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 dismisses strong attention to small matters as a sign of shallow judgment. A careful reading asks whether the detail matters before accepting that dismissal.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying pictures stars disappearing from view in sunshine. As a metaphor, a dominant presence can draw attention away from less conspicuous contributions.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
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.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A secret or forbidden affection may seem especially exciting. The stolen image must not be used to romanticise contact without consent.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Attend to the faults or responsibilities within your own reach before criticising everyone else. Self-examination can make criticism more responsible.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying groups women with swine and bees as supposedly difficult to redirect or control. It expresses a demeaning stereotype of obstinacy, rather than a trustworthy description of women.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
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.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A person who is not present can become an easy target for blame because they cannot explain or challenge the account. Be cautious about judgements made without hearing them.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
The arguments of powerful people may receive acceptance because of their position. Distinguish influence from reasons that would remain persuasive without the speaker’s power.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
The person already harmed can face an additional penalty. The saying exposes unfair allocation of blame or cost rather than establishing that victims deserve punishment.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying pictures a beggar as never taking the wrong route. It suggests that someone seeking assistance may find a possible opportunity wherever they go.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying demands that a person use an ability they possess. Its command to force the unwilling raises a question about responsibility and consent.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A modest option may become acceptable when someone has a pressing need. The cat accepting a crust suggests circumstances shaping a choice, without proving someone’s desperation or making minimal provision all they deserve.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A person responsible for operating a system can influence how it behaves. The clock and clerk draw attention to the discretion behind an apparently fixed arrangement, without proving that every operator is acting unfairly.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying places a cock’s crow before a hen’s movement. It gives a voice and a following action different roles without supplying a wider setting.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying pictures an empty leech sucking intensely. As an explicit analogy, a strong unmet demand may be imagined to increase the force of taking.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A damaged reputation may outlast the original injury or event. The saying contrasts recovery with the persistence of a bad name, while its absolute wording should not deny repair, presume blame or suggest that a reputation can never change.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
The seriousness of a fault can depend on the responsibility and influence of the person committing it. Greater power may create greater consequences and stronger duties.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying states that a fifer does not pay a fiddler. A qualified reading contrasts providing music oneself with paying another musician to provide it.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Need changes how an offer is experienced. The full stomach rejecting sweetness and the hungry one welcoming bitterness contrast abundance with urgency.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying makes a greater truth a greater libel. Its provocative contrast suggests that an accurate accusation may be felt as especially damaging by its subject.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
The hen-and-cock comparison expresses a rule that silences one voice before another. Treat it as a historical hierarchy to examine, rather than a fair principle for conversation.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying gives a lame person and a staggerer equal distance. It compares two different difficulties in movement rather than proving that one description determines an outcome.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying claims law differs between morning and night. It presents a striking change over a single day without identifying a rule or the reason for the difference.
Read the explanation and example ↗