proverb · Traditional
He Laughs Best Who Laughs Last.
The saying gives the best laugh to the person who laughs last. It values the eventual outcome over an early appearance of advantage.
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What does it mean?
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.
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197 matching explanations
proverb · Traditional
He must crack the nut that would eat the kernel.
A desired benefit may require doing the necessary work to reach it. Cracking the nut before eating its kernel links a result to its practical prerequisite, without promising that any amount of effort guarantees success.
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He that cannot abide a bad market deserves not a good one.
The saying asks for steadiness when conditions become less favourable, rather than enjoyment only when things go well. Its complaint about deserving a good market should not imply that suffering earns success or that someone must tolerate an unfair arrangement.
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He that endureth is not overcome.
Continuing through a difficulty can keep a person from treating it as final defeat. The saying values endurance, without proving that persistence guarantees success or that changing course means someone has failed.
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He that gapeth until he be fed Well may he gape until he be dead.
Simply waiting to be provided for can leave a need unmet. The open mouth exaggerates passive expectation into a posture that achieves nothing.
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He that goes softly goes surely.
A measured pace can help someone proceed carefully. The saying favours steadiness, while overstating certainty if it makes slow progress a guarantee.
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He that would be Pope must think of nothing else.
A very demanding ambition can require sustained attention. The wish to become Pope gives the saying an extreme example of a goal absorbing a person’s effort.
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He that would catch fish must not mind getting wet.
Obtaining a desired result may involve some inconvenience. Be willing to do the necessary work, while checking that the cost is proportionate and the method is reasonable.
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He who laughs last, laughs longest.
The saying gives the final laugh the longest duration. It values the eventual result over an earlier appearance of advantage.
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He who rests grows rusty.
The saying compares resting with becoming rusty. It imagines an unused skill or capacity losing readiness like an idle tool.
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Hope humbles more than despair.
The saying claims that hope can make someone more humble than despair does. Expecting something still to come may place a person in a position of waiting or dependence.
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Hungry men think the cook lazy.
A pressing need can make another person’s work seem too slow. The hungry diner judging the cook points to impatience shaping an assessment, without dismissing legitimate delay or blaming someone for being hungry.
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I don't know the word 'quit.' Either I never did, or I have abolished it.
The speaker claims to have removed quit from their vocabulary. It uses a word’s supposed absence to dramatise determination to continue.
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If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
The saying answers an initial lack of success with repeated trying. It treats a first setback as a reason to consider another attempt rather than a final verdict.
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If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
The saying advises leaving something alone when it is not broken. It cautions against changes that have no demonstrated need.
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If you would enjoy the fruit, pluck not the flower.
Do not remove what a later result needs in order to develop. Plucking the flower while wanting the fruit pictures a short-term action that defeats the benefit being sought.
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In the end things will mend.
A difficult situation may improve with time. The rhyme expresses hope that the current problem is not the final state of things.
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In the long run the greyhound kills the hare.
An initial advantage can be overcome through sustained effort. The long pursuit gives persistence a role, without promising that every determined person wins or turning exhaustion into a duty.
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Into every life a little rain must fall.
The saying puts a little rain in every life. It uses weather to acknowledge that difficulty can be part of living.
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It is in vain for a man to rise early who has the repute of lying in bed all the morning.
A changed habit may not immediately change a settled reputation. Consistent evidence over time can matter more than a single effort to reverse others’ expectations.
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It is no use crying over spilt milk.
The saying calls crying over spilled milk unhelpful to reversing the spill. It directs attention toward what can still be done after loss.
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It is not only the fox; even the snail arrives at its destination.
A snail arriving as well as a fox gives a slower traveller a successful destination in the image. The saying values progress beyond a single admired pace.
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It is possible to move mountains by carrying small stones.
The saying makes moving mountains possible by carrying small stones. As an analogy, a large undertaking is broken into modest contributions.
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It takes time to build castles.
Building castles takes time in this image of a substantial undertaking. The saying asks for patience with work that has stages.
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