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 (French-language collection)
Rules can be influenced by the wishes of those who hold power. Distinguish the existence of a rule from evidence that it is impartial or fair.
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The image expresses fear that legal expense may consume resources without a clear limit. Examine costs and scope, while avoiding an unfair accusation against an entire profession.
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A burden may be out of proportion to the person assigned to carry it. The small-boy-and-large-fiddle image questions that mismatch, without making size a reliable measure of ability or claiming the pattern always occurs.
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A less prominent part of shared work can contribute as much as the visible one. The lower and upper millstones ask that useful effort be recognised, without assuming every role has identical duties or impact.
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The saying contrasts the moon’s visibility with the sun’s brightness. As a metaphor, it can describe one prominent presence drawing attention away from another.
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Greater standing can be accompanied by greater humility rather than entitlement. The saying presents an ideal of conduct, without proving that rank establishes virtue or that someone without status has less reason to be respected.
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The saying accuses women who attend to their appearance of neglecting domestic responsibilities. It treats looking in a mirror and caring for a household as competing duties assigned to women.
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Someone carrying valuable goods may receive little of their benefit. Look at how the rewards of an undertaking are shared with those whose effort makes it possible.
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Knowingly accepting the benefit of wrongdoing can make a person complicit in it. Responsibility may extend beyond the person who performs the original act.
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Public goodwill can support a ruler’s position. Calling the people’s affection a lifeguard contrasts trust with protection supplied only by force.
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Someone who encourages another person’s wrongdoing can bear serious responsibility. The saying turns attention toward influence rather than only the final actor.
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Regret about being caught may differ from regret about the harm done. The saying asks what an apology or expression of sorrow is actually concerned with.
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Words can cause serious harm despite having no physical strength of their own. Recognise the consequences of threats, humiliation or damaging claims rather than dismissing them as mere speech.
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Words can have consequences for the person who speaks them. The tongue and head divide the act of speaking from the burden that follows.
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The weakest person holding the candle pictures a supporting burden falling on someone with less power. The saying can prompt scrutiny of how tasks are assigned.
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The saying presents the wife as central to the household’s functioning. It can recognise domestic contribution, while also reflecting an expectation that responsibility for the home belongs chiefly to her.
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This verse makes women’s good reputation depend on staying at home and working constantly. It expresses a restrictive ideal of obedience and domestic labour, not a fair measure of honesty or worth.
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A refusal by one person need not end the search for a willing participant. The saying recognises differences in interest rather than a right to compel agreement.
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People with the least protection may be placed where conditions are harshest. The clothing-and-wind image questions whether burdens are being assigned to those least equipped to bear them.
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A valued reward does not always go to the recipient judged most deserving. The pig and acorn contrast invites questions about allocation while cautioning that the label worst may itself be unfair.
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New growth can draw on resources supplied by an older source. The tree image invites attention to dependence without making younger people a burden by nature.
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Wealth can be invoked as an excuse for foolish conduct. The saying questions a privilege that lets material position substitute for accountability.
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Threats do not always become actions. The saying distinguishes an announced harm from its fulfilment but offers no reliable measure of the danger in a particular case.
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A general rule may not fit every particular case. Use it as guidance while checking whether the circumstances justify a different judgement.
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