proverb · Traditional
Quick at meat, quick at work.
The saying associates quick eating with quick work. It carries a pace observed in one activity into an expectation about another.
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478 matching explanations
proverb · Traditional
Raise no more spirits than you can conjure down.
Do not set more activity or conflict in motion than you can responsibly manage. The conjuring image warns about consequences, without requiring total control over others or claiming that every uncertain undertaking should be avoided.
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Riches are like muck, which stink in a heap, but spread abroad make the earth fruitful.
Resources can be more useful when put to a beneficial purpose than when merely amassed. The manure image contrasts an unused heap with productive distribution, without specifying which distribution is fair or effective.
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Saying well causes a laugh; doing well produces silence.
Clever speech may attract a quick reaction, while effective action answers a problem more quietly. The contrast asks what has been accomplished as well as how engagingly someone has talked.
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Sell not the hare's skin before you have caught him.
Do not make commitments that depend on a result you have not secured. The hare’s skin still needing to be caught pictures counting an uncertain benefit as though it were already yours to promise.
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Send a wise man on an errand and say nothing to him.
A capable person can exercise judgement without being told every step. The saying values competent discretion, but silence is not a substitute for explaining the purpose, essential constraints or information that the person cannot otherwise know.
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September blow soft, Till the fruit's in the loft.
The saying asks for gentle September wind until fruit is stored. The request connects a vulnerable final stage with a wish for favourable conditions.
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Short cuts are sometimes longest.
A supposed shortcut can take longer when it creates problems or misses a necessary step. Judge the whole route to completion rather than only the distance saved at the beginning.
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Sloth is the mother of poverty.
The saying warns that avoidable neglect can contribute to need. Calling sloth the mother of poverty exaggerates one possible cause into a general explanation.
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Sloth turneth the edge of wit.
An ability may become less ready to use when it receives little practice. The sharpened-edge image encourages suitable engagement, without making inactivity proof of laziness or claiming that every skill declines in the same way.
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Slow fire makes sweet malt.
A measured pace can suit work that needs time to develop. The slow-fire image values an appropriate process over haste, without establishing a brewing instruction or implying that delay is always better than timely action.
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Small rain lays great dust.
A modest contribution can have a useful effect when it meets the need. The rain-and-dust image values a fitting small response, without claiming that every large difficulty can be settled by minimal effort.
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Soft words butter no parsnips.
Pleasant words cannot substitute for a practical contribution when one is needed. The parsnips remain unbuttered by reassurance alone, while considerate language can still support useful action.
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Soldiers in peace are like chimneys in summer.
The saying compares soldiers in peacetime with chimneys in summer. It pictures a role appearing less needed when the condition associated with its usual use is absent.
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Sow beans in the mud, they'll grow like wood.
The saying promises vigorous beans after sowing in mud. Growing like wood gives its confidence in that method an exaggerated image of strength.
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Spoil not the ship for a penn'orth of tar.
Do not endanger something valuable by refusing a small necessary expense or effort. The contrast between a ship and a little tar warns against a saving that undermines the larger purpose.
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Standing pools gather filth.
An arrangement left without renewal or attention may deteriorate. The standing pool gives inactivity a visible image of accumulated neglect.
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Step after step the ladder is ascended.
A larger task can be approached through successive manageable steps. Notice progress through the sequence, without assuming that repetition alone will reach every goal.
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Step by step the ladder is climbed.
A larger task can be approached through successive manageable stages. The ladder image values gradual progress, without promising that every sequence leads to the intended result or that a person must keep advancing without rest.
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Stretch not your feet Beyond the sheet.
Plans should take account of the resources available to support them. The feet-and-sheet image encourages a workable fit, without blaming people for scarcity or requiring them to accept an inadequate arrangement forever.
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Stretch your legs according to your coverlet.
Match an undertaking to the resources that can actually support it. Legs and coverlet picture the limits of available provision, encouraging adjustment without implying that a shortage is the person’s fault or that more support cannot be sought.
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Strike while the iron is hot.
Act when conditions are favourable rather than delaying until the opportunity has weakened. Some tasks or decisions are easier to carry out during a short period of readiness.
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Such a beginning, such an end.
The way something starts can influence what follows. Notice early choices and conditions, without treating a poor beginning as proof that the outcome cannot change.
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Take time when time is, for time will away.
Use an available opportunity while it remains suitable. Time passing makes some choices harder to return to, but the saying does not require accepting every invitation or acting before enough is understood.
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