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 proverb
A person’s purpose and direction matter more than the equipment they possess. The archer’s aim represents considered intention, while the arrows represent resources that cannot determine a worthy or effective purpose on their own.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (Spanish-language collection)
Answering foolish noise with the same noise can make the responder part of it. The braying image questions imitation as a useful way to address an unproductive exchange.
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A dependent can change the route or pace of a task. The ass and her colt make an apparently indirect journey understandable in relation to another creature’s needs.
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Even a capable person can miss a result they were trying to achieve. The escaping eel pictures an outcome that skill can improve without fully controlling.
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Financial worry can show in a person’s expression. The empty purse pictures a shortage of resources, and wrinkles give the strain a visible form.
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A home is pictured as a place of personal privacy and refuge. The castle image expresses a wish for control over one’s domestic space, rather than establishing a current legal entitlement or making that security exclusive to English men.
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The saying links a red evening and grey morning with a fair day. It combines two sky descriptions into one favourable expectation.
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An unoccupied mind is pictured as a place where harmful ideas may develop. The saying warns about misdirected attention, but it should not turn rest, unemployment or a lack of visible activity into evidence of wrongdoing or deficient character.
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A harmful partnership can create repeated difficulties in daily life. The spring image makes one troubled relationship a source from which other problems flow.
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The saying claims that a bad stake remains standing longest. As an explicit analogy, an unwelcome or poor thing may persist beyond what someone expects.
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A workable compromise may be more useful than a satisfying declaration that one side has won. The saying draws attention to the costs of prolonged conflict, while preserving the need for a fair outcome.
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A substantial task may need repeated effort rather than one attempt. The oak and single blow picture the scale of the work, without guaranteeing that repetition alone will succeed or giving instructions for cutting down a tree.
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Some opportunities depend on a moment that cannot be recreated once it has passed. The saying draws attention to timing, while its absolute wording should not rule out repair, another opportunity or a changed way to meet the same purpose.
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Age does not necessarily remove appetite or desire. The older cat drinking as much as the kitten challenges an expectation that wanting must diminish.
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The saying prefers an old doctor and a young lawyer. It assigns different age ideals to two professions without explaining the comparison.
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An experienced person’s warning may deserve attention. The older dog’s bark is pictured as having a reason rather than being mere noise.
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Long-established habits can be difficult to change. The saying states this too absolutely: it does not show that older people are incapable of learning or that every new attempt will fail.
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Poor judgment can seem especially disappointing when someone has had many opportunities to learn. Age supplies the contrast with an expected growth in wisdom.
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Something long used may need repeated repair. The worn sack gives maintenance a concrete image and suggests the limits of simply patching an ageing arrangement.
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A little careful judgement can be worth more than a great deal of cleverness. Knowing when and how to act may matter more than finding an impressive response.
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A small amount of useful information may help more than a large amount of reassurance. Comfort matters, but it should not replace facts that let someone understand or address the situation.
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The saying values a little practical judgment above a large amount of learned knowledge. Mother-wit and an older learning-related reading of clergy create the contrast.
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A small amount of practical action can demonstrate more than extensive advice. The contrast asks speakers to connect what they recommend with what they actually do, rather than measuring usefulness by the volume of their words.
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Someone who arrives without an invitation should not assume that everything has been prepared for them. Bringing a stool pictures taking responsibility for the practical consequences of joining unexpectedly, rather than demanding extra hospitality.
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