arts), 40, 164, 303
Necessity knows (or has) no law, 40, 111, 164, 335, 393
Necessity seeks bread where it is to be found, 164
Necessity teaches the lame to dance, 164
Necessity unites hearts, 164
Need makes the old wife trot, 8, 227, 306, 393
Needle and thread are half clothing, 224
Neighbour once over the hedge, neighbour over it again, 163
Neither a dumb barber nor a deaf singer, 286
Neither a good friar for friend, nor a bad one for enemy, 233
Neither handsome enough to kill, nor ugly enough to frighten, 230, 286
Neither reprove nor flatter thy wife, where any one heareth or seeth
it, 317
Neither serve one who has been a servant, nor beg of one who has been
a beggar, 230
Neither sign a paper without reading it, nor drink water without
seeing it, 230
Neither trust or contend, nor lay wagers or lend, and you’ll have
peace to your end, 285
Neither women nor linen by candlelight, 111
Neutrals are soused from above, and singed from below, 139
Neutrals think to tread on eggs and break none, 163
Never advise a man to go to the wars, or to marry, 225
Never ask of him who has, but of him you know wishes you well, 238
Never challenge a fool to do wrong, 23
Never did capon love a hen, 27
Never do evil that good may come of it, 114
Never fell oak at the very first stroke, 145 (_See_ An oak)
Never give advice unasked, 166
Never give the skin when you can pay with the wool, 150
Never heed the colour of a gift horse, 66
Never let fools see half-finished work, 388
Never let the bottom of your purse or of your mind be seen, 113
Never limp before the lame, 23
Never put your finger between the tree and the bark, 23
Never put your thumbs between two grinders, 222
Never refuse a good offer, 123
Never repent a good action, 403
Never say, Fountain, I will not drink of thy water, 23
Never say, of this water I will not drink, of this bread I will not
eat, 285
Never seemed a prison fair, or mistress foul, 24, 157
Never sell the bearskin till you have killed the bear, 24
Never speak of a rope in the house of a thief, 276
Never speak of a rope in the house of one who was hanged, 24, 114,
153, 221
Never spread your corn to dry before the door of a saintly man, 200
Never spur a willing horse, 76
Never was a mewing eat a good mouser, 113
Never was hood so holy but the devil could get his head into it, 302
New brooms sweep clean, 100, 163, 335, 393
New churches and new taverns are seldom empty, 163
New come, welcome, 163, 393
New doctor, new churchyard, 163
New laws, new roguery, 163
New loves drive out the old, 199
New songs are eagerly sung (or are liked the best), 163, 393
New trappings to an old mule, 199
Night has no friend, 30
No and yes cause long disputes, 393
No answer is also an answer, 381
No ape but swears he has the handsomest children, 156
No armour is proof against the gallows, 157
No better masters than poverty and want, 318
Nobody so wise but has a little folly to spare, 157
Nobody sows a thing that will not sell, 209
Nobody’s sweetheart is ugly, 335
No comforter’s head ever aches, 72
No corn without chaff, 318
No day but has its evening, 26, 115
No feast like a miser’s, 24
No fire without smoke, 40
No flies get into a shut mouth, 9, 104, 221, 276
No flies light on a boiling pot, 200
No good doctor ever takes physic, 111
No good lawyer ever goes to law himself, 111
No grass grows on a beaten road, 2, 104
No greater promisers than those who have nothing to give, 319
No house without a mouse, no barn without corn, no rose without a
thorn, 157
No house without its cross, 318
No is a good answer when given in time, 393
No jealousy, no love, 163
No jesting with edged tools, 53
No Jew a fool, no hare lazy, 230
No king was ever a traitor, or pope excommunicated, 230
No living man all things can, 62
No lock avails against a hatchet, 14
No mad dog runs seven years, 318
No man can serve two masters, 164
No man is a hero in the eyes of his valet, 25
No man is a prophet in his own country, 40
No man is so tall that he need never stretch, and none so small that
he need never stoop, 381
No man knoweth fortune till he dies, 335
No man learneth but by pain or shame, 335
No man limps because another is hurt, 381
No man looks for another in a sack, unless he has been there himself,
381
No man understands knavery better than the abbot who has been a monk,
20
No man’s master, no master’s man, 157
No meat ever remains in the shambles however bad it may be, 114
No money, no Swiss, 46, 157
No need to say “trot” to a good horse, 65
No need to seek shelter for an old ox, 193
No news is good news, 46, 115
No office so humble but is better than nothing, 335
No one betrays himself by silence, 162
No one can be caught in places he does not visit, 381
No one can blow and swallow at the same time, 164
No one can complain of the sea who twice suffers shipwreck, 164
No one can do nothing, and no one can do everything, 157
No one can guard against treachery, 172
No one can have peace longer than his neighbour pleases, 335
No one can see into another further than his teeth, 388
No one ever became poor through giving alms, 111
No one ever repented of having held his tongue, 111
No one ever saw a goat dead of hunger, 42, 113
No one falls low unless he attempt to climb high, 381
No one gets into trouble without his own help, 381
No one has seen to-morrow, 288
No one is a good judge in his own cause, 286
No one is always right, 287
No one is bound to do impossibilities, 3, 69
No one is content with his lot, 286
No one is poor but he who thinks himself so, 285
No one is rich enough to do without his neighbour, 381
No one is so liberal as he who has nothing to give, 41
No one is too old to learn, 191
No one is wise enough to advise himself, 164
No one is wise in his own affairs, 335
No one knows better where the shoe pinches than he who wears it, 111,
147
No one knows the parson better than the clerk, 381
No one knows where another’s shoe pinches, 335
No one likes justice brought home to his own door, 72
No one likes to bell the cat, 147
No one sees his own faults, 164
No one should take in an eating pawn (or pledge), 119
No one so hard upon the poor as the pauper who has got into power, 399
No one so sure but he may miss, 335
No one will get a bargain he does not ask for, 40
No one would be an innkeeper but for money, 233
No pear falls into a shut mouth, 104
No penny, no pater-noster, 164
No purchase like a gift, 26
No relation is poor, 236
No rose without a thorn, 46, 115, 318
No sauce like appetite, 26
No sheep runs into the mouth of a sleeping wolf, 306
No smoke without fire, 157, 189
No sooner is the law made than its evasion is discovered, 98
No tree falls at the first stroke, 156
No wind can do him good who steers for no port, 41
No woman is ugly if she is well dressed, 209, 269
No woman marries an old man for God’s sake, 147
No wonder if he breaks his head who stumbles twice over one stone, 248
No wonder lasts more than three days, 111
No word is ill spoken that is not ill taken, 285
None so busy as those who do nothing, 25
None so deaf as he (or those) that won’t hear, 24, 112, 236, 381
Not all are asleep who have their eyes shut, 115
Not all flowers are fit for nosegays, 163
Not all that is true is to be spoken, 286 (_See_ Every truth)
Not all that shakes (or trembles) falls, 129
Not all words require an answer, 129
Not every ball hits, 163
Not every dog that barks bites, 12
Not every land has all at hand, 163
Not every one may pluck roses, 166
Not every one that dances is glad, 12
Not every sort of wood is fit to make an arrow, 59
Not every wood will make wooden shoes, 358
Not every word requires an answer, 113
Not he gives who likes, but who has, 230
Not to wish to recover is a mortal symptom, 256
Not too little, not too much, 163
Nothing bolder than the miller’s shirt, that every morning collars a
thief, 26, 164
Nothing can come out of a sack but what is in it, 114
Nothing dries sooner than tears, 164
Nothing falls into the mouth of a sleeping fox, 2, 196, 267, 299
Nothing grows old sooner than a kindness, 55
Nothing happens for nothing, 55
Nothing in haste but catching fleas, 318
Nothing is difficult to a willing mind, 67
Nothing is done while something remains undone, 26
Nothing is ever well done in a hurry, except flying from the plague
or from quarrels, and catching fleas, 109
Nothing is had for nothing, 42
Nothing is ill said if it is not ill taken, 106
Nothing is impossible to a willing mind, 5
Nothing is lost on a journey by stopping to pray or to feed your
horse, 241
Nothing is more like an honest man than a rogue, 55
Nothing is so burdensome as a secret, 55
Nothing is so liberally given as advice, 55
Nothing is so new as what has long been forgotten, 164
Nothing is so new but it has happened before (There is nothing new
under the sun), 381
Nothing looks more like a man of sense than a fool who holds his
tongue, 164
Nothing passes between asses but kicks, 128
Nothing should be done in a hurry except catching fleas, 164
Nothing so bad but it finds its master, 318
Nothing so good as forbidden fruit, 55
Nothing venture, nothing have, 50
Nothing weighs lighter than a promise, 164
Now that I have an ewe and a lamb, every one says to me: Good morrow,
Peter, 194
Nurenberg wit and a skilful hand will find their way through any
land, 164
Nurse, you are mistress whilst the child sucks, and after that
nothing, 198
O.
“O what we must suffer for the sake of God’s church!” said the abbot,
when the roast fowl burned his fingers, 165
Of bad debtors you may take spoilt herrings, 388
Of big words and feathers many go to the pound, 151
Of brothers-in-law and red dogs few are good, 210
Of evils, choose the least, 211, 276
Of hasty counsel take good heed, for haste is very rarely speed, 321
Of judgment every one has a stock on hand for sale, 91
Of listening children have your fears, for little pitchers have great
ears, 331
Of little cloth but a short cloak, 15
Of oil, wine, and friends, the oldest, 268
Of other men’s leather large thongs, 212 (_See_ Good thongs)
Of soup and love, the first is the best, 228, 268
Of the good man a good pledge, and of the bad neither pledge nor
surety, 275
Of the great and of the dead either speak well or say nothing, 90
Of the malady a man fears, he dies, 211
Of this world each man has as much as he takes, 92
Of three things the devil makes a salad: lawyers’ tongues, notaries’
fingers, and a third that shall be nameless, 92
Of two cowards, the one who attacks conquers the other, 275
Of two evils choose the least, 14, 172, 340, 346
Of two lookers-on one is sure to become a player, 14
Of what does not concern you say nothing, good or bad, 91
Of what use is it that the cow gives plenty of milk, if she upsets
the pail, 175
Of your wife and your tried friend believe nothing but what you know
for certain, 213
Offend one monk, and the lappets of all cowls will flutter as far as
Rome, 135
Offer a clown your finger, and he’ll take your fist, 345 (_See_ Give
a clown)
Office without pay makes thieves, 134
Often shooting hits the mark, 165
Oil is best at the beginning, honey at the end, and wine in the
middle, 306
Old as is the boat it may cross the ferry once, 242
Old birds are hard to pluck, 134
Old birds are not caught with cats, 336
Old birds are not caught with chaff, 370
Old birds are not caught with new nets, 115
Old churches have dark windows, 133
Old crows are hard to catch, 133
Old foxes are hard to catch, 336
Old friends and new reckonings, 63
Old friends and old ways ought not to be disdained, 389
Old love and old brands kindle at all seasons, 63
Old love does not rust, 134
Old oxen have stiff horns, 352, 370
Old oxen tread hard, 134
Old people see best in the distance, 134
Old pigs have hard snouts, 134, 370
Old reckonings breed new disputes, 7, 67, 194
Old signs do not deceive, 370
Old thanks are not for new gifts, 68
Old trees are not to be bent, 133
Old wounds easily bleed, 134
On a fool’s beard all learn to shave, 193, 284
On a fool’s beard the barber learns to shave, 1, 69
On a hot day muffle yourself the more, 217
On a long journey even a straw is heavy, 104
On a small pretence the wolf devours the sheep, 119, 336
On dry land even brackish water is good, 222
On poor people’s beards the young barber learns his trade, 134
Once a thief always a thief, 181, 309
Once in people’s mouths, ’tis hard to get out of them, 144
Once is no custom, 61, 314
Once resolved, the trouble is over, 121
Once upon a time, no time (or Some day, no day), 144
One always returns to one’s first love, 43
One always knocks oneself in the sore place, 43
One ass among monkeys is grinned at by all, 260
One ass nicknames another “Long-ears,” 142
One bad eye spoils the other, 142
One barber shaves another, 60
One basket of grapes does not make a vintage, 130
One beats the bush and another catches the bird, 138, 304
One bee is better than a thousand (or a handful of) flies, 142, 232
One beggar likes not that another has two wallets, 353
One bell serves a parish, 129
One bird in the dish is better than a hundred in the air, 145 (_See_
a bird)
One bird in the hand is worth two flying (or on the roof), 281, 316,
343 (_See_ A bird)
One bite brings another, 351
One blind man leads another into the ditch, 60
One briar does not make a hedge, 130
One can speak and seven can sing, 142
One candle for St. Michael, and another for his devil, 61
One cannot be and have been, 42
One cannot be at the oven and the mill at the same time (One cannot
be in two places at once), 42
One cannot blow and swallow at the same time, 258
One cannot drink and whistle at the same time, 114 (_See_ No one)
One cannot (no man can) keep peace longer than his neighbour will let
him, 160
One cannot please everybody and one’s father, 42
One cannot ring the bells and walk in the procession, 42
One cannot wash a blackamoor white, 143
One can’t enter Paradise in spite of the saints, 114
One can’t hinder the wind from blowing, 42
One can’t shoe a running horse, 332
One catches the hare and another eats it, 138
One crow does not make a winter, 143, 313
One day is as good as two for him who does everything in its place, 62
One daughter helps to marry the other, 129
One deceit brings on another, 61
One devil does not make hell, 130
One devil drives out another, 130
One devil knows another, 130
One does it for love, another for honour, a third for money, 304
One does not always hit what one aims at, 59
One dog growls to see another go into the kitchen, 137
One door never shuts but another opens, 109, 114
One enemy is too many (or too much), and a hundred friends are too
few (or not enough), 98, 130, 142, 364
One eye of the master sees more than four eyes of his servants, 121
One eye on the frying-pan and the other on the cat, 260
One flea does not hinder sleep, 129
One flower does not make a garland, 61, 130, 142
One fool always finds a greater to admire him, 63
One fool is enough in a house, 74
One fool makes a hundred (or many), 260, 280, 313, 364
One fool may ask more questions than seven wise men can answer, 144,
366
One fool praises another, 144
One foot is better than two stilts, 39
One God, one wife, but many friends, 313
One good morsel and a hundred vexations, 130
One good turn deserves another, 1, 142, 304
One good word quenches more heat than a bucket of water, 121
One grain does not fill the granary, but it helps its companion, 280
One grievance borne, another follows, 260
One grows used to love and to fire, 3
One hair of a maiden’s head pulls harder than ten yoke of oxen, 365
One hair of a woman draws more than a bell-rope, 143
One half the world knows not how the other half lives, 29
One half the world laughs at the other, 30, 143
One hand full of money is stronger than two hands full of truth, 364
One hand must wash the other, or both will be dirty, 372
One hand washes the other, 143
One hand washes the other, and both the face, 129, 228, 260, 280, 304
One has always strength enough to bear the misfortunes of one’s
friends, 41
One has only to die to be praised, 159
One hour’s sleep before midnight is better than two (or three) after
it, 16, 143
One hunts the hare, and another eats it, 353
One is never so rich as when one removes (from one house to another),
43
One is never soiled but by filth, 43
One kisses the child for the mother’s sake, and the mother for the
child’s sake, 159
One kisses the nurse for the sake of the child, 171
One knavery is met by another, 260
One knife keeps another in its sheath, 130
One knife whets another, 130, 144
One knows not for whom he gathers, 43
One learns by failing, 41
One lie draws ten after it, 129
One link broken, the whole chain is broken, 136
One living pope is better than ten dead, 97
One log does not burn long by itself, 142
One lost, two found, 316
One love drives out another, 260
One man is another’s devil, 144
One man is born to the money, and another to the purse, 364
One man is not bad because another is good, 364
One man knocks in the nail, and another hangs his hat on it, 138
One man, no man, 62
One man often talks another off his bench, and seats himself upon it,
364
One mangy sheep spoils a whole flock, 365
One man’s story is no story; hear both sides. (One story is good till
another is told), 143
One marriage is never celebrated but another grows out of it, 147
One may as well be well beaten as badly beaten, 7
One may buy gold too dear, 43, 126, 159
One may go a long way after one is tired, 43
One may have good eyes and see nothing, 127
One may see through a wall, if there’s a hole in it, 159
One may steal nothing save a lawyer’s purse, 24
One may tire of eating tarts, 43
One misfortune brings on another, 280, 322
One must be either anvil or hammer, 22
One must glean at harvest time, 161
One must howl with the wolves (_See_ He who herds), 22
One must lose a minnow to catch a salmon, 22
One must needs like what one cannot hinder, 23
One must pass through the door or the window, 22
One must plough with the horses one has, 160
One must sometimes hold a candle to the devil, 333
One must step back to make the better leap, 22
One must talk soothingly to the dog until one has passed him, 58
One nail drives in another, 304
One nail drives out another, 61, 84, 130
One never gets more than the money’s worth of anything, 42
One never goes so far as when one don’t know whither one is going, 43
One never wept but another laughed, 113
One often has need of a lesser than oneself, 41
One pair of ears would exhaust a hundred tongues, 130
One penny in the pot (money-box) makes more noise than when it is
full, 315
One penny is better on land than ten on the sea, 364
One piece of good advice is better than a bag full, 364
One ploughs, another sows, who will reap no one knows, 364
One quill is better in the hand than seven geese upon the strand, 315
One raven does not peck out another’s eyes, 353
One rotten apple in the basket infects the whole quantity, 315
One rotten egg spoils the whole pudding, 142
One scabbed sheep will mar (_or_ infect, _or_ spoil) a whole flock,
24, 36, 129, 347
One shoe will not fit every foot, 144
One should be born either a king or a fool, 160
One starts the game and another bags it, 260
One starts the hare, another catches it, 130
One stroke on the nail and a hundred on the horseshoe, 260
One swallow does not make a spring, 61, 143
One swallow don’t make a summer, 129, 260, 315, 364
One sword keeps another in the scabbard, 144, 358
One “Take this” is better than ten “God help you!”, 144
One “Take this” is better than two “You-shall-haves!”, 39, 63, 314
One to-day is better than ten to-morrows, 143
One to one, and two to the devil, 364
One trick is met by another, 209
One voice, no voice, 132
One wedge drives another, 147 (_See_ One nail)
One wolf does not kill another, 260, 287
One word beforehand is better than ten afterwards, 350
One word brings on another, 129
One would not be alone even in Paradise, 114
One would rather be bitten by wolves than by sheep, 388
One wrong submitted to, another follows, 280
One’s own hearth is worth gold (The Scotch say: Ane’s ain hearth is
goud’s worth), 317
One’s own spurs and another’s horse make the miles short, 127
One’s prog does not clog (Store is no sore), 226
Onions, smoke, and a shrew, make a good man’s eyes water, 385
Only one can be emperor, 164
Open hand makes open hand, 165
Open thy mouth that I may know thee, 72
Open your purse, and I will open my mouth, 263
Opportunity makes desire, 319
Opportunity makes the thief, 37, 105, 149, 227, 305, 384
Order and do it, and you will be rid of anxiety, 230
Other folks’ cares kill the ass, 210
Other times, other counsels, 283
Other times, other folk, 347
Other times, other manners, 7
Other towns, other lasses, 134
Others’ bread has seven crusts, 103
Others’ bread is too salt, 103
Our last garment is made without pockets, 109
Our neighbour’s children are always the worst, 172
Our time runs on like a stream; first fall the leaves and then the
tree, 336
Out before day, in before night, 341
Out of a great evil often comes a great good, 127
Out of a little grass comes a great ass, 173
Out of a white egg often comes a black chick, 93
Out of sight, out of mind, 37, 134, 245, 280, 339, 384
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh, 339
Out of the frying-pan into the fire, 270
Out of the mire and into the brook, 255
Out of yes and no comes all dispute, 15
“Own kin are the worst friends,” said the fox, when he saw the foxy
dogs after him, 369
Ox, keep to your grass, 165
P.
Painted flowers have no scent, 49, 319
Paper and ink and little justice, 239
Paper bears anything (or is patient), 33, 137
Paper does not blush, 105
Paris was not built in a day, 44
Patience is the virtue of asses, 30
Patience! said the wolf to the ass, 118
Patience surpasses learning, 318
Pay-day comes every day, 190
Pay what you owe, and be cured of your complaint, 238, 290
Peace and a well-built house cannot be bought too dearly, 369
Peace and patience, and death with penitence, 239
Peace feeds, war wastes; peace breeds, war consumes, 369
Peace must be bought even at a high price, 369
Peace with a cudgel in hand is war, 291
Peacock, look at your legs, 165
Peel a fig for your friend, a peach for your enemy, 69
Penny is penny’s brother, 165
Penny wise and pound foolish, 161
People count up the faults of those who keep them waiting, 41
People lend only to the rich, 43
People make the bells say what they please, 41
People must eat, even were every tree a gallows, 333, 357 (_See_ A
man must eat)
People often change, and seldom for the better, 160
People take more pains to be damned than to be saved, 41
Peralvillo justice: hang a man first and try him afterwards, 226
Perseverance brings success, 296
Perseverance kills the game, 241, 292
“Peter, I am taking a ride,” said the goose, when the fox was running
into the wood with her, 395
Peter is so godly that God does not improve his condition, 258
Peter pinches me, and I like it, 240
Physician, heal thyself, 110, 134
Piety, prudence, wit, and civility, are the elements of true
nobility, 148
Pigs in the cold and men in drink make a great noise, 291
Pilgrims seldom come home saints, 174
Pills must be bolted, not chewed, 21, 65
Places are God’s; placemen are the devil’s, 140
Plants oft removed never thrive, 165
Play with an ass and he will whisk his tail in your face, 206, 270
Play with the fool at home and he will play with you abroad, 206
Pleasures steal away the mind, 325
Plenty makes daintiness, 65
Plenty of words when the cause is lost, 66
Plough deep and you will have plenty of corn, 202
Plough or not plough, you must pay your rent, 202
Plough wet or dry, and you will not have to kiss your neighbour’s
breech, 202
Pluck it from among the thistles, and we will take it off your hands,
255
Pluck the magpie and don’t make her scream, 119
Pluck the rose and leave the thorns, 88
Poison quells poison, 104
Policy goes beyond strength, 28
Poor folk’s wisdom goes for little, 300
Poor men do penance for rich men’s sins, 91
Poor men’s money and cowards’ weapons are often flourished, 90
Poor people’s words go many to a sackful, 134
Poor relations have little honour, 367
Possession and good right, with lance in hand, 242
Possession is as good as a title, 46
Pound the garlic, Pedro, whilst I grate the cheese, 230
Poverty and hunger have many learned disciples, 134
Poverty does not destroy virtue, nor does wealth bestow it, 228
Poverty has no kin, 121
Poverty is a sort of leprosy, 45
Poverty is cunning; it catches even a fox, 134
Poverty is no sin, 45, 200
Poverty is no sin, but it is a branch of roguery, 240
Poverty is the reward of idleness, 300
Poverty is the sixth sense, 134
Poverty never sped well in love, 291
Power often goes before talent, 386
Practice makes perfect, 171, 220, 261
Practice makes the master, 171
Practise not your art and ’twill soon depart, 180
Praise a fine day at night, 168, 365
Praise a fool, and you may make him useful, 396
Praise borrowed from ancestors is but sorry praise, 359
Praise paves the way to friendship, 385
Praise the sea, and keep on land, 22, 109
Praise yourself, basket, for I want to sell you, 195
Praising is not loving, 159
Pray to the saint until you have passed the slough, 299
Praying to God, and hitting with the hammer, 194
Precaution said, Good friend, this counsel keep: strip not yourself
until you’re laid to sleep, 336
Precious ointments are put in small boxes, 17
Precious things are mostly in small compass (In small boxes the best
spice), 331
Precipitate counsel—perilous deed, 375
Prepare a nest for the hen and she will lay eggs for you, 264
Presents keep friendship warm, 149
Pretty children sing pretty songs, 367
Pride went out on horseback and returned on foot, 107
Pride will have a fall, 152, 375
Priestly knaves sweat hard at their meat, but never at work get into
a heat, 165
Priests and women never forget, 165
Priests bless themselves first, 165
Priests even smile pleasantly on young women, 165
Priests, friars, nuns, and chickens, never have enough, 121
Priests pay each other no tithes, 165
Priests should not prate out of the confessional, 165
Princes have long arms, 105
Princes have long hands and many ears, 148
Princes keep good reckoning, they never lose anything, 36
Princes will not be served on conditions, 36
Princes use men as the husbandman uses bees, 36
Prison and Lent were made for the poor, 226
Proffered service is little valued (Proffered service stinks), 296
Profit is better than fame, 370
Promises and undressed cloth are apt to shrink, 384
Promises don’t fill the belly, 172
Promises make debts, 191
Promises make debts, and debts make promises, 300
Promising and performing are two things, 47, 300
Promising is one thing, performing another, 172, 300
Promising is not giving, but serves to content fools, 292
Prosperity forgets father and mother, 225
Proverbs are the daughters of daily experience, 338
Prudent men choose frugal wives, 157
Public money is like holy water, every one helps himself to it, 101
Pull gently at a weak rope, 296
Pulling the devil by the tail does not lead far young or old, 58
Put a beggar into your barn and he will make himself your heir, 232
Put not all your eggs into one basket, 333
Put out the fire betimes, ere it reach the roof, 159
Put the belfry in the middle of the village, 22
Put the light out, and all women are alike, 159
Put your hand in your conscience and see if it don’t come out as
black as pitch, 338
Put your hand quickly to your hat, and slowly to your purse, and you
will take no harm, 380
Q.
Quick at meat, quick at work, 153
Quick and well don’t agree (or seldom go together), 121, 398
Quick enough, if good enough, 168
R.
Rage avails less than courage, 39
Ragged colts make the handsomest stallions, 135
Rain comes oft after sunshine, and after a dark cloud a clear sky, 394
Raise no more devils than you can lay, 160
Rather a husband with one eye than with one son, 289
Rather a single grape for me than a brace of figs for thee, 27
Rather an ass that carries than a horse that throws, 121
Rather go rob with good men than pray with bad, 266
Rather hat in hand than hand in purse, 121
Rather have a little one for your friend, than a great one for your
enemy, 65
Rather lose the wool than the sheep, 266
Rather mulberry than almond (the almond-tree is in blossom earlier
than the mulberry), 200
Rather the egg to-day than the hen to-morrow, 349
Rats do not play tricks with kittens, 209
Ravens do not peck out ravens’ eyes, 34, 89
Ready money works great cures, 5
Reason does not come before years, 172
Reason lies between bridle and spur, 128
Reason not with the great, ’tis a perilous gate, 55
Reasonings banish reason, 36
Reconciled friendship is a wound ill salved, 70, 368
“Red is Love’s colour,” said the woer to his foxy charmer, 166
Rejoice in little, shun what is extreme; the ship rides safest in a
little stream, 338
Render unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, 333
Renounce the devil and thou shalt wear a shabby cloak, 193
Rent and taxes never sleep, 191
Repentance costs dear, 33, 208
Repentance is the heart’s medicine, 166
Report makes the wolf bigger than he is, 149
Repute hangs a man, 31
Rest comes from unrest, and unrest from rest, 167
Rest is good after the work is done, 371
Rest makes rusty, 337
Revenge a hundred years old has still its milk-teeth, 131
Revenge converts a little right into a great wrong, 166
Revenge is new wrong, 165
Revenge remains not unrevenged, 165
Reward sweetens labour, 332
Rich gamblers and old trumpeters are rare, 166
Rich garments weep on unworthy shoulders, 34
Rich people are everywhere at home, 166
Riches and favour go before wisdom and art, 396
Riches are often abused, but never refused, 396
Riches breed care, poverty is safe, 396
Riches cause arrogance; poverty, meekness, 151
Ride on, but look before you, 337
Right is with the strongest, 139
Right or wrong, God aid our purpose, 203
Right or wrong, ’tis our house up to the roof, 203, 268
Right overstrained turns to wrong, 212
Rise early and watch, labour and catch, 230, 280
Roast geese don’t come flying into the mouth, 305
Roast pigeons don’t fly through the air, 318
Rome was not built in a day, 55, 104, 166
Rosary in hand, the devil at heart, 273
Roses and maidens soon lose their bloom, 166
Roses fall, but the thorns remain, 307
Royal favour, April weather, woman’s love, rose-leaves, dice, and
card-luck, change every moment, 148
Running water carries no poison, 67
Rust consumes iron, and envy consumes itself, 396
Rust wastes more than use, 31
S.
Safe bind, safe find, 174
Safe over the bridge, one laughs at St. Nepomuck, 150
Said in sport, meant in earnest, 153
Said the frying-pan to the kettle, Stand off, black bottom, 213
Sail while the breeze blows, wind and tide wait for no man, 397
Saint cannot if God will not, 55
Saint Francis shaved himself first, and then he shaved his brethren,
124
Saint Martin was an easy man, he loved to drink _Cerevisiam_; and
when he’d no _Pecuniam_, he left in pledge his _Tunicam_, 167
Saints appear to fools, 266
Saint’s words, cat’s claws, 291
Salt and bread make the cheeks red, 167
Salt spilt is never all gathered, 255, 299
Samson was a strong man, but he could not pay money before he had it,
167
Satiety causes disgust (Abundance begets indifference), 171
Saving is a greater art than gaining, 169
Saving is getting, 49
Savings are the first gain, 109
Say before they say (Tell your own story first), 200
Say what we will, do what we will, the boat goes but sorrily without
oars, 75
Saying and doing are two things, 98, 167
Saying is one thing, doing another, 70
Saying well causes a laugh; doing well produces silence, 8
Scratch people where they itch, 22
Scratching and borrowing do well enough, but not for long, 156
Seat yourself in your place and you will not be made to quit it, 257,
294
Second thoughts are best, 103
Secret fire is discovered by its smoke (Catalan), 222
Secret gifts are openly rewarded, 374
Security is nowhere safe, 169
Security is the first cause of misfortune, 169
See a pin and let it lie, you’ll want a pin before you die, 54
See, hear, and hold your tongue, 261
See how he has risen from a mayor to a hangman, 211
See Naples and then die, 131
See that you tie so that you can untie, 233
Seeing is believing, 79
Self-done, is soon done (Never trust to another what you should do
yourself), 168
Self is the man, 168
Self-love is bad, and makes the eyes sad, 142
Self-love is blind, 317
Self-love nobody else’s love, 344
Self-praise stinks, friend’s praise hinks, the stranger’s is sincere,
and may last for a year, 142
Sell me dear, and measure me fair, 77
Sell publicly and buy privately, 261
Send a man of sense on the embassy, and you need not instruct him, 282
Sense comes with age, 259
Seven brothers in a council make wrong right, 257
Seven is company, and nine confusion (Alluding to a dinner party), 257
Serve a lord and you’ll know what is grief, 257, 294
Serve as a serf or fly like a deer, 56
Service is no inheritance, 56, 126
Services unrequired go unrequited, 171
Set a beggar on horseback, and he don’t trot, but gallops, 321
Set a beggar on horseback, and he’ll outride the devil, 178
Set a peasant on horseback, and he forgets both God and man, 244
Set a fox to catch a fox, 390
Set a thief to catch a thief, 167, 334, 364
Set thy expense according to thy trade, 345
Set your sail according to the wind, 22
Shame comes to no man unless he himself help it on the way, 381
Shame lasts longer than poverty, 337
She hangs out the broom (wants a husband), 345
She is fond of greens who kisses the gardener, 223
She is fond of him—on the side where the pocket hangs, 169
She is good and honoured who is dead and buried, 222
She is good who is close to the fire and does not burn, 222
She is well married who has neither mother-in-law nor sister-in-law,
201, 267
She who is born a beauty is born betrothed, 83
She who loves an ugly man thinks him handsome, 249
Shear the sheep but don’t flay them, 23, 333
Shoemaker stick to your last, 168, 262, 337
Shoemakers are always the worst shod, 34
Shoemakers go to mass and pray that sheep may die, 261
Short flax makes long thread, 399
Short hair is soon brushed, 157
Short hose must have long points, 193
Short pleasure often brings long repentance, 399
Short reckonings make long friends, 34, 157, 273, 317
Should the heavens fall, many pipkins will be broken, 367
Show me a liar and I’ll show you a thief, 39, 190, 344
Show me a poor man, I will show you a flatterer, 273
Shut your door, and you will make your neighbour good (or a good
woman), 208, 272
Sickly body, sickly mind, 157
Sickness comes in haste, and goes at leisure, 399
Sickness comes on horseback and departs on foot, 308
Sickness comes uninvited—no need to bespeak it, 399
Sickness is every man’s master, 399
Sight goes before hearsay, 399
Silence and look out, we shall catch both hen and chicks, 207
Silence and reflection cause no dejection, 168
Silence answers much, 345
Silence gives consent, 50, 86, 185, 247, 311
Silk and velvet put out the kitchen fire, 167
Silken tongue and hempen heart often go together, 397
Silly sheep, where one goes, all go, 238
Silver and gold are all men’s dears, 398
Since I wronged you, I have never liked you, 212
Since the house is on fire, let us warm ourselves, 121, 242
Since the wine is drawn it must be drunk, 47
Since we have loaves let us not look for cakes, 242
Since you have been scolding me, I have counted a hundred and twenty
holes in that nutmeg grater, 213
Singed eats live long, 172
Singers, lovers, and poets, are privileged liars, 167
Six things have no business in the world: a fighting priest, a coward
knight, a covetous judge, a stinking barber, a soft-hearted mother,
and an itchy baker, 57
Skill or fortune will efface the spots, 72
Skilled hands eat trouts, 230
Slander expires at a good woman’s door, 399
Slander! slander! some of it always sticks, 9
Slaughter (or kill) no more than you can well salt, 167
Sleep over it, and you will come to a resolution, 215
Sloth is the beginning of vice, 332
Sloth is the key to poverty, 148, 240, 292
Slow and sure, 158
Small beer comes the last, 348
Small gains bring great wealth, 330
Small profits and often, are better than large profits and seldom,
157
Small profits are sweet, 384
Small rain lays a great wind, 120
Small saints, too, work miracles, 157
Small undertakings give great comfort, 177
Smoke, floods (or stench), and a scolding wife, are enough to drive a
man out of his life, 19, 224, 337
Smoke, rain, and a scolding wife, are three bad things in a house, 401
Smooth words do not flay the tongue, 114
Snarling curs never want sore ears, 13
Snivelling folks always want to wipe other folks’ noses, 35
So begun, so done, 345
So good that he is good for nothing, 127
So got, so gone, 345
So it goes in the world: one has the purse, the other has the gold,
169
So many countries, so many customs, 127, 158, 169
So many heads, so many minds, 127, 397
So many men, so many minds, 7, 173, 345
So you tell me there are wolves on the mountain, and foxes in the
valley, 202
Soft and fair goeth far, 344
Soft water constantly striking the hard stone, wears it at last, 264
Soft words don’t scotch the tongue, 16
Softly, barber, the water scalds, 120
Softly, don’t raise a dust, 120
Soldiers must be well paid, and well hanged, 169
Some day Peter will command as much as his master, 196
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A Polyglot of Foreign ProverbsChapter M: Mad dogs get their coats torn, 369 (1)
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