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
Purchases often bring unwanted material along with what is wanted. The saying contrasts stones, bones and shells with an approving claim that ale contains only the desired purchase.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Dismissing small matters can allow trouble to accumulate. The repeated little connects minor omissions with gradual decline, while leaving room to judge which details matter rather than demanding attention to every possible imperfection.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A measured pace can help someone proceed carefully. The saying favours steadiness, while overstating certainty if it makes slow progress a guarantee.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying pictures repeated losing journeys ending in a sorrowful homecoming. Its destination, Weeping Cross, gives accumulated losses an image of regret.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Trying to secure too many things at once can prevent keeping any of them well. The grasping image cautions against overextension, without proving that every ambitious or varied undertaking is beyond a person’s capacity.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Groping in darkness pictures acting without enough understanding and encountering an unwanted result. The saying encourages seeking clarity before proceeding, while allowing that complete information may be unavailable and that a carefully chosen exploratory step can still be useful.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
An activity involving a known difficulty can expose a person to its characteristic costs. The thorn image makes a foreseeable consequence tangible.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Recognise a vulnerability before entering conditions that would expose it. The wax head and sun picture a limit that confidence cannot remove.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Too many simultaneous undertakings can leave some without the attention they need. The cooling-irons image asks whether active commitments fit available capacity, without requiring everyone to work on only one thing at a time.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
An accessory is unnecessary when the underlying purpose it serves is absent. The head and hat create a blunt comparison that asks whether attention to an outer addition has overlooked the basic thing it is meant to support.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
An accessory serves little purpose when the thing it is meant to hold or support is absent. The empty purse image questions preparing the container while overlooking the underlying need.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Once someone has accepted a difficult companion or arrangement, they must decide how to handle the consequences. The devil aboard a ship exaggerates the trouble introduced by an earlier choice.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying imagines a predetermined death by hanging preventing death by drowning. It turns one danger into an apparent escape through a claim of fixed destiny.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A person who has lost may want another chance to prove themselves. The fallen wrestler pictures the urge to reverse a disappointing result.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
People who are comfortable may assume everyone else is comfortable too. Your own conditions can make another person’s needs harder to notice.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Knowing one’s own limitations can reduce self-importance. The proverb gives humility an exaggerated form; it need not mean that accurate self-understanding requires low self-worth, disregard for strengths or constant criticism of oneself.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying mocks abandoning something dependable for an uncertain possibility without a sound reason. Its musical image puts the chooser among fools, but uncertainty alone does not make a choice foolish; the point is to examine what justifies the change.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A period of careless or wrongful living can have consequences that last longer than the period itself. One year and seven years create an exaggerated contrast in duration.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying warns that someone drawn to legal disputes may get more of them than they want. Getting one’s fill can turn an initial appetite into weariness.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying pictures someone inspecting every cloud being struck by a thunderbolt. Its warning associates intrusive curiosity with an unexpected cost.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A plan made without considering a key person or condition may need to be revised. The host image warns against assuming an arrangement is settled before those it depends on have been consulted.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Sensitive information can give another person power over its owner. The saying warns about disclosure, while exaggerating the resulting dependence as enslavement.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Starting early may indicate a purpose someone wants to pursue. The saying reads an early beginning as a sign of intention rather than idle movement.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Displaying resources can expose them to unwanted attention. The saying exaggerates that risk as though the display proves a wish to lose them.
Read the explanation and example ↗