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
Earthly actions to be accounted for while kneeling in heaven express a religious view of eventual judgment. The saying connects conduct with an imagined transcendent responsibility.
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Ambition and revenge are given an unending appetite. The saying suggests that either pursuit may keep demanding more rather than reaching satisfaction.
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Ambition compared with termites in wood pictures a pursuit consuming what contains it. The saying criticises ambition through an image of internal damage.
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A person’s purpose and direction matter more than the equipment they possess. The archer’s aim represents considered intention, while the arrows represent resources that cannot determine a worthy or effective purpose on their own.
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An ass in one city becoming another city’s head contrasts local judgment with authority elsewhere. The saying questions status that changes with a setting.
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Excessive modesty linked with sometimes going hungry questions restraint that prevents a need being expressed. The saying gives self-effacement a possible practical cost.
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An honest person refusing to act like a dog for a bone rejects degrading compliance for a reward. The saying connects integrity with resistance to manipulation.
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An unoccupied mind is pictured as a place where harmful ideas may develop. The saying warns about misdirected attention, but it should not turn rest, unemployment or a lack of visible activity into evidence of wrongdoing or deficient character.
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The saying makes an open door capable of tempting a saint. It suggests that an opportunity can test even a person thought especially virtuous.
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A little careful judgement can be worth more than a great deal of cleverness. Knowing when and how to act may matter more than finding an impressive response.
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An unkept promise leading to a bad life gives unreliability an expansive consequence. It warns that neglected commitments may affect relationships and choices.
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Someone who arrives without an invitation should not assume that everything has been prepared for them. Bringing a stool pictures taking responsibility for the practical consequences of joining unexpectedly, rather than demanding extra hospitality.
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A troubled beginning need not prevent a person from developing good judgment and conduct. The saying leaves room for growth beyond an early label.
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An untested friend compared with an unopened nut gives uncertainty a tangible form. The saying distinguishes a friendship’s appearance from what experience has revealed.
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Anger described as more destructive than a sword gives an emotion’s consequences a dramatic scale. The saying warns about what anger can lead someone to do.
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The saying praises allowing anger to pass rather than keeping a grievance alive. Its moral judgement is too simple: lasting anger does not by itself show that someone lacks good character.
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People who act from anger may find that trouble follows. Want here concerns lacking trouble, so the saying warns that angry reactions can supply plenty of it without making the emotion itself a moral failure.
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The saying keeps fallen apples near their tree. In the supplied reading, it points to a resemblance between children and parents.
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A person quick to make assurances may also fail to remember or fulfil them. The saying warns against relying on readiness to promise alone, without making enthusiasm proof of unreliability.
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The saying compares repeated folly with a dog returning to its vomit. The repellent image criticises going back to a harmful or regretted action.
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This expression gives someone or something strong praise by comparing them with gold. In a useful reading it recognises reliability or welcome conduct, but the praise should stay specific rather than turn obedience, appearance or possessions into a measure of personal worth.
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The saying exaggerates how exclusion can feel when someone is out of fashion. It reveals the pressure of belonging to a social trend, rather than establishing that conformity is necessary for a worthwhile life or that older tastes have no value.
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The phrase compares a person with hard nails. In the supplied reading, it describes toughness or an unyielding attitude.
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Your choices can create conditions you later have to live with. Consider their consequences and take responsibility for the part you can control.
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