| Proverbs | Meaning |
|---|---|
| A bad workman always blames his tools | Someone blames the quality of their equipment or other external factors when they perform a task poorly. |
| A bird in hand is worth two in the bush | Things we already have are more valuable than what we hope to get. |
| A cat has nine lives | Someone can survive seemingly fatal events |
| A drowning man will clutch at a straw | When someone is in a difficult situation, s/he will take any available opportunity to improve it |
| A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step | You must begin something if you hope to finish it; something that takes a long time to finish begins with one step. |
| A leopard doesn’t change its spots | A person can’t change its innate character, especially bad. |
| A picture is worth a thousand words | An image can tell a story better than words. |
| A rolling stone gathers no moss | A person who is always changing jobs and places has the advantage of less responsibilities, but also the disadvantage of no fixed place to live. |
| A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what a ship is for | Get out of your comfort zone to grow and fulfill your potential. |
| A stitch in time saves nine | It’s better to deal with problems immediately rather than wait by when they worsen and become much bigger. |
| A watched pot never boils | If something takes time to do, it doesn’t help to constantly check on it. You just have to give it time. |
| Absence makes the heart grow fonder | Being away from someone or something for a period of time makes you appreciate that person or thing more when you see them or it again. |
| Actions speak louder than words | What you do is more important than what you say. |
| All good things must come to an end | Everything ends; good times don’t last forever. |
| All’s fair in love and war | One can break the rules of fair play under extenuating circumstances. |
| All’s well that ends well | As long as the outcome is good, problems on the way don’t matter. |
| Always put your best foot forward | Try as hard as you can or give your best. |
| An apple a day keeps the doctor away | If you eat healthily, you will be healthy. |
| An empty vessel makes much noise | Foolish or stupid people are the most talkative. |
| An idle brain is the devil’s workshop | If you’ve nothing to do, you’ll likely think of mischief. |
| Barking dogs seldom bite | People who appear threatening rarely do harm. |
| Beauty is in the eye of the beholder | What is “beautiful” is different for each person |
| Beggars can’t be choosers | If you’re in a bad situation and someone offers to help you, you have to take whatever they give you and shouldn’t ask for more. |
| Best things in life are free | The most valuable things are often free. |
| Better late than never | It’s better to finish something late than to never do it at all |
| Birds of a feather flock together | People who are similar spend time together |
| Blood is thicker than water | Relationships with family (or blood relatives) is stronger than other relationships. |
| Cleanliness is next to godliness | It’s good to be clean. God is clean, and you should be too. |
| Cross the stream where it is shallowest | To do things in the easiest possible way |
| Curiosity killed the cat | Enquiring into others’ work can be dangerous. One should mind own business. |
| Curses, like chickens, come home to roost | The consequences of doing wrong always catch up with the wrongdoer. |
| Don’t bite the hand that feeds you | Don’t make someone angry or hurt someone who is helping you or paying for you. |
| Don’t blow your own trumpet | You should avoid proudly talking of your achievements and success in front of others. |
| Don’t count your chickens before they hatch | Don’t expect a positive result before you actually see it. |
| Don’t judge a book by its cover | Don’t judge someone or something by appearance alone. |
| Don’t kill the goose that lays the golden eggs | If you kill a goose that lays golden eggs, you destroy something that makes lot of money for you. |
| Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket | Don’t put all of your hopes and resources into one goal or dream. |
| Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today | If you can do something today, do it. Don’t wait until tomorrow; don’t procrastinate. |
| Don’t put too many irons in the fire | Don’t try to do too many things at the same time; focus on one thing at a time. |
| Easy come, easy go | When you make money quickly, it’s very easy to lose it quickly as well. |
| Every cloud has a silver lining | Every bad or negative situation can result in some benefit to you. |
| Fall seven times. Stand up eight | Be resilient and try despite failures. That’s how you succeed. |
| Fortune favors the bold | People who are brave and who take risks are more successful than people who are do things safely all the time. |
| God helps those who help themselves | Don’t just wait for good things to happen to you. Work hard to make them happen. |
| Good things come to those who wait | If you are patient, good things can happen. |
| Grief divided is made lighter | If you share your grief, it’ll get easier to bear. |
| Half a loaf is better than none | Getting less than what one wants is better than not getting anything. |
| Honesty is the best policy | It’s always better to tell the truth than it is to lie. |
| Hope for the best, prepare for the worst | In any situation, be optimistic about the result, but always be ready for the worst outcome. |
| If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it | If something is already working well, there’s no point trying to change it. |
| If you can’t beat them, join them | If you can’t change someone’s behavior or opinion, sometimes it’s better or easier to do what they want to do. |
| If you play with fire, you’ll get burned | If you get involved in something dangerous or beyond your abilities, you will probably experience negative consequences. |
| If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself | Don’t depend on someone else to do a good job; do it yourself |
| It takes two to make a quarrel | An argument of quarrel is not one person’s fault. |
| It takes two to tango | Where two parties are involved in a situation, fault usually lies with both if things go wrong. Rarely can one party be blamed entirely. |
| It’s better to be safe than sorry | You should always take any necessary precautions. |
| It’s not over till it’s over | Till the event has completely played, you’re still in with a chance to succeed. |
| Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer | If someone is your enemy, treat them like a friend so you can be ready if they ever try to betray you |
| Knowledge is power | The more you know, the more powerful you can be in different areas of your life |
| Laughter is the best medicine | When you’re in a difficult situation, laughing can make it easier to get through that situation. |
| Learn to walk before you run | Learn basic skills first before venturing into complex things. |
| Life begins at forty | A person truly starts enjoying life after forty as a result of accumulated skills and wisdom. |
| Lightning never strikes twice in the same place | Misfortune does not occur twice in the same way to the same person. |
| Like father, like son | Said when a son is similar to his father; also, “Like mother, like daughter”. |
| Money talks | Money gives one power and influence. |
| No gain without pain | It is necessary to suffer or work hard in order to succeed or make progress. |
| No man is an island | No one is truly capable of living alone. We need human connection to be healthy. |
| No news is good news | If you don’t receive any news about someone or something, it means that everything is fine and going normally. |
| Once bitten twice shy | Someone will not do something a second time because they had a bad experience the first time they did it. |
| One man’s junk is another man’s treasure | What may seem to be junk to one person maybe valuable to another. |
| Out of sight, out of mind | If someone or something is not seen for a long time, it’ll be forgotten. |
| People who live in glass houses should not throw stones | Don’t criticize someone if you’re not perfect either; don’t be a hyprocrite. |
| Play the waiting game | To postpone or delay a decision or course of action so as to first see what might happen or what one's opponent(s) might do. |
| Practice makes perfect | The more you do something, the better you will become at it. |
| Rome wasn’t built in a day | Important work takes time to complete. |
| Silence is half consent | If you don’t object to what someone says or does, you may be assumed to agree to some extent. |
| Slow and steady wins the race | Slow and consistent work leads to better chance of success than quick work in spurts. |
| Still waters run deep | If a person doesn’t speak much, it doesn’t mean they lack depth or are uninteresting. |
| Strike while the iron is hot | Take advantage of an opportunity as soon as it comes along. |
| The early bird gets the worm | People who wake up early or act promptly will have more opportunities available to them and a better chance of success. |
| The end justifies the means | A desired result is so important that any method, even a morally bad one, may be used to achieve it. |
| The enemy of my enemy is my friend | If someone whom I don’t like doesn’t like someone else whom I don’t like, we can act like friends and unite against the other person (common in war) |
| The grass is always greener on the other side | People always want what they don’t have. |
| The pen is mightier than the sword | If you’re trying to convince someone of something, words and ideas are stronger than using physical force (common in politics). |
| The show must go on | A performance, event, etc., must continue even though there are problems. |
| The squeaky wheel gets the grease | The person who complains in a situation is more likely to get something. |
| There is no place like home | Your home is the most comfortable place in the world. |
| There is no such thing as a free lunch | Nothing is free. Even the things that are free have a hidden cost. |
| There is no time like the present | Don’t wait to do something. Do it now. |
| Time is money | Don’t waste your time or other people’s time; also, if you can use your time to make money in some way, you should do that. |
| Too many cooks spoil the broth | When too many people work together on a project, the result is inferior. |
| Two heads are better than one | It’s easier to do something as a team than by yourself. |
| Two wrongs don’t make a right | Trying to get revenge on someone who has hurt you will only make things worse. |
| What goes around comes around | If someone treats other people badly, he or she will eventually be treated badly by someone else. |
| When in Rome, do as the Romans do | When you are in a new place or situation, try to act like the majority of people in that place or situation. |
| When the going gets tough, the tough get going | When a situation becomes difficult, strong people don’t give up; they work harder. |
| Where one door shuts, another opens. | When you lose an opportunity to do one thing, an opportunity to do something else appears. |
| Where there’s a will, there’s a way | If you are determined, you will find a way to achieve what you want. |
| Where there’s smoke, there’s fire | If something seems wrong, it probably is; also, there is usually some truth to a rumor. |
| While the cat’s away, the mice will play | Without supervision, people will do as they please, especially in disregarding or breaking rules. |
| You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink it | You can try to help someone by giving good advice, but you can’t force them to accept it or follow it |
| You can’t always get what you want | Don’t complain if you don’t get what you want |
| You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs | It is hard to achieve something important without causing unpleasant effects. |
| You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar | If you have a sweet disposition you will get more from people than if you are rude to them. |