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
Do not take on demands beyond your capacity without preparation or support. Depth and swimming picture the difference between manageable conditions and being overwhelmed.
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Build the necessary ability before attempting a situation you cannot yet manage. Enthusiasm does not replace preparation when the consequences of being out of your depth would be serious.
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No individual can do everything. The saying recognises limits of skill, time and capacity, encouraging cooperation or priorities without deciding that a particular person cannot learn, develop or take on a new challenge.
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Do not expect to obtain something from a source that cannot supply it. Trying to skin a stone makes an impossible demand visible, while inviting a check that the limitation is real rather than merely assumed.
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No one is incapable of sound judgement all the time, and everyone can make a foolish choice sometimes. Assess the particular action rather than turning one mistake into a complete account of the person.
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Something attractive or worthwhile may also have a disadvantage. The rose and thorn invite a person to consider both sides of an appealing choice, without proving that every benefit must carry harm.
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Some conditions make a direct effort ineffective until the approach changes. The stream image invites realistic assessment of resistance, without requiring submission to injustice or declaring that every obstacle is impossible to overcome.
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A welcome circumstance may still contain difficulties or limits. The sunshine and shadow picture mixed conditions, without making every success suspect or proving that disappointment must follow it.
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The saying treats still wind as making any weather acceptable. A careful reading questions its absolute confidence that calmness removes every difficulty.
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Occasional unexpected gains may not provide a dependable basis for ongoing needs. The windfall image questions reliance on benefits that arrive by chance.
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Someone usually considered less capable may sometimes do better than an expert. The saying challenges complacency about relative ability, without treating one comparison as a complete measure of either person.
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You cannot fully judge another person’s difficulties from what is visible. Listen before assuming that their task or situation is easy to bear.
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An existing success can attract confidence, attention or further opportunities. The saying describes a possible reinforcing effect, not proof that success establishes merit or guarantees another favourable result.
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Avoiding a worthwhile task can leave its benefits unrealised. The sweeping wording should be limited to neglect, rather than applied to every period of rest.
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When all available options have drawbacks, compare them and choose the one with less harm. The saying addresses a constrained choice, without proving that only two options exist or that an avoidable wrong becomes justified.
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Traditional sayings can preserve observations that remain useful to examine. The proverb praises inherited wisdom, while an old saying’s age alone does not establish its truth or make it suitable for every situation.
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The saying imagines Candlemas as the point when candles can be put aside. Throwing away the candle and holder exaggerates a sense of reduced need for them.
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The saying advises keeping half the straw and hay at Candlemas. It makes a calendar point a check on whether provisions remain for later use.
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The saying recommends looking at painting and fighting from a distance. It gives two different activities one instruction to stand apart.
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The saying assigns sailing to the sea and settling to land. Its balanced instruction puts different actions in the settings imagined to suit them.
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Doing something once can create an expectation that it will continue. The saying warns about a precedent becoming customary, without proving that a single occasion permanently binds anyone to repeat it.
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Careful work at the first attempt can prevent the need to do it again. The saying values a sound result, without promising that good work never needs review or making every later revision evidence of an earlier failure.
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The saying expresses enthusiasm for something valued, as though more of it must always be welcome. Its exaggeration should be tested: even a good activity or resource can become excessive, poorly timed or unsuitable in a larger amount.
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An isolated good contribution may need others to form a coherent result. One flower does not make the joined sequence of a garland, so the saying emphasises combination as well as the value of each part.
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