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
Fishing hours not deducted from life imagines a pleasurable activity outside ordinary mortality. The saying gives leisure a playful blessing.
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Money by itself does not constitute a fully flourishing life. Other conditions can matter, while having sufficient material resources remains a real and legitimate need.
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The saying makes good company the shortest cut on a road. It values companionship as a way to make a journey feel less burdensome.
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Great desire described as producing endless poverty uses poverty as an image of never having enough. The saying questions continually expanding wants.
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Happiness placed between too little and too much gives enough an image of balance. The saying questions both deprivation and excess.
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A relaxed person may leave some outcomes to chance rather than planning every detail. The phrase describes an easygoing attitude to what happens next.
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Having an interest pursued for enjoyment can add something worthwhile to life. The saying celebrates a hobby, without proving that everyone needs one or that a particular pastime guarantees happiness.
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The rhyme links a wife’s happiness with a happier shared life. It makes one partner’s wellbeing stand for the condition of the relationship.
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Someone with money alone called poor contrasts possessions with other things that may give life value. The saying questions wealth as a complete measure of having enough.
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Relief from a troubling burden can be a worthwhile gain even without acquiring money or possessions. The proverb asks readers to recognise the value of what no longer weighs on them.
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The saying gives enough to the person who is content. It links a sense of sufficiency with satisfaction rather than a fixed quantity.
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Wanting nothing described as sufficient wealth gives contentment priority over acquiring more. The saying offers a view of enough.
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The saying calls a satisfied person rich. It makes sufficiency of desire a kind of wealth distinct from possessions.
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A worthwhile result can still contain minor imperfections. The harvest and thistles suggest appreciating substantial success without letting small defects eclipse it, while leaving room to address defects that genuinely matter.
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Lacking what is needed can make contentment difficult. The saying challenges the idea that deprivation automatically brings peace of mind.
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The saying predicts Sunday sorrow for someone who sings on Friday. It turns enjoyment on one day into an omen about another.
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Health equated with hope and hope with having everything gives wellbeing and expectation an expansive value. The saying offers an optimistic chain of comparisons.
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A familiar home can have value even when it is plain or modest. The saying places belonging above impressive appearance, without assuming that every home is safe or telling someone to remain in an unsuitable situation.
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Something can seem especially enjoyable when it meets a strong need. Hunger is pictured as a seasoning that makes plain food welcome.
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Crying at birth and later knowing why gives life’s difficulties an image of early anticipation. The saying expresses rueful humour about experience.
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Women and men described as alike in seeking pleasure challenge a gender distinction in desire. The saying gives a shared pursuit priority over the two categories.
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Laughing at one’s own misfortune called an art values humour in responding to difficulty. The saying presents one possible way of relating to a setback.
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Liking what one has preferred to obtaining what one likes gives contentment priority over acquiring a desired thing. The saying questions satisfaction based only on further possession.
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A meal can be an occasion for pleasant company and good humour. Meat here stands for the meal, rather than only a particular food.
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