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
Following a common practice can attract less criticism than standing apart. The saying observes social pressure towards conformity, but popularity and a quiet reception do not establish that a choice is right or suitable.
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Following instructions may appear to protect someone from blame. The proverb voices that promise strongly, but obedience does not establish that the instruction or the resulting action is right.
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Treat others with the consideration you would hope to receive yourself. Thinking about how an action would feel from the other side can help you choose a fairer response.
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Some possible loss is not a reason to abandon an undertaking altogether. Compare the likely benefit and available protections with the cost of never starting.
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Inspect what you are agreeing to acquire before committing. An unseen or poorly understood offer may turn out to be different from what you expected.
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Do not announce success while an important difficulty remains unresolved. The call made before leaving the wood cautions against premature celebration, while allowing recognition of genuine progress on the way.
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Do not make accumulating wealth so dominant that you deny yourself a worthwhile life now. Saving has a purpose, and that purpose can be lost if resources are never allowed to support living.
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Do not enlarge one difficulty into several through exaggeration or a poorly chosen response. Examine the actual problem before adding imagined dangers or unnecessary complications.
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A willing contributor may not need additional pressure. The freely moving horse warns that unnecessary urging can strain cooperation, while still allowing clear expectations, constructive feedback and attention to whether help is needed.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (Spanish-language collection)
Taking the product of someone’s work without permission wrongs the person who makes it. The kneading and baking bring the labour behind the loaf into view, rather than treating the finished thing as ownerless.
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The speaker proposes controlling a servant’s requests by limiting satisfaction. Read the bread and cheese critically as an unequal arrangement that treats another person’s needs as something to suppress.
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The saying values acting on a considered responsibility despite uncertainty about the result. It encourages integrity, while deciding what ought to be done still requires attention to consequences, competing duties and the people affected.
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A serious action may be preceded by a warning or an expression of anger. The barking image encourages attention to possible signals, without promising that every threat will be carried out or every harmful action announced.
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Failing to act can be harmful when a real responsibility calls for action. The saying draws attention to omission rather than only to obvious misconduct.
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Inactivity can feel surprisingly demanding when someone is waiting, uncertain or unable to act. The saying overturns the assumption that doing nothing is always easy, without making rest wrong or presenting everyone’s experience as the same.
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Do not assume the worst before the feared harm has occurred. The saying cautions against premature alarm, without requiring silence about a credible risk or dismissing pain that someone already experiences.
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Do not choose a response that harms your own interests mainly to express spite. Check whether an angry refusal or retaliatory act serves a worthwhile purpose or merely makes the situation worse for you.
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Avoid making everything depend on one uncertain option. Separating your commitments can reduce the damage if a single plan, relationship or resource fails.
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Do not fight someone with very little over the small thing they depend on. Consider the unequal stakes before treating a modest possession as an easy target for your own claim.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
A label may describe what is offered without proving what is actually inside. Check relevant contents or evidence before relying on the description alone.
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Taking on more than you can manage may leave the whole undertaking insecure. The carrying image encourages matching commitments to capacity, while recognising that assistance, tools or a different arrangement can change what is manageable.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (Spanish-language collection)
A fault does not automatically settle whether a useful relationship should end. The cat’s theft invites a proportionate judgement, while leaving serious harm and continuing boundaries firmly open to consideration.
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Do not provoke a threat while you are still exposed to it. Restraint can be a practical way to leave a difficult situation safely.
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Do not interrupt an important undertaking for every minor distraction. Weigh the interruption against the value of keeping the main task moving.
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