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
The saying praises a valued spouse through the language of a prize. A careful reading recognises mutual care without treating a partner as an object won.
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Look for what is good in other people while examining what you can improve in yourself. This can balance a habit of excusing yourself and criticising everyone else.
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Claiming your own excellence does not by itself give others a reason to trust that claim. Offer relevant evidence or let others assess the work, while recognising that truthful self-description can be useful.
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This saying presents women’s silence as desirable, reflecting a restrictive gender expectation. It should be read as an old viewpoint, not as a rule about who deserves to speak.
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The saying claims that remaining in one’s proper place prevents others from making one rise. It connects an accepted position with security, without defining what makes the place proper.
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The saying treats a person disparaged as a slut as good enough to make pottage for someone disparaged as a sloven. It pairs two insults to express a reduced standard of suitability.
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Chink evokes money, while stink represents an unpleasant or objectionable cost someone accepts to obtain it. The saying exposes willingness to overlook what is wrong for an advantage, rather than endorsing that willingness or proving that every paid activity is compromised.
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People differ in the judgement they bring to a situation. The wordplay contrasts wise with otherwise, without providing a fair way to divide everyone permanently into two kinds of person.
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A hurtful statement can cause deep distress, sometimes felt more sharply than a physical injury. The comparison asks people to take emotional harm seriously rather than treating words as weightless.
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The saying gives sorrow a purpose only in remorse for wrongdoing. A careful reading distinguishes that religious or moral emphasis from the many other reasons people grieve.
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A small charitable gesture does not make a larger dishonest act acceptable. Consider where the benefit came from rather than letting a visible donation conceal the wrong that supplied it.
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Aim to conduct yourself in a way that honours the care or example you received. Being worthy of parents is better understood as reflection on values than obedience to every expectation.
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Results can reflect the conditions and practices from which they develop. The tree-and-fruit comparison asks what produced an outcome, without making one result a complete judgement of a person or a rule about inherited worth.
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Attend to the faults or responsibilities within your own reach before criticising everyone else. Self-examination can make criticism more responsible.
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Reputation can feel inseparable from a person’s place in the world. Losing a good name is described with the intensity of losing life itself.
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Give someone credit for a genuine intention when they could not complete the act. The saying favours a charitable reading of willingness, without making good intentions equivalent to fulfilled responsibilities or repaired harm.
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The people you regularly spend time with may reveal something about your interests and choices. Consider how a group influences you, while avoiding judgement based on association alone.
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The saying ranks temperance as the best medicine. It gives moderation a medicinal role and places it above other means without supplying a measured comparison.
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Deeply established habits can seem inseparable from a person. The bone-and-flesh image emphasises persistence, but its word never overstates the point: early patterns can be questioned and changed, and they do not prove an unalterable inherited character.
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An unhelpful practice can be picked up quickly through example or convenience. The saying encourages attention to what is being learned, without claiming that harmful habits are inevitable or that a person cannot change.
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Money in your possession is not necessarily money you are free to use. If it belongs to someone else or is already owed, a full purse may conceal a lack of available resources.
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Resources without guidance or responsibility can create opportunities for careless choices. The saying warns about indulgence while making an overly broad claim about youth.
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A convincing lie can be especially harmful because people are more likely to trust it. Best is an ironic description of successful deception, without proving that every false statement has the same consequences.
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A valued occasion can be honoured by a worthwhile action. The saying connects the significance of a day with what someone does on it, without making good deeds depend on a special date or deciding which occasions everyone must value.
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