proverb · Traditional
An unhappy lad may make a good man.
A troubled beginning need not prevent a person from developing good judgment and conduct. The saying leaves room for growth beyond an early label.
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What does it mean?
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proverb · Traditional
Anger is short-lived in a good man.
The saying praises allowing anger to pass rather than keeping a grievance alive. Its moral judgement is too simple: lasting anger does not by itself show that someone lacks good character.
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Angry men seldom want woe.
People who act from anger may find that trouble follows. Want here concerns lacking trouble, so the saying warns that angry reactions can supply plenty of it without making the emotion itself a moral failure.
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Any flat can talk of change of weather.
The saying dismisses routine talk about changing weather as an easy substitute for substance. Its insult should not be mistaken for a fair judgment of every casual conversation.
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Anything for a quiet life.
The phrase values avoiding conflict so strongly that it offers almost any concession for peace. A careful reading asks whether the concession creates a workable calm or leaves an important problem unaddressed.
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Apothecaries would not sugar their pills unless they were bitter.
A pleasant covering may make something disagreeable easier to accept. The sweetened pill represents how presentation can soften a difficult message, while raising the question of whether the underlying substance remains clear.
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Apples, eggs, and nuts, One may eat after sluts.
The saying treats apples, eggs and nuts as acceptable after someone it calls a slut. It uses a demeaning label while making an unverified claim about food handled by another person.
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April and May are the keys of the year.
The saying treats April and May as decisive months for what the rest of the year will yield. Keys picture their conditions as opening or closing later possibilities.
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April borrows three days of March, and they are ill.
A few unpleasant April days are imagined as borrowed from March. The months are personified to describe weather that seems out of place in the new season.
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Apt to promise, apt to forget.
A person quick to make assurances may also fail to remember or fulfil them. The saying warns against relying on readiness to promise alone, without making enthusiasm proof of unreliability.
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Argus at home, but a mole abroad.
The saying contrasts an Argus-like watcher at home with a mole abroad. It pictures someone sharply observant in familiar surroundings but much less perceptive elsewhere.
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Arms and money require good hands.
Powerful resources need capable and responsible handling. Arms and money put means with serious consequences beside the hands that decide how to use them.
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As good sit still as rise up and fall.
An unsuccessful effort can seem no better than doing nothing. The saying voices that discouragement, while inviting a closer look at what an attempt may still teach.
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As good to be out of the world as out of the fashion.
The saying exaggerates how exclusion can feel when someone is out of fashion. It reveals the pressure of belonging to a social trend, rather than establishing that conformity is necessary for a worthwhile life or that older tastes have no value.
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As good twenty as nineteen.
The saying regards twenty as no worse than nineteen. It suggests that a small additional amount may make little difference in a situation already being considered.
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As great a pity to see a woman weep, as to see a goose go barefoot.
The saying compares a woman’s tears with a goose’s bare feet, making her distress seem ordinary or unworthy of sympathy. It expresses dismissiveness, not a reason to disregard someone’s feelings.
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As he who has health is young, so he who owes nothing is rich.
The saying compares vitality with youth and freedom from obligations with wealth. It shifts attention from labels and possessions to conditions that can make life feel less burdened, without promising that health or debt determines anyone’s worth.
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As like as chalk and cheese.
Two things may be very different despite being put together in a comparison. Chalk and cheese give the difference a vivid form, encouraging attention to relevant distinctions without deciding that comparison is always useless.
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As long lives a merry heart as a sad.
Enjoying life need not be treated as less serious or worthwhile than sorrow. The saying refuses to give sadness a privileged place in how a life is valued.
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As the fool thinks, so the bell chinks.
A person may hear their own expectations in an ambiguous signal. Check whether an interpretation comes from the evidence or from what you already want to believe.
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As the Friday, so the Sunday, As the Sunday, so the week.
The saying treats Friday as a sign of Sunday and Sunday as a sign of the whole week. It extends a short observation into a much longer expectation.
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As the old cock crows so crows the young.
People may copy the habits and manner of those they observe. Those setting an example should consider what their conduct invites others to repeat.
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As the twig is bent the tree's inclined.
Early influences may leave a lasting direction in someone’s habits. The inclined tree develops the bent-twig image, without proving that a person cannot change or that upbringing explains every later choice.
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As welcome as the flowers in May.
A person or event is warmly welcomed as a pleasing arrival. May flowers give the welcome an image of freshness and delight.
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