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. |