proverb · Traditional
Hard words break no bones.
The saying denies that harsh words break bones. It contrasts verbal hurt with a particular form of physical injury.
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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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216 matching explanations
proverb · Traditional
Harsh words and poor reasoning never settle anything.
Harsh words and weak reasoning failing to settle issues contrasts forceful expression with a sound resolution. The saying values how a conclusion is reached.
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Haste makes waste, and waste makes want, and want makes strife between the good man and his wife.
Rushing can create waste, and wasted resources can increase tension at home. The chain of consequences highlights how one avoidable mistake may affect several parts of life.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (Spanish-language collection)
He is your friend who gets you out of a fray.
A friend helps remove you from a conflict rather than simply applauding your involvement. Getting out of the fray makes care visible through de-escalation and practical support.
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He loseth nothing who keeps God for his friend.
A person who places ultimate value in a relationship with God can feel that ordinary losses do not take away what matters most.
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He that loves law will get his fill.
The saying warns that someone drawn to legal disputes may get more of them than they want. Getting one’s fill can turn an initial appetite into weariness.
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He that makes a good war makes a good peace.
The saying links successful fighting with a favourable peace. A critical reading asks what good peace requires rather than assuming victory supplies it.
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He that strikes with the sword shall be beaten with the scabbard.
The saying predicts that someone striking with a sword will be beaten with its scabbard. Aggression is answered through a related but different instrument.
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He that would please all, and himself too, Undertakes what he cannot do.
You cannot assume one choice will satisfy everyone’s preferences, including your own. Acknowledge conflicting needs and explain a reasonable decision rather than promising universal approval.
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He who pardons the bad harms the good.
Pardoning the bad described as harming the good warns that leniency can have consequences for others. The saying questions mercy without attention to protection.
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He who seeketh trouble never misseth it.
Actively provoking conflict can make opportunities for it easier to find. The saying warns about searching for a quarrel, without implying that people who experience trouble chose it or are responsible for harm done to them.
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If a word is worth one shekel, silence is worth two.
A word worth one shekel and silence worth two give restraint a higher value through a price comparison. The saying asks whether speaking adds enough to justify it.
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If not for wrongdoing, there would be no forgiveness.
Forgiveness imagined absent without wrongdoing connects a response with the harm it addresses. The saying points to a conceptual relationship rather than a benefit of causing harm.
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If people no longer fear death how can you threaten to kill them?
A death threat questioned when people no longer fear death exposes a limit of coercion. The saying asks whether the threatened consequence still controls its audience.
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If someone outdraws you, smile and walk away—here’s plenty of time to look tough when you’re out of sight.
The saying favours walking away over displaying toughness after being outdrawn. Its final remark makes saving face less important than leaving the confrontation.
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If you can’t beat them, join them.
Joining people one cannot beat replaces opposition with association. The saying proposes changing a relationship rather than continuing an unsuccessful contest.
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If you go and take the field of an enemy, the enemy will come and take your field.
Taking an enemy’s field followed by losing one’s own describes retaliation through a reciprocal property image. The saying questions an action that may invite a similar response.
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If you lose your temper, don't look for it.
The saying plays on losing one’s temper by advising against looking for it. It turns a phrase about anger into a joke about a missing object.
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If you offend, ask for pardon; if offended, forgive.
An offender asked to seek pardon and an offended person to forgive pair responsibility with mercy. The saying gives both sides a response after harm.
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In a thousand pounds of law there's not an ounce of love.
The saying contrasts a large amount of legal contest with little affection. It expresses concern that an adversarial dispute can strain relationships, but it should not deny the need for legal protection or imply that asserting a right proves a lack of care.
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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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It is better to suffer wrong than to do wrong.
Suffering wrong preferred to doing wrong places conduct above avoiding every personal cost. The saying rejects answering harm by becoming its perpetrator.
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It is easier to forgive than to forget.
Forgiving described as easier than forgetting separates a response to harm from loss of its memory. The saying acknowledges that remembrance may remain.
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It is glorious to forget injustice.
Forgetting injustice described as glorious praises release from a remembered wrong. The saying presents a demanding ideal about moving beyond grievance.
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