Chapter M: Mad dogs get their coats torn, 369 (2)

Some have bread who have no teeth left, 58

Some have fine eyes and can’t see a jot, 58

Some have the fame, and others card the wool, 260

Some sell and don’t deliver, 58

Some sing who are not merry, 127

Some think they have done when they are only beginning, 58

Some thinking to avenge their shame increase it, 58

Some who jest tell tales of themselves, 127

Some who mean only to warm, burn themselves, 58

Something to every one is good division, 155

Sometimes an egg is given for an ox, 69

Sometimes the lees are better than the wine, 69

Soon enough if well enough, 5

Soon fire, soon ashes, 341

Soon gained, soon squandered, 58

Soon grass, soon hay, 341

Soon ripe, soon rotten, 154

Soon ripe, soon rotten; soon wise, soon foolish, 341

Sooner or later the truth comes to light, 341

Sorrow seldom comes alone, 397

Sour wine, old bacon, and rye bread, keep a house rich, 261

Sow corn in clay, and plant vines in sand, 257

Sow not money on the sea, lest it sink, 344

Spare to speak and spare to speed, 51

Sparrows should not dance with cranes, their legs are too short, 375

Speak little and well, they will think you somebody, 277

Speak little of your ill luck, and boast not of your good luck, 400

Speak little, speak truth. Spend little, pay cash, 166

Speak not ill of the year until it is past, 112, 235, 285

Speak, that I may see thee, 166

Speak well of your friend; of your enemy neither well nor ill, 91

Speaking comes by nature, silence by understanding, 166

Speaking is silver, silence is gold, 338

Speaking silence is better than senseless speech, 350

Speech is oft repented, silence seldom, 386

Speedy rise, speedy fall (Sudden glory soon goes out), 168

Spending your money with many a guest, empties the kitchen, the
cellar, and chest, 190

Spilt salt is never well collected, 255, 299

Spinner, spin softly, you disturb me; I am praying, 278

Spit not in the well, you may have to drink its water, 40

Spur not a willing horse, 1, 77, 188

Stagnant water grows stinking, 170

Stand up, farthing, let the florin sit down (Stand up, cent, let the
dollar sit down), 152

Starlings are lean because they go in flocks, 100

Starved lice bite the hardest, 332

Stay a while, and lose a mile, 338

Stealing would be a nice thing, if thieves were hanged by the girdle,
218

Step by step one goes far (or to Rome), 118, 297, 341

Still water breeds vermin, 67

Still waters run deep, 170, 338, 363

Stock-fish are made tender by much beating, 334

Stolen bread stirs the appetite, 44

Stones or bread, one must have something in hand for the dogs, 118

Stoop, and let it pass; the storm will have its way, 364

Store is no sore, 1, 174

Strain not your bow beyond its bent, lest it break, 338

Strangers’ meat is the greatest treat, 369

Straying shepherd, straying sheep, 154

Strength avails not a coward, 67

Stretch your legs, according to your coverlet, 160 170, 338 (_See_
Every one stretches)

Strew no roses before swine, 338

Strike while the iron is hot, 22, 74, 160, 282, 337, 390

Strong folks have strong maladies, 170

Strong is the vinegar of sweet wine, 99

“Success to you! God speed the craft!” as the hangman said to the
judge, 150

Such awkward things will happen as going into the great square and
coming back without ears, 202

Suffering and patience, obedience and application, help the lowly
born to honour, 384

Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof, 2

Sugared words generally prove bitter, 239

Suit yourself to the times, 167

Summer-sown corn and women’s advice turn out well once in every seven
years, 169

Supper is soon served in a plentiful house, 284

Supple as a glove, 318

Suspicion is the poison of friendship, 57

Sweat makes good mortar, 168

Sweep before your own door before you look after your neighbour’s, 340

Sweet meat requires sour sauce, 93

Sweet song has betrayed many, 170

Sweet wine makes sour vinegar, 170

Swim on and don’t trust, 40

T.

Take a horse by his bridle and a man by his word, 333

Take a woman’s first advice and not her second, 46

Take advice of a red-bearded man, and be gone, 400

Take an ox by his horn, a man by his word, 31

Take care of your geese when the fox preaches, 400

Take care of your plough, and your plough will take care of you, 180

Take care you don’t let your tail be caught in the door, 100

Take counsel before it goes ill, lest it go worse, 312

Take down a thief from the gallows and he will hang you up, 15, 92

Take help of many, advice of few, 400

Take not your sickle to another man’s corn, 388

Take nothing in hand that may bring repentance, 335

Take the horse to the knacker, and throw in bridle and saddle, 190

Take the middle of the way and thou wilt not fall, 225

Take the world as it is, not as it ought to be, 164

Taking out without putting in soon comes to the bottom, 211, 276

Talk as you go, husband, to the gallows, 199

Talk little and well, and you will be looked upon as somebody, 223

Talk of sporting, and buy game in the market, 223

Talk of the devil and his imp appears, 178

Talk of the devil and you hear his bones rattle, 299

Talk of the wolf and behold his skin, 277

Talk of the wolf and his tail appears, 48, 299

Talking is easier than doing, and promising than performing, 166

Talking is silver, silence is gold, 166

Tall trees catch much wind, 328

Tell a lie and you’ll hear the truth, 167, 214

Tell everybody your business and the devil will do it for you, 92

Tell her she is handsome, and you will turn her head (or brain), 214,
275

Tell it her once, and the devil will tell it her ten times, 214

Tell, me the company you keep, and I’ll tell you what (or who) you
are, 16, 92, 214, 344

Tell me with whom thou goest, and I’ll tell thee what thou doest, 275

Tell no one what you would have known only to yourself, 303

Tell no tales out of school, 160

Tell not all you, know believe not all you hear, do not all you are
able, 67

Tell not all you know, nor judge of all you see, if you would live in
peace, 245

Tell your affairs in the market-place, and one will call them black
and another white, 255

Tell your friend a lie, and if he keeps it secret tell him the truth,
203, 268

Tell your friend your secret, and he will set his foot on your neck,
91, 213, 275

Ten noes are better than one lie, 401

Tender surgeons make foul wounds, 344

Thank you, pretty pussy, was the death of my cat, 119

That beer’s of your own brewing, and you must drink it, 303

That bench is well adorned that is filled with virtuous women, 352

That brings water to the mill, 9

That costs dear which is bought with begging, 77

That happens in a moment (or a day) which may not happen in a hundred
years, 20, 66

That is beggar’s fare, said the dame, when she fried eggs with the
sausages, 303

That is done soon enough which is well done, 5, 73

That is gold which is worth gold, 43, 118, 238, 290

That is good wisdom which is wisdom in the end, 324

That is not in the looking-glass which is seen in the looking-glass,
147

That is pleasant to remember which was hard to endure, 124

That is poor help that helps you from the feather-bed to the straw,
359

That may be soon done which brings long repentance, 362

That miller is honest who has hair on his teeth, 139

That mouse will have a tail (_i. e._ The thing will have a long train
of consequences), 303

That priest is a fool who decries his relics, 119

That usury is a sin some hold, but take for granted they’ve no gold,
185

That which burns thee not, cool not, 343

That which comes with sin, goes with sorrow, 375

That which covers thee discovers thee, 252

That which has been eaten out of the pot cannot be put into the dish,
362

That which has been thrown away has often to be begged for again, 393

That which is customary requires no excuse, 88

That which is stamped a penny will never be a pound, 352

That which is unsaid, may be said; that which is said, cannot be
unsaid, 363

That which must be, will be, 362

That’s all well and good, but gold is better, 303

That’s as much as a bean in a brewing copper, 325

That’s but an empty purse which is full of other men’s money, 354

That’s quickly done which is long repented, 324

Thaw reveals what has been hidden by snow, 362

The abbey does not fail for want of one monk, 46

The absent are always in the wrong, 33, 303

The absent were never in the right, 237

The accomplice is as bad as the thief, 294

The account is correct, but not a sixpence appears, 224

The act of treachery is liked, but not he that does it, 228

The aged in council—the young in action, 352

The ant gets wings that she may perish the sooner, 233 (_See_ God
gives wings)

The anvil is not afraid of the hammer, 138, 365

The anvil is used to noise, 138

The anvil lasts longer than the hammer, 95, 120

The archer that shoots badly has a lie ready, 261, 269

The arguments of the strongest have always the most weight, 31

The arms of Bruges: an ass in an arm-chair, 325

The art is not in making money, but in keeping it, 323

The ass and his driver do not think alike, 138, 304

The ass carries corn to the mill and gets thistles, 138

The ass dead, the barley at his tail, 195, 267

The ass does not know the worth of his tail till he has lost it, 107

The ass embraced the thistle, and they found themselves relations, 263

The ass of many owners is eaten by wolves, 202, 267

The ass that is common property is always the worst saddled, 30

The ass that is hungry eats thistles, 268

The ass that trespasses on a stranger’s premises will leave them
laden with wood (_i.e._ cudgelled), 268

The ass well knows in whose house he brays, 205, 269

The ass’s hide is used to the stick, 107

The ass’s son brays one hour daily, 288

The back door is the one that robs the house, 107

The bacon of paradise for the married man that does not repent, 220

The bad barber leaves neither hair nor skin, 220

The bad man always suspects knavery, 218

The bad neighbour gives a needle without thread (Galician), 198, 265

The bagpipe never utters a word till its belly is full, 27

The bailiff’s cow and another’s cow are two different cows, 140

The balance in doing its office knows neither gold nor lead, 18

The bath has sworn not to whiten the blackamoor, 225

The beadle’s cow may graze in the churchyard, 157, 331

The beadle of the parish is always of the vicar’s opinion, 31

The beard does not make the philosopher, 105

The beast dead, the venom dead, 39, 110

The beast that goes well is never without some one to try his paces,
225, 263

The beaten pay the fine, 33

The beggar’s wallet has no bottom, 103, 136

The beginning hot, the middle lukewarm, the end cold, 134

The bell does not go to mass, and yet calls every one to it, 112, 235

The belly does not accept bail, 263

The belly gives no credit, 351

The belly is a bad adviser, 138

The belly overrules the head, 36

The belly warm, the foot at rest, 268

The benefice must be taken with its liabilities, 22

The best always goes first, 125

The best cast at dice is not to play, 218

The best cause requires a good pleader, 303

The best cloth has uneven threads, 221

The best company must part, as King Dagobert said to his hounds, 26

The best driver will sometimes upset, 25

The best feed of a horse is his master’s eye, 218, 303

The best friends are in one’s purse, 140

The best goods are the cheapest, 321

The best horse stumbles sometimes, 321 (_See_ Even a horse)

The best is the cheapest, 102, 137

The best is what one has in his hand, 137

The best manure is under the farmer’s shoe, 357

The best of the mill is that the sacks can’t speak, 154

The best pears fall into the pigs’ mouths, 76

The best pilots are ashore, 303

The best spices are in small bags, 111 (_See_ Precious ointments)

The best swimmer is the first to drown himself, 85

The best trees are the most beaten, 104

The best wine has its lees, 32

The better day the better deed, 8, 221, 276

The better lawyer, the worse Christian, 328

The big fish eat the little ones, 34, 103

The bird once out of hand is hard to recover, 367

The bird ought not to soil its own nest, 37

The biter is sometimes bit, 57, 78

The bites of priests and wolves are hard to heal, 176

The blade wears out the sheath, 29

The blind man has picked up a coin, 264

The blunders of physicians are covered by the earth, 290

The boor looks after a cent as the devil after a soul, 303

The bow may be bent until it breaks, 396

The bow must not be always bent, 303

The bow that is always bent slackens or breaks, 202

The bowels support the heart, and not the heart the bowels, 260

The branch is seldom better than the stem, 397

The branch must be bent early that is to make a good crook, 363

The braying of an ass does not reach heaven, 124

The bread eaten, the company departed, 219, 291

The bucket goes so often to the well that it leaves its handle there,
128

The buckets take to fighting with the well, and get their heads
broken, 109

The bud becomes a rose, and the rose a hip, 31

The busy fly is in every man’s dish, 219

The candle that goes before gives the best light, 305

The candle that goes before is better than that which comes after, 28

The cask always smells of the herring, 28

The cask can give no other wine than what it contains, 105

The cask full, the mother-in-law drunk, 226

The cask smells of the wine it contains, 226

The cat always leaves her mark upon her friend, 203

The cat is a good friend, but scratches, 206, 269

The cat loves fish, but is loth to wet her feet, 106, 141

The cat well knows whose beard she licks, 269

The cats that drive away mice are as good as those that catch them,
147

The chamber-bell (chamber-clapper, or curtain lecture) is the worst
sound a man can have in his ears, 101

The chamois climbs high and yet is caught, 149

The child who gets a stepmother also gets a stepfather, 357

The church, the sea, or the royal household, for those who would
thrive, 225

The churl knows not the worth of spurs, 36

The coalheaver is master at home, 13

The cock is a lord (_or_ king, _or_ valiant) on his own dunghill, 95,
134, 138

The cock often crows without a victory, 400

The cook shuts his eyes when he crows, because he knows it by heart,
138

The concealer is as bad as the thief, 152

The corn falls out of a shaken sheaf, 15

The corn that is taken to a bad mill will be badly ground, 362

The counterfeit image of a pot with two ears, 305

The court of Rome likes not sheep without wool, 89

The cow does not know the value of her tail till she has lost it,
305, 383

The cow gives milk through her mouth, 141

The cow is milked, not the ox; the sheep is shorn, not the horse, 383

The cow licks no strange calf, 141

The cow that does not eat with the oxen, either eats before or after
them (Galician), 204

The cows that low most give the least milk, 141

The cross on his breast, and the devil in his acts, 226

The crow will find its mate (Like will to like), 383

The curse on the hearth wounds the deepest, 347

The danger past, the saint cheated, 118

The day I did not make my toilette, there came to my house one I did
not expect, 217

The day I did not sweep the house, there came to it one I did not
expect, 217

The day is never so holy that the pot refuses to boil, 352

The day is sure to come when the cow will want her tail, 352

The day you marry ’tis either kill or cure, 217

The days follow each other and are not alike, 35

The dead and the absent have no friends, 199, 265

The dead are soon forgotten, 35

The dead open the eyes of the living, 290

The dearer the child, the sharper must be the rod, 382

The debts go to the next heir, 141

The deceived sheep that went for wool and came back shorn, 216

The devil gets into the belfry by the vicar’s skirts, 241

The devil has his martyrs among men, 304

The devil is bad because he is old, 102

The devil is civil when he is flattered, 139

The devil is fond of his own (Galician), 238

The devil is not always at a poor man’s door, 32

The devil is not so black (or ugly) as he is painted, 102, 139, 285,
304

The devil is so fond of his son that he put out his eye, 258

The devil leads him by the nose, who the dice too often throws, 10

The devil likes to souse what is already wet, 139

The devil lurks (or sits) behind the cross, 15, 152, 213, 304

The devil may die without my inheriting his horns, 32

The devil tempts all, but the idle man tempts the devil, 102

The devil turns away from a closed door, 69, 212

The devil was handsome when he was young, 32

The devil will tempt Lucifer, 102

The devil’s in the cards, said Sam, four aces and not a single trump,
302

The devil’s meal turns half to bran, 28

The difficult thing is to get foot in the stirrup, 103

The doctor is often more to be feared than the disease, 32

The doctor seldom takes physio, 92

The dog barks and the ox feeds, 76

The dog does not get bread every time he wags his tail, 159

The dog gets into the mill under cover of the ass, 57

The dog rages at the stone, not at him who throws it, 138

The dog that barks much, bites little, 272 (_See_ Dogs that bark)

The dog that barks much is never good for hunting, 271

The dog that bites does not bark in vain, 76

The dog that has been beaten with a stick is afraid of its shadow, 101

The dog that has its bitch in town never barks well, 208

The dog that is forced into the woods will not hunt many deer, 354

The dog that is quarrelsome and not strong, woe to his hide, 77

The dog that kills wolves, is killed by wolves, 240, 271

The dog that licks ashes is not to be trusted with flour, 65

The dog that means to bite don’t bark, 101

The dog that starts the hare is as good as the one that catches it,
138

The dog wags his tail, not for you but your bread, 110, 232, 269

The dog will not get free by biting his chain, 379

The dogs bite the hindermost, 137

The dog’s kennel is not the place to keep a sausage, 380

The dress does not make the friar, 217

The drunken man’s joy is often the sober man’s sorrow, 363

The drunken mouth reveals the heart’s secrets, 171

The eagle does not catch (or hunt) flies, 29, 138 (_See_ Eagles)

The eagle does not war against frogs, 107

The early riser is healthy, cheerful, and industrious, 20

The earth covers the errors of the physician, 99

The earth hides, as it takes, the physician’s mistakes, 230

The earth is always frozen to lazy swine, 382

The earthen pan gains nothing by contact with the copper pot, 384

The egg will be more knowing than the hen, 137

The election of the abbot is not stopped for want of a monk, 119

The elephant does not feel a flea-bite, 108

The Emperor of Germany is the king of kings, the King of Spain king
of men, the King of France king of asses, the King of England king of
devils, 33

The empty waggon must make room for the full one, 139

The end crowns the work, 29, 102, 288, 322

The end of all things is death, 322

The end of mirth is the beginning of sorrow, 322

The end of the corsair is to drown, 102

The end of wrath is the beginning of repentance, 191

The envious man’s face grows sharp and his eyes big, 196, 266

The envious will die, but envy never, 34

The evil which issues from thy mouth falls into thy bosom, 218

The executioner is a keen shaver, 138

The eye is bigger than the belly, 140

The eye is blind if the mind is absent, 88

The eye is never satiated with seeing, 136

The eye of the master fattens the steed, 37, 109, 219, 380

The eye of the master makes the horse fat, and that of the mistress
the chambers neat, 325

The eyes are bigger than the belly, 306

The eyes believe themselves, the ears other people, 140

The fairer the hostess, the heavier the reckoning, 155

The false friend is like the shadow of a sun-dial, 32

The farther from Rome the nearer to God, 328

The farthest way about is the nearest way home, 143

The fat sow knows not what the hungry sow suffers, 353

The father a saint, the son a sinner (or devil), 92, 212, 275

The fatter the flea the leaner the dog, 154

The fault is as great as he that commits it, 28, 258

The fear of war is worse than war itself, 119

The feast passes and the fool remains, 118, 239

The fertile field becomes sterile without rest, 216

The fewer the words the better the prayer, 155

The fierce ox becomes tame on strange ground, 216

The fingers of the same hand are not alike, 290

The fire burns brightest on one’s own hearth, 351

The fire heeds little whose cloak it burns, 380

The fire is welcome within when icicles hang without, 351

The fire well knows whose cloak burns, 205

The first at the mill grinds first, 85

The first bird gets the first grain, 353

The first blow is as good as two, 33, 103

The first comer grinds first (First come, first served), 33

The first dish pleases every one, 107

The first in the boat has the choice of oars, 317

The first occasion offered quickly take, lest thou repine at what
thou didst forsake, 320

The first step binds one to the second, 33

The first step is all the difficulty, 26 (_See_ The difficult thing)

The first wife is a broom, and the second a lady, 228

The fish lead a pleasant life, they drink when they like, 140

The fisherman fishes in troubled water, 284

The flame is not far from the smoke, 385

The flatterer’s throat is an open sepulchre, 100

The flawed pot lasts longest, 36

The flitch hangs never so high but a dog will look out for the bone,
368

The fly flutters about the candle till at last it gets burnt, 306

The fly that bites the tortoise breaks its beak, 106

The fool cuts himself with his own knife, 32

The fool hunts for misfortune, 32

The fool knows more in his own house than the sage in other men’s, 120

The fool who is silent passes for wise, 19, 289

The foot of the farmer manures the field, 351

The forest has ears, and the field has eyes, 398

The fortress that parleys soon surrenders, 77

The fox advised the others to cut off their tails, because he had
left his own in the trap, 107

The fox changes his skin, but keeps the rogue, 138

The fox does not do as much mischief in a year as it pays for in an
hour, 235

The fox does not go twice into the same trap, 395

The fox does not prey near his hole, 188

The fox goes through the corn and does not eat, but brushes it down
with his tail (Galician), 204

The fox is knowing, but more knowing he who catches him, 233, 284

The fox knows well with whom he plays tricks, 205

The fox may lose his hair, but not his cunning, 316

The fox said the grapes were sour, 107

The fox says of the mulberries when he cannot get at them, they are
good for nothing, 2

The fox that sleeps in the morning has not his tongue feathered, 55

The fox that tarries long is on the watch for prey, 254

The fox thinks everybody eats poultry like himself, 20

The Frenchman sings well when his throat is moistened, 269

The friar (or monk) who begs for God begs for two, 222

The friendship of great men is like the shadow of a bush, soon gone, 4

The friendship of the great is fraternity with lions, 70

The frog does not bite, because it cannot, 107

The frog will jump back into the pool, although it sits on a golden
stool, 307

The fruit falls not far from the stem, 307

The fugitive finds everything impede him, 66

The full belly does not believe in hunger, 89

The full cask makes no noise, 105 (_See_ Full vessels)

The full-fed cow makes company of her tail, 228

The full-fed sheep is frightened at her own tail, 238, 290

The fuller the cask, the duller its sound, 155

The gallows takes its own, 226

The gallows was made for the unlucky, 106, 239

The game is not worth the candle, 32

The gardener’s dog neither eats greens (or lettuce) nor lets any one
else eat them, 76, 219, 290

The gardener’s dog, neither full nor hungry, 219

The gardener’s feet do no harm to the garden, 230

The generous man enriches himself by giving, the miser hoards himself
poor, 310, 354

The gentle calf sucks all the cows, 269

The gentle hawk mans herself, 41

The gentle lamb sucks any ewe as well as its mother, the surly lamb
sucks neither its own nor another, 216

The Germans carry their wit in their fingers, 33

The girl as she is taught, the flax as it is wrought, 227

The glass-dealer’s horses fell out, and he looked on to see which
kicked hardest, 254

The goat can’t well cover herself with her tail, 230

The golden ass passes everywhere, 202

The golden key opens every door, 88, 105

The good seaman is known in bad weather, 101

The good shepherd shears, not flays, 101

The good time comes but once, 103

The goose goes so often into the kitchen, till at last she sticks to
the spit, 369

The goose hisses, but does not bite, 305

The goose that has a good gander cackles loudly, 353

The goose that has lost its head no longer cackles, 353

The goslings would lead the geese out to grass, 35

The gossips fall out and tell each other truths, 254

The gown does not make the friar (or monk), 36, 105

The grapes are sour, said the fox when he could not reach them, 202,
304 (_See_ The fox said)

The greater the fear, the nearer the danger, 382

The greatest burdens are not the gainfullest, 17

The greatest conqueror is he who conquers himself, 185

The greatest cunning is to have none at all, 30

The greatest step is out of doors, 138

The green burns for the dry, and the righteous pay for sinners, 202

The greyhound that starts many hares kills none, 223, 278

The guests will go away, and we will eat the pasty, 279

The gutter by dropping wears the stone, 226

The handsomest snuffs the candle, 141

The handsomest woman can only give what she has, 30

The hardest step is over the threshold, 103

The hare always returns to her form, 32

The hare starts from where it is least expected, 91, 214, 241

The hasty man was never a traitor, 152

The headache is mine, and the cows are ours, 264

The heart does not lie, 322

The heart does not think all the mouth says, 113

The heart is no traitor, 216

The heart leads whither it goes, 32

The hen flies not far unless the cock flies with her, 399

The hen is ill off when the egg teaches her how to cackle, 360

The hen lays upon an egg, 258

The hen likes to lay in a nest where there are eggs already, 137

The hen lives by pickings, as the lion by prey, 396

The hen ought not to cackle in presence of the cock, 30

The hen that stays at home picks up the crumbs, 278

The hen’s eyes are with her chickens, 30

The hen’s eyes follow her eggs (Galician), 204, 289

The herb patience does not grow in every man’s garden, 400

The heron blames the water because he cannot swim, 374

The higher the ape climbs the more he shows his rump, 45, 154

The higher the bell is hung, the shriller it sounds, 154

The higher the mountain the lower the vale, the taller the tree the
harder the fall, 328

The higher the rise the greater the fall, 15, 69, 211

The hole invites the thief, 215

The honest man enjoys the theft, 216

The horse is not judged of by the saddle, 137

The horse must go to the manger, and not the manger to the horse, 374

The horse that draws best is the most whipped, 43, 137

The horse thinks one thing, and his rider another, 260

The horse’s best allowance is his master’s eye, 280 (_See_ The eye of
the master)

The horseshoe that clatters wants a nail, 224

The house completed, possession defeated, 77

The hunchback does not see his own hump, but sees his companion’s,
31, 216

The husband’s mother is the wife’s devil, 140

The ill year comes in swimming, 32

The injurer never forgives, 84

The interested friend is a swallow on the roof (Prepared to leave at
the approach of winter), 29

The Italianised Englishman is a devil incarnate, 109

The Italians are wise before the act, the Germans in the act, the
French after the act, 99

The Italians cry, the Germans bawl, and the French sing, 35

The Jew ruins himself with passovers, the Moor with wedding feasts,
and the Christian with lawsuits, 218

The kettle smuts the frying-pan, 31

The key at the girdle keeps me good and my neighbour too, 264

The key that is used grows bright, 139

The keys at the girdle, the dog in the larder, 228

The king cannot always rule as he wishes, 139

The king goes as far as he can, not so far as he would, 220

The king likes the treachery, but not the traitor, 239

The king of the bees has no sting, 290

The king’s chaff is better than other folk’s corn, 140

The kite’s malady, its wings broken and its beak sound, 218

The laggard cow gets the sour grass, 355

The lame goat does not take a siesta, 270

The land a man knows is his mother, 228

The last come is the best liked, 32

The last comers are often the masters, 34

The last shuts the door, 87, 139

The last stole the sack, 139

The late comer is ill lodged, 86

The later the evening the fairer the company, 155

The law devised, its evasion contrived, 278

The law says what the king pleases, 29

The lawyer’s pouch is a mouth of hell, 29

The lazy pig does not eat ripe pears, 121

The lazy servant takes eight steps to avoid one, 219, 289

The lean dog is all fleas, 197

The less said the sooner mended, 343

The letter enters with blood, 226

The liar is not believed when he speaks the truth, 69

The liar is sooner caught than the cripple, 200

The light is painful to sore eyes, 68

The lion had need of the mouse, 102

The lion is known by his claws, 90

The lion is not so fierce as he is painted, 235

The list is worse than the cloth, 29

The listener makes the backbiter, 32

The little alms are the good alms, 30

The lives of doctors, the souls of priests, and the property of
lawyers, are in great danger, 107

The longest way round is the shortest way home, 107

The Lord will not fail to come, though he may not come on horseback,
403

The loss which your neighbour does not know is no real loss, 267

The loyal man lives no longer than the traitor pleases, 237

The lucky man has a daughter for his first-born, 196, 264

The mad dog bites its master, 289

The magistrate’s son gets out of every scrape, 224

The magpie cannot leave her hopping, 304

The malady that is most incurable is folly, 289

The man has neither sense nor reason who leaves a young wife at home,
37

The man in the moon stole the wood, 139

The man of sense does not hang up his knowledge, 290

The man of your own trade is your enemy, 279

The mare’s kick does not harm the colt, 76, 226, 288

The mare’s kicks are caresses to the horse, 208, 273

The master derives honour from his art, 368

The master orders the man, the man orders the cat, and the cat orders
her tail, 282

The master’s eye and foot are the best manure for the field, 303

The master’s eye does more than both his hands, 136

The master’s eye makes the horse fat, 289 (_See_ The eye of the
master)

The master’s foot is manure for the estate, 219

The maw costs much, 305

The meaning is best known to the speaker, 33

The merchant that loses cannot laugh, 38

The middle path is the safe path, 162

The mill does not grind with water that is past (or without water),
33, 102, 209, 272

The mill gains by going, and not by standing still, 199

The miller is never so drunk that he forgets to take his dues, 390

The miller’s hen and widower’s maid, of want need never be afraid, 162

The millstone that lies undermost also helps to grind, 354

The miser and the pig are of no use till dead, 31

The miser’s bag is never full, 370

The money paid, the workman’s arm is broken, 5

The monk preached against stealing, and had the goose in his larder
(The friar preached against stealing, and had a pudding in his
sleeve), 306

The monk responds as the abbot chants, 32, 139

The monk (or friar) that begs for God’s sake begs for two, 39, 222

The month loses its own, but not the year, 240

The moon does not heed the baying of dogs, 106

The more a man exposes his nakedness the colder he is, 46

The more a woman admires her face, the more she ruins her house, 227

The more by law, the less by right, 382

The more cooks the worse broth, 382

The more fools the more laughter, 46

The more haste, the less (or worse) speed, 46, 154, 250, 328

The more knave, the better luck, 382

The more law, the less justice, 155

The more one has the more one wants, 250

The more servants the worse service, 328

The more shepherds the less care, 382

The more the fox is cursed, the more prey he catches, 123

The more the well is used the more water it yields, 155

The more you court a clown the statelier he grows, 261

The more you stir a t—d (_or_ filth, _or_ mire) the more it stinks,
46, 155, 328, 357

The more you stroke the cat’s back the more she sets up her tail, 123

The morning hour has gold in its mouth, 162, 306, 390

The mortar always smells of the garlic, 32, 103

The most cautious passes for the most chaste, 227

The most covered fire is always the most glowing, 32

The most cunning are the first caught, 36

The most difficult mountain to cross is the threshold, 362 (_See_ The
hardest step)

The most disorderly students make the most pious preachers, 140

The most friendly fortune trips up your heels, 29

The most learned are not the wisest, 305

The most prudent yields to the strongest, 70

The moth does most mischief to the finest garment, 111

The Mother of God appears to fools, 197

The mother reckons well, but the child reckons better, 205

The mother-in-law does not remember that she was once a
daughter-in-law, 237, 285

The mother-in-law must be entreated, and the pot must be let stand,
228

The mountain is in labour, and brings forth a mouse, 118

The mountaineer’s ass carries wine and drinks water, 30

The mouse does not leave the cat’s house with a bellyful, 91, 210

The mouse is knowing, but the cat more knowing, 390

The mouse may find a hole, be the room ever so full of cats, 394

The mouse that has but one hole is soon caught, 57, 219, 315

The mouth and the purse, shut, 225

The month often utters what the head must answer for, 390

The mouth that says yes, says no, 205, 269

The mule long keeps a kick in reserve for its master, 33

The myrtle is always a myrtle, though it be among nettles, 102

The nearer the bone the sweeter the flesh, 155, 328

The nearer the church the farther from God, 46, 155

The nearer the inn, the longer the road, 155

The nearer the minster the later to mass, 46

The nearest boor is the nearest kinsman when the calf lies in the
ditch, 334

The nearest the dearest, 137

The nest made, the bird dead, 287

The new is always liked, though the old is often better, 393

The niggard spends as much as he who is liberal, and in the end more,
7

The night brings counsel, 30

The nobler the blood the less the pride, 382

The nobler the tree the more pliant the twig, 328

The noise is so great one cannot hear God thunder, 31

The oaths of one who loves a woman are not to be believed, 225

The office teaches the man, 136

The official who can’t lie may as well be out of the world, 219

The oft-moved (or rolling) stone gathers no moss, 356

The old branch breaks if bent, 370

The old for want of ability, and the young for want of knowledge, let
things be lost, 220

The old man at home, and the young abroad, lie after the same
fashion, 220

The old monkey gets the apple, 30

The old ones sing, the young ones pipe (or, As the old cock crows,
the young cook learns), 342

The old saints are forgotten in the new, 291

The old wife, if she does not serve for a pot, serves for a cover, 227

The older a fool the worse he is (There is no fool like an old fool),
154

The older one grows the more one learns, 328

The older, the colder; the more avaricious, the more vicious, 154

The one-eyed is a king in the land of the blind, 6, 172, 222, 286

The only victory over love is flight, 31

The only way to keep a secret is to say nothing, 25

The open door invites the thief, 306 (_See_ The hole; _also_
Opportunity)

The owl does not praise the light, nor the wolf the dog, 402

The owl thinks her children the fairest, 402

The ox comes to the yoke at the call of his feeder, 197

The ox spoke and said “Moo,”, 223

The ox that tossed me threw me into a good place, 216, 270

The ox without a bell is soon lost, 216

The pan says to the pot, Keep off, or you’ll smutch me, 106

The paunch warm, the foot sleepy, 204

The people’s voice, God’s voice, 64, 132, 140, 174

The pike grows big on small fry, 370

The pitcher goes so often to the well that it gets broken at last,
58, 139, 305, 383

The pitcher goes so often to the well that it leaves its handle or
its mouth, 131, 208, 258, 271

The point of the thorn is small, but he who has felt it does not
forget it, 97

The poor man eats at double cost, 288

The poor man has his crop destroyed by hail every year, 217

The poor man seeks for food, the rich man for appetite, 368

The poor man wants much, the miser everything, 353

The poor man’s corn always grows thin, 368

The poor must dance as the rich pipe, 140

The poor-houses are filled with the honestest people, 211

The pope and a peasant know more than the pope alone, 125

The pope eats peasants, gulps gentlemen, and voids monks, 139

The pot boils best on your own hearth, 365

The pot that boils too much loses its flavour, 291

The pot upbraids the kettle that it is black, 306

The pride of the poor does not endure, 368

The priest errs at the altar, 97

The priest loves his flock, but the lambs more than the wethers, 139

The priest to his book, the peasant to his plough, 395

The proof of the pudding is in the eating, 307

The rat does not leave the cat’s house with a bellyful, 274

The rat that has but one hole is soon caught, 198, 354, 299 (_See_
The mouse)

The raven always thinks that her young ones are the whitest, 395

The raven is fair when the rook is not by, 395

The repeated stroke will fell the oak, 173

The rich devour the poor, and the devil devours the rich, and so both
are devoured, 306

The rich have many friends, 337

The rich man has more relations than he knows, 33

The rich man transgresses the law, and the poor man is punished, 259

The rich widow’s tears soon dry, 396

The richest man carries nothing away with him but a shroud, 33

The richest man, whatever his lot, is he who’s content with what he
has got, 318

The right hand is slave to the left, 105

The righteous man sins before an open chest, 221

The righteous pays for the sinner, 290

The river does not swell with clear water, 102

The river passed the saint forgotten, 118

The road to heaven is equally short, where’er we die, 361

The road to ruin is paved with good intentions, 139

The roses fall, and the thorns remain, 108

The rotten apple spoils its companion, 227

The saint has no believers unless he works miracles, 114

The saint who works no cures has few pilgrims to his shrine, 55

The saint’s-day over, farewell the saint, 29

The same fire purifies gold and consumes straw, 126

The same shoe does not fit every foot, 74

The scabbier the sheep the harder it bleats, 328

The scalded cat (or dog) dreads cold water, 101, 223

The scoffer’s own house is often on fire, 357

The secret in swimming is to know how to take care of your clothes,
226

The secret of two is God’s secret, the secret of three is everybody’s
secret, 56

The servant wench that has a mother in town swoons seven times a day,
250

The shadow of a lord is a cap for a fool, 118

The sharper soon (or easily) cheats the covetous man, 220, 290

The she-bear thinks her cubs pretty, 70

The sheep on the mountain is higher than the bull on the plain, 28

The sheep that bleat most give the least milk, 367

The sheep that bleats loses a mouthful, 9, 119, 238, 290

The sheep that is too tame is sucked by too many lambs, 9

The ship does not go without the boat, 106

The shirt is nearer than the doublet, 66, 231, 398

The shortest follies are the best, 35

The shovel scouts the poker, 30

The sick man is free to say all, 109

The sick man is vexed with the flies on the wall, 137

The sick man sleeps when the debtor cannot, 106

The silent dog is the first to bite, 168

The silent man is most trusted, 400

The skin is nearer than the shirt, 30

The sky is not the less blue because the blind man does not see it,
374

The smith’s dog sleeps at the noise of the hammer, and wakes at the
grinding of teeth, 219

The smoke of my own house is better than another man’s fire, 121

The snail, to be rid of annoyances, bartered its eyes for horns, 216

The soldier is well paid for doing mischief, 103

The soldier’s blood exalts the captain, 103

The son of an ass brays twice a day, 217

The son-in-law’s sack is never full, 290

The sound of the bell does not drive away rooks, 127

The sow prefers the mire, 398

The spider’s web lets the rat escape and catches the fly, 228

The spot will come out in the washing, 197

The steps at court are slippery, 401

The stew mixed by many is ill-seasoned and worse cooked (Too many
cooks spoil the broth), 238

The stew that boils much loses flavour, 238

The still swine eat the mash, the wild ones run past it, 352

The stone is hard and the drop is small, but a hole is made by the
constant fall, 228

The stone that everybody spits upon will be wet at last, 356

The strong man’s sport is the weak man’s death, 170

The stronger the seam the worse the rent, 14

The strongest is always in the right, 103

The sun passes over filth and is not defiled, 71

The sun shines for all the world, 35

The sun will bring to light what lay under the snow, 141

The sun-dial counts only the bright hours, 141

The sweetest grapes hang highest, 141

The sword and the ring according to the hand that bears them, 226,
264

The sword keeps the peace of the land, 403

The tail is the hardest to scourge, 30, 105

The tailor ill-dressed, the shoemaker ill-shod, 265

The talker sows, the listener reaps, 85

The teeth of the puppy are growing while the old dog is gnawing
bones, 347

The tender surgeon makes a foul wound, 102

The thief becomes the gallows well, 269

The thief cannot find any tree that suits him for a gallows, 147

The thief is frightened even by a mouse, 69

The thief proceeds from a needle to gold, and from gold to the
gallows, 288

The thief thinks that all men are like himself, 240, 288

The thief’s wife does not always laugh, 114

The third person makes good company, 304

The thirteenth man brings death, 304

The thorn comes into the world point foremost, 226

The thread breaks where it is thinnest, 217

The threatener loses the opportunity of vengeance, 215

The threatener sometimes gets a drubbing, 58

The threshold says nothing but what it hears of the hinge, 235

The tired mare goes willingly to grass, 276

The tired ox plants his foot firmly, 216

The tongue goes where the tooth aches (or to the aching tooth), 29,
94, 196, 280

The tongue of a bad friend cuts more than a knife, 226

The tongue wounds more than a lance, 61

The tooth often bites the tongue, and yet they keep together, 400

The town that parleys is half surrendered, 64

The trade of thick-headed Michael: eating, drinking, and idling, 303

The treason approved, the traitor abhorred, 172, 265

The tree does not fall at the first stroke, 6, 31, 70, 304

The tree is not felled at one blow, 68

The tree is not to be judged of by its bark, 91

The tree is sure to be pruned before it reaches the skies, 401

The tree must be bent while it is young, 137

The Trojans were wise too late, 128

The two make a pair, 34

The unbidden guest is ever a pest, 171

The unfortunate know who are their real friends, 89

The unrighteous penny consumes the righteous dollar, 172

The upright never grow rich in a hurry, 396

The venom is in the tail, 111

The virtue of silence is a great piece of knowledge, 132

The voice of the people is the voice of God, 262 (_See_ Vox Populi,
vox Dei, in _Dict. of Quotations_)

The waggon must go whither the horses draw it, 403

The watch-dog does not get sweet milk unless there be drowned mice in
it, 398

The water breaks out where it is not expected, 94

The water runs while the miller sleeps, 402

The weakest goes to the wall, 125

The weakest must hold the candle, 6

The wedding feast is not made with mushrooms only, 237

The weeping bride makes a laughing wife, 176

The well-bred hound, if he does not hunt to-day will hunt to-morrow,
216

The well-dressed woman draws her husband away from another woman’s
door, 227

The well-fed man does not believe in hunger, 103

The well-fed sheep makes a cloak of its tail, 227

The wet branch burns better than the dry stone, 349

The white coat does not make the miller, 107

The wicked shun the light as the devil shuns the cross, 306

The will gives the work its name, 140

The will is everything, 107

The will is taken for the deed, 37

The will is the soul of the work, 140

The wind does not always blow from the same quarter, 147

The wine given to your workmen is that for which you get the best
paid, 36

The wine is not known by the hoops, 42

The wine-skin has its reasons for smelling of pitch, 264

The winter is gone, the spring is come, a fig for those who us good
have done, 218

The wise drunkard is a sober fool, 171

The wise hand does not all that the tongue says, 227

The wise knows that he does not know, the ignoramus thinks he knows,
205

The wise man does not hang his knowledge on a hook, 217

The wise man has long ears and a short tongue, 139

The wit one wants spoils what one has, 36

The wolf and the fox are both in one story, 218

The wolf bemoans the sheep, and then eats it, 102

The wolf does that in the course of the week which hinders him from
going to mass on Sunday, 218

The wolf eats of what is counted, 211, 275 (_See_ Counted sheep)

The wolf is always left out of the reckoning, 90

The wolf is not always a wolf, 102

The wolf is not so big as people make him (or The wolf is always said
to be bigger than he is), 42, 126

The wolf loses his teeth, but not his inclinations, 218, 233, 288

The wolf picks the ass’s fleas by moonlight, 195

The wolf preys not in his own field (or commits no mischief at home),
218, 402

The wolf will die in his skin, 32

The woman in finery, the house in filth, but the doorway swept, 227

The woman who gives is seldom good; the woman who accepts is in the
power of the giver, 93

The wood has ears, the field has eyes, 139

The word of honour of a gentleman—another pledge would be better, 18

The words are fair, said the wolf, but I will not come into the
village, 307

The work praises the workman, 137

The workman is known by his work, 3, 70, 296

The workman is worthy of his hire, 312

The world belongs to the phlegmatic, 103

The world is for him who has patience, 103

The world is governed with little brains, 89