The collection / 1,755 fragments
Passages, proverbs, and questions carried across the ages.
Meaning: What happens at an earlier stage shapes the result of the stage that follows. The saying links preparation with outcome, while leaving room for unexpected events, shared responsibilities and opportunities to correct an earlier choice.
Meaning: An improper incentive can gain access to a decision that ought to depend on fair reasons. The image warns about influence slipping past normal scrutiny, rather than claiming every gift is corrupt or every decision-maker can be bought.
Meaning: The saying claims a brim-full vessel contains no deceit. It gives visible fullness an image of straightforward generosity or candour.
Meaning: An attractive surface does not repair an underlying problem. The broken-leg image contrasts decoration with what a difficulty actually requires, encouraging attention to causes and function without dismissing appearance or presenting a medical treatment rule.
Meaning: A responsibility you choose may feel more worthwhile than one imposed on you. The proverb connects willingness with how a burden is experienced, while overstating matters if it suggests freely chosen work cannot be tiring or difficult.
Meaning: The back and its burden form an image of carrying responsibilities or difficulty. Read cautiously, the saying can encourage confidence in responding to a particular task; it cannot prove that every load is bearable or that hardship was assigned for someone’s benefit.
Meaning: You may not fully understand the difficulties another person carries. Avoid deciding how easy their situation should be from what is visible to you, and make room to hear their account.
Meaning: The hardest or most demanding task is not necessarily the most rewarding. Consider what the effort actually achieves rather than using the size of the burden as proof of its value.
Meaning: An unpleasant experience can make someone cautious about encountering the same danger again. Their reluctance may reflect what happened before rather than the present situation alone.
Meaning: Purposeful activity can give life interest and structure, as salt adds flavour. Here business can be read as having something to do, without making paid employment the only valuable activity or treating constant busyness as a virtue.
Meaning: People may need to act according to the particular responsibilities or circumstances before them. The saying invites attention to the task that actually belongs to someone, without making occupation the whole of their identity.
Meaning: Imperfect protection can be preferable to having none. The bush and open field contrast limited shelter with exposure, without proving that any poor option is acceptable or that a better alternative cannot be found.
Meaning: Visible busyness can be out of proportion to the work that needs doing. The saying questions an appearance of activity, without proving that an observer knows someone’s full workload or that every unproductive-looking task is pointless.
Meaning: The saying prefers paying for meat to paying a doctor. It gives food provision priority through a contrast with the expense of illness.
Meaning: The saying ranks butter differently across the day: gold in the morning, silver at noon and lead at night. The metal sequence makes its imagined value decline with time.
Meaning: An apparently innocent or composed manner can invite scepticism about what someone has done. The butter image is a pointed comment on appearances, not proof that a quiet person is deceptive.
Meaning: A modest supply may be too small to satisfy many demands. The butter-and-hounds image asks whether the amount available fits the number and scale of needs placed upon it.
Meaning: The saying puts butter in a cow’s horn once a year. It presents an unusual placement as a rare occurrence, without explaining the custom or circumstance intended.
Meaning: Someone understands where their advantage comes from and acts to protect it. The saying often points to self-interest behind a choice, especially when loyalty or agreement brings a benefit.
Meaning: Inspect what you are agreeing to acquire before committing. An unseen or poorly understood offer may turn out to be different from what you expected.
Meaning: Someone considering a purchase should examine what is being offered rather than rely only on its appeal. The saying encourages informed questions, while leaving sellers responsible for honest descriptions and avoiding blame when deception or unequal information prevents a fair choice.
Meaning: A person accepting an item may need to examine it more carefully than the person offering it. Do not assume the giver’s or seller’s knowledge makes your own questions unnecessary.
Meaning: You cannot use up a benefit and still keep it available. Some desirable outcomes conflict, so a decision requires accepting what you give up.
Meaning: Easy conditions can make a task seem simpler than it is. The calm sea allows anyone to appear capable at the helm, cautioning against judging skill solely by an occasion that required little adjustment.