Words worth understanding
Start with the thought in plain English. Then examine its imagery, practical application and limitations.
2,058 selected entries have editorial explanations. An explanation is not independent authentication of an attribution. Start with the individually source-checked classics ↗
proverb · Traditional proverb
A small flaw can attract particular attention against an otherwise excellent background. The cloth represents high quality or strong expectations, while the spot explains why one defect may seem disproportionately conspicuous.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional proverb
Inner purpose can motivate more effectively than repeated outside pressure. The spur in the head stands for a reason someone understands or accepts, while the spurs at the heels represent urging imposed by others.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Someone who refuses to use or share anything can experience possessions as perpetual scarcity. The saying criticises miserliness rather than people who lack resources.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Dealing with a small problem early can prevent it from becoming a larger, more difficult problem later. Timely attention often saves extra work and disruption.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A story can gain details or emphasis as it passes from one teller to another. The phrase never loses uses exaggeration to warn about embellishment, without proving that every retelling is false.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying values an earlier swarm of bees far more than a later one. The load of hay and worthless fly exaggerate the contrast between timing and expected benefit.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
A companion drawn mainly by hospitality may not remain dependable when the benefits end. Sharing a table alone does not establish lasting friendship.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A task with little material to deal with may be finished quickly. The thin meadow pictures a small amount of work, suggesting that speed of completion should be considered alongside the task’s size and substance.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Frequent familiarity can reduce appreciation. Something useful or valuable may be taken for granted because it is always present rather than because its worth has diminished.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional proverb
Something unwanted can impose a cost even when its price is low. The saying asks whether an acquisition serves a real purpose, instead of letting a bargain alone determine what is worth having.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Earthly possessions lose their comparative importance in the imagined final judgment. Money and a small amount of hay are placed on the same level.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying treats a tradesperson’s lack of gain as a loss. It judges merely standing still as insufficient within the commercial activity it imagines.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Judge an action or undertaking by what it produces rather than by its outward show. Look at conduct and results when deciding whether a promising appearance is supported by substance.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Offering a bet does not establish that a claim is true. Confidence or willingness to risk something cannot replace reasons and evidence.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Waiting can feel slower when you constantly monitor the thing you are waiting for. Redirecting your attention may make an unavoidable delay easier to tolerate, without changing its actual duration.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying claims that a wet August prevents scarcity. Its absolute promise makes an expected relationship between rain and provision stronger than the wording can prove.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying declares a whet no hindrance. It treats a sharpening or refreshing step as compatible with progress rather than necessarily delaying it.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Stubbornly ignoring relevant limits can bring difficulty. The saying warns about wilfulness without treating every firm decision as unreasonable.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying links March wind and April rain with a beautiful May. It gives early weather a role in preparing a pleasing later season.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Different signals make little difference when neither reaches the intended recipient. The horse image asks whether a message can actually be received, without making a communication barrier the recipient’s fault.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Revising a view when there is good reason can be a sign of sound judgement. The saying challenges stubbornness, without making every change sensible or every settled conviction foolish.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional proverb
Chosen solitude can contain rich thought rather than an absence of company. The paradox values a person’s engagement with reflection, while distinguishing welcome time alone from loneliness that someone does not want.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying mocks women as unable to keep information private unless they do not know it. This is a sexist accusation about confidentiality, not a reliable judgement of any individual.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying compares women’s minds with changeable winter wind, presenting them as unreliable or inconsistent. This is a sexist generalisation, not evidence about the judgement of a particular woman.
Read the explanation and example ↗