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
Destroying or undoing something can require less effort than creating it. The contrast between pulling down and building asks for care before removing useful work, without making every existing structure or practice worth preserving.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A task can seem easy when the conditions already favour it. The downhill image asks how much the favourable situation contributes, rather than assuming a smooth result proves exceptional skill or that easy work has no value.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Protect what you will need afterward before taking an action that puts it at risk. Keeping clothes safe while swimming becomes an image of preparation and attention to foreseeable consequences.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A matter with serious consequences should not be treated as harmless experimentation. The edged-tool image warns about careless involvement, while leaving room for informed participation, appropriate support and a considered decision.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (Spanish-language collection)
A result can be spoiled at the point when work moves into its next stage. The crooked loaf makes careful handling part of finishing, rather than treating preparation alone as enough.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
People doing a community’s work need a means of support. The altar represents the activity through which the priest serves and receives a livelihood.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Unstructured inactivity can feel more uncomfortable than a manageable task. The saying contrasts restless waiting with the purpose found in doing something.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
An impressive display is different from performing the demanding task itself. The contrast between flourishing and fighting asks whether apparent readiness is supported by practical ability, without treating modest presentation as proof of competence.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A small additional demand can become too much when many earlier burdens have accumulated. The final trigger may look minor without being the whole cause.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A careless spender’s apparent economy can create greater costs. The paradox questions savings that preserve the wrong thing while undermining the larger purpose.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Something that permits no repair may be difficult to keep useful. The sack-and-patching image values room for correction, without making every proposed change good or blaming someone for a limit they cannot alter.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
An approach that works against the nature of a task can make it unnecessarily difficult. Shaving against the wool pictures resistance created by the chosen method.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Saving at one small point is ineffective if resources are escaping much faster elsewhere. Look for the larger source of waste instead of relying on a visible but minor economy.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Knowing a little about many tasks may leave someone without deep expertise in any one. Match the breadth and depth of your skills to what the work actually needs.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
An object that seems unnecessary now may become useful later. The seven-year claim exaggerates that possibility, rather than giving a dependable timetable or requiring someone to keep every unused possession.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Attend to the work that supports your livelihood. The shop is pictured as returning care through its ability to sustain the person who maintains it.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Useful effort can bring an immediate sense of activity and progress, while avoidable neglect may cause trouble. The warmth image contrasts engagement with inaction.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Trying to escape a small effort may lead to a larger one. This closely resembles the idle-folk saying and warns about an ineffective shortcut, without providing a fair label for everyone who pauses or needs help.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Build a basic skill before attempting its more demanding form. Learning the foundations can make an ambitious next step more reliable and easier to understand.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Shared work benefits when people attend to their own responsibilities. Clear roles can prevent essential tasks being neglected while everyone interferes with someone else’s job.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Each person should account for the responsibilities they have taken on. The travelling-seller image encourages clarity about who carries a task, while sharing an agreed load or asking for needed assistance can still be part of responsible cooperation.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Each person or undertaking should have a basis that can support its responsibilities. The tub standing on its own bottom pictures that stability, without making independence a demand to refuse cooperation or needed help.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Different tasks may call for different skills, even when they appear closely related. The fiddler and fifer picture that distinction, while leaving room for people to learn another task or demonstrate competence in both.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Let the person best suited to the immediate task take the lead. The dog and obstacle image values relevant capability, without making one success a permanent rank or denying others the chance to learn and contribute.
Read the explanation and example ↗