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
The saying encourages developing the qualities needed for an aspiration rather than relying on wanting it. It should not imply that basic care, dignity or fair opportunities must be earned through achievement.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A method suited to one purpose may be useless for another. Choose an approach that fits the task rather than repeating a familiar technique regardless of what it can achieve.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
People may avoid a place where the conditions make interference difficult. The boiling pot represents an active obstacle to those who would settle there.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
An early sign can give reason to expect a later result. Flowers stand for the promise of fruit, while the saying should not be read as a guarantee that a promising beginning will reach completion.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Following a coherent course can lead towards its larger destination. The river image values continuity and direction, without proving that every path reaches a desired result or supplying reliable travel instructions.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Compassion that ignores consequences can fail to help the people affected. The saying asks for thoughtfulness alongside pity.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A poorly checked calculation or expectation may leave an arrangement short of what it needs. The saying criticises careless reckoning, without making every shortage proof of foolishness or personal fault.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A later participant may benefit from work or expense already borne by someone else. Building and buying contrast creating an asset with acquiring the completed result.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Even people considered wise may follow a fashion they did not examine. The contrast questions imitation based on acceptance, without proving that every novelty or popular choice is foolish.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
One person can bear the cost of a display while another enjoys the benefit. The contrast questions whether extravagant hospitality serves the person paying for it.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A poorly considered arrangement can create difficulty even for someone competent. The stools-and-stumbling image directs attention to avoidable obstacles, without making intelligence a guarantee against mistakes or an excuse to insult others.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A person may remain confident in a mistaken judgement instead of examining it. The saying criticises unearned certainty, without giving an observer a fair basis to dismiss someone permanently as a fool.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Careless decisions can create complications that others must patiently resolve. Value the work of untangling a problem, and notice what caused it.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (Spanish-language collection)
Good companionship is answered with good company. The short exchange values the quality of a shared relationship, without making friendship a payment or assuming that agreement alone makes someone a good companion.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Buying more than is useful can leave someone needing to dispose of the excess. The proverb points to the consequences of an unnecessary acquisition rather than proving that resale is the only remedy.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Someone arriving after a resource has been divided may find only leftovers. The bones image warns about distribution and timing without making that unequal result fair or deserved.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A small missing part can have consequences beyond its immediate size when other things depend on it. The nail, shoe, horse and rider form a chain of dependence, without proving that every small defect produces a disaster.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Take responsibility for a task you can reasonably do yourself. The saying encourages initiative but overstates it if all reliance on others is treated as failure.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Holding back from demanding something is not necessarily giving up the claim. Patience or temporary restraint should not automatically be read as forgiveness or final agreement.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A restriction can make something seem especially desirable. Sweetness pictures that attraction, without proving that every forbidden thing is valuable or that wanting it makes a rule worth breaking.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Rushing a process can weaken the result someone hoped to obtain. The forced-fruit comparison invites attention to suitable development, without claiming every fast method is inferior or presenting the saying as gardening evidence.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Thinking ahead can prevent effort that would otherwise be wasted. Before working harder, check whether a better sequence, preparation or decision would make the task easier to complete.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying recommends relinquishing resentment, forgetting a wrong and forgiving as a path towards a happier life. That is an aspiration, not a guarantee or a duty to excuse ongoing harm.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Knowing about a possible difficulty beforehand gives you a chance to prepare. A useful warning can change how you act instead of leaving you to respond unready.
Read the explanation and example ↗