Words worth understanding
Start with the thought in plain English. Then explore the imagery, a practical example, when to use it, and what the saying does not mean.
4,000 entries with editorial explanations. The wider collection also contains entries still awaiting an individual interpretation.
proverb · Traditional proverb
An unsupported claim lacks a firm basis, yet damaging gossip can spread rapidly. The contrast between legs and wings highlights the difference between a story’s credibility and the speed with which people repeat it.
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The value of a life can be considered through its actions rather than its length alone. The saying honours worthwhile conduct, without reducing someone’s worth to productivity or supplying one universal measure of a good life.
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A lion not eating its own cubs gives kinship an image of restraint toward the vulnerable. The saying imagines power limited by a protective relationship.
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A lion sleeping within every brave person gives courage a latent inner image. The saying pictures resolve as a capacity that may emerge when needed.
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A small amount of help valued above much sympathy contrasts practical assistance with expression alone. The saying asks what actually meets a need.
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A small harmful act can still matter to the person affected. The saying challenges dismissal based only on scale, and encourages a proportionate response that identifies the actual effect and what would put it right.
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The saying equates a person labelled a mad man with an animal. Its blunt comparison demeans the person rather than demonstrating a lack of humanity or worth.
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The saying judges a person through the company they keep. It suggests that chosen associations can influence how someone is perceived.
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Harm may be caused more quickly than it can be repaired. The saying encourages care before an action, while recognising that recovery or restored trust can require time without following one fixed timetable.
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Laughing at others and weeping for oneself contrasts responses to another person’s troubles and one’s own. It questions unequal sympathy.
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A person can provoke a harmful response from something or someone previously familiar and trusted. The dog image directs attention to one’s own contribution to conflict.
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Failing to ask for something that is due or needed can mean not receiving it. The saying encourages a clear request instead of relying on silent expectation.
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The saying treats honesty as a virtue that is not spoiled simply by having more of it. Its exaggerated language praises integrity, while truthful conduct still requires care about privacy, timing and how words affect others.
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Words that are not supported by action can leave a responsibility neglected. The weed-filled garden makes that neglect visible, without assuming that every statement requires a physical task or that discussion cannot itself be useful.
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The saying asks someone who has friends to be friendly themselves. It values reciprocal consideration within connection.
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Respect for the great described as paving a route to greatness connects regard for others with one’s own hoped-for standing. The saying values acknowledgment of an admired example.
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Generous hospitality is pictured as a home without barriers to welcome. The absence of doors exaggerates the openness of a considerate host.
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A masquerader revealing himself while trying too hard to surpass others gives competitive display an embarrassing unintended outcome. The coarse image questions overreaching in performance.
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Speaking of inferiors is turned into evidence that the speaker has none. The saying challenges superiority expressed by ranking other people beneath oneself.
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A polite question deserving a polite answer values reciprocal consideration in conversation. The saying asks that a courteous approach receive a respectful response.
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The saying calls a praying drunkard ugly. It places a disparaging judgment on a combination of prayer and drunkenness.
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A promise as a debt pictures a commitment as something owed to another. It gives an assurance the weight of an obligation.
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A promise called a pleasant declaration separates agreeable wording from fulfilment not yet demonstrated. The saying asks what an assurance amounts to.
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A proud heart enduring a shared failure because its pride is untouched contrasts common setback with a personally threatening judgment. The saying examines how comparison affects an apparent response.
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