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
People can be surprisingly unaware of others’ daily conditions. Looking beyond your familiar circle can challenge assumptions about how life is organised or what is easy.
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You can provide an opportunity or support, but you cannot make another person choose to use it. Their motivation and decision remain outside your full control.
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The saying rationalises a greater wrongdoing when punishment is imagined to be the same. The sheep and lamb expose a dangerous escalation in the speaker’s reasoning.
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Practical circumstances may require limited accommodation with something a person dislikes. Holding a candle to the devil represents reluctant assistance, but the saying does not make every compromise acceptable.
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Leaving a confrontation can sometimes serve better than trying to overcome it by force. Heels represent getting away and hands represent fighting or struggling, without determining what any particular emergency requires.
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People can follow a lead without independently examining where it goes. The sheep image warns about imitation that substitutes for judgment.
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One promising sign is not enough to establish a lasting pattern. Look for broader evidence before concluding that a change is settled or a trend is reliable.
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One observation is not enough to establish a wider seasonal conclusion. The single woodcock pictures evidence that may be suggestive without being decisive.
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Not every opportunity disappears immediately. Check whether there is genuinely time to consider a choice rather than assuming that urgency is an unavoidable condition of every useful offer.
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An attempt to escape one difficulty can lead into a worse one. The frying-pan and fire contrast warns about an unexamined alternative, without implying that staying in the first situation is always the safest or best choice.
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The saying presents pain as payment for harmful pleasures. Its wage metaphor makes an unwanted consequence appear to follow an earlier indulgence.
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Repairing an existing arrangement may support continued use, while a larger new undertaking may create pressures that force a move. The contrast questions whether novelty is worth its cost.
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Focusing on tiny savings can be wasteful if you overlook much larger costs. Consider the whole decision rather than congratulating yourself on a small economy that creates a greater loss.
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An appealing presentation can make an offer easier to accept. The expression exaggerates that advantage by calling the attractive item half sold already.
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Do not add burdens to someone already overwhelmed. Pouring more water onto a drowned mouse gives a stark image of effort that cannot help and may only worsen an already hopeless situation.
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Wait until an experience has unfolded before declaring it wholly successful. Praising a fair day at night reminds the reader that a promising beginning does not establish how the whole occasion will turn out.
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An appeal based mainly on appearance can be temporary. The saying invites attention to qualities that may outlast an immediate visual impression.
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Attractive appearance alone does not meet a practical need. The contrast with a meal asks what something actually provides, without implying that beauty is worthless or that useful things must be plain.
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Reducing the chance of a problem can be easier than dealing with its consequences afterward. Planning, maintenance or a small precaution may spare a larger repair or disruption.
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Overconfidence can lead someone into a mistake that brings embarrassment. The saying warns against letting pride replace a realistic check, without proving that every confident action will end badly.
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The proverb contrasts resources already available with hoped-for resources when judging a commitment. It encourages realism about an expectation’s uncertainty, without defining a financial plan or assuming that every necessary expense can be limited to what someone currently holds.
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Proverbs can supply memorable words for recurring situations in everyday life. Calling them texts suggests short passages people use as starting points for reflection.
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An effort can be wasted when it directly opposes a force it cannot realistically change. Puffing against the wind pictures a very small action facing a much larger one.
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Take precautions where the difficulty is coming from. Pulling a hat down on the windward side pictures a response fitted to the actual challenge, rather than preparation made without regard to conditions.
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